The Audacity of Visibility
Photo by Joel Filipe
“You’ve got to find a way to make people know you’re there.”
Visibility.
What does this word stir up for you? What image comes to mind? What sensations do you feel in your body? Visibility—the audacity to take up space, to let your voice be known and heard. To trust yourself, to honor that you have something to say, something worthy of being seen.
So many of the people I work with wrestle with this—visibility, or rather, the fear of it. The risk. Because to be seen is to be vulnerable. It is the opposite of playing small, of hiding behind the survival strategies we’ve learned to navigate a world that has not always made room for us. And yet, if ever there was a time for you to step forward, to let yourself be seen…it is now.
The journey of stepping into visibility, of being fully seen in our power and humanity, is layered with complexities. It is both an act of self-reclamation and a confrontation with deeply ingrained fears. Anxiety arises not just from our own insecurities but from the very real experiences of living in a world that projects, misunderstands, and often resists those who dare to stand out.
Visibility, whether through creative expression, relationships, or simply existing authentically in public spaces can feel both exhilarating and terrifying. Fear of being misunderstood, attacked, or rejected often accompanies this process. For some, these fears stem from personal experiences of being othered or treated unfairly. For others, they are amplified by systemic inequities and narratives that discourage full self-expression.
And yet, paradoxically, those with the deepest wisdom, the most thoughtful, introspective, and intelligent among us, are often the ones hiding. The ones doubting their voices, questioning whether they have something to offer. Meanwhile, those who speak the loudest without hesitation, without reflection dominate the platforms, the conversations, the discourse.
I was reminded of this truth at a local cooperative grocery store today when I met an employee, a middle-aged grocery manager, whose presence carried a quiet brilliance. Through conversation, I discovered the depth of their wisdom, their artistry, their untapped gifts. A life rich with experience, yet largely unknown. This happens all the time. So many of us go unseen, our natural gifts buried beneath fear, systemic barriers, or the weight of self-doubt. The tragedy is not in being unseen by others—it is in allowing our gifts to go to the grave, unexpressed.
And of course, these fears are not unfounded. Many of our ancestors paid the price for being too visible. There is something deeply embedded in our collective memory, an understanding that visibility can come at a cost. But here’s the truth: the “rules” no longer apply. We are living in a time of chaos, of uncertainty, of fear…fear designed to keep us obedient, complacent, small. Fear designed to make us hesitate, to silence ourselves, while the world profits off our brilliance.
I am encouraging you to say no more. To embrace the power of your visibility. To resist erasure. To transform the way you see yourself, the way you show up in this world.
And as someone who struggles with visibility—as a queer, creative Black womxn, deeply sensitive to rejection, I understand how difficult, how terrifying this is. But I have also come to understand that within the fear is the very freedom we are yearning to feel. The liberation we have been waiting for is already within us…we just have to step into it.
Create. Create. Create.
Speak. Speak. Speak.
Sing. Sing. Sing.
Dance. Dance. Dance.
Write. Write. Write.
Connect. Connect. Connect.
Choose the audacity of visibility.
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