Cloaks of Selective Visibility

Cloaks of invisibility are a magical literary device, found in western fairytale and folklore. Such fantastical devices picked up, worn, manipulated, and cast aside by the white hands of fairy tale protagonists allude to the power that the choice of invisibility can grant. And surely there is such a power in an American landscape where whiteness is pumped into the air we breathe, christianity is carved into the mountainsides, and capitalism is the language through which we are asked to understand needs as basic as hunger- the magic of invisibility is that it keeps these cycles in motion, unchallenged. To exist in such a world with the power to pick up or set aside one’s visibility in these systems is to have a supernatural capacity to position yourself in society as the hard-earned hero. Less heroic or magical however, is to see these invisibilities awkwardly draped across or ripped from bodies who such ‘heroism’ excludes from agency to choose (in)visibility for themselves. Thus, the myth of the heroism of dominant classes needs to be contextualized by the ways in which a non-dominant identity is fragmented, made thin, and separated from itself under the strains of an external gaze exclusively interested in a selective visibility which fits neatly into cycles creating such vantage points of privilege. Such selective visibility can never see someone in their fullness.

Work based on interviews with Asheville based activist, writer, and public speaker Liyah Foye (she/her/hers), and in honor of all those who navigate the complexities of socially fragmented identities while creating space for something else. 

Asheville For Justice is a community care collective organizing for racial justice in Southern Appalachia, seeking to tackle root causes of oppression through establishing strong community roots and building networks of co-liberation in the community. Donations can be made through venmo at @ashevilleforjustice , and you can find ways to get involved through their instagram @ashevilleforjustice or at their website www.ashevilleforjustice.com