Visibility

In all of the articles we read, as well as Blackburn's Interrupting Hate, I noticed that usually-unmentioned trend of visibility were rife throughout all the works. The theory goes that we should talk to kids and teach them about queerness and "otherness," learning that different is okay and not something to be afraid of. That's great! I totally support that. There were a number of really great suggestions, including one from Epstein's article, that asked "Why not feature a gay couple in a maths problem the way a straight couple would generally be featured?", really emphasizing the interdisciplinary nature of inclusion and multiculturalist education. Epstein goes on to say that "schools can also invite in LGBTQ people to give talks, such as through Elly Barnes' Diversity Role Models programme. Sociological research shows that meeting and talking to 'the other' is one of the best ways to decrease fear and dislike and to instead increase understanding, respect, and acceptance." 

Here I would like to also note that one of the primary problems Epstein addresses in the first part of her article is queer students being bullied; clearly there are certain types of interactions that decrease fear and increase acceptance, and others that don't; otherwise, bullying would cease to be a problem. Regardless, Epstein seems to be very focused on drawing students' attention to queerness (often in subtle ways) and associating that with positive thoughts, in ways that Blackburn might appreciate; as it is pointed out in Interrupting Hate that students are usually assumed not to know / sympathize with queer people / queer issues and in that way are primed to do just that. 

Here's the problem though: visibility kills. While a lot of the methods that Epstein cites are more about identity visibility rather than individual (which I greatly appreciate), I think it's absolutely essential to acknowledge that visibility is not necessarily a good thing. My thoughts go particularly to trans women of colour (specifically black trans women). When you're visible, who is it that sees you? The chances of a trans person's life ending in murder are astronomically higher than the average rate. As a proud queer woman of colour, there are some times that I don't want certain parts of who I am to be visible because I will then be in immediate danger.  According to GLAAD, in 2011 45% of hate murders were of TWOC, and 87% of queer murders were QPOC. My point here is that when it comes to visibility, everyone should tread very carefully. People are dying, specifically QPOC and TWOC. It's easy to think of these things conceptually as helping students get in touch with their identities or promote positive self-image, but we also have to acknowledge that while we have the power to help in enormous ways, we also have equally as great capacity to hurt.