Now You See Me, Now You Don’t
A woman’s experience of visibility over time
We all want to be seen.
Being seen and understood is vital for humans. We are social animals. It needs to be obvious how each of us contributes to a group.
But how clearly we are seen, in various dimensions and by varying standards, differs according to our attributes, roles and time of life. And gender plays a significant part.
We all want to be seen physically and recognized for who we are, what we believe and what we do.
Being seen as “pretty” or “cute” from a young age seems positive. It appears to boost self-esteem and is addictive. And yet it’s not enough, and will fade naturally over time.
Because visibility through doing, achieving and creating is much more powerful — and lasts longer. For years, decades, a lifetime or even centuries.
It feels like there is a finite amount of visibility available to each person. And if it is all used up on physical attributes, there’s no bandwidth left for actions, work done, creativity, etc.
It’s not just about seeing, but evaluating
Visibility is being seen, but also recognized, judged and approved — or condemned.
