Ethics of queer in/visibility is a project situated at the English Department of Heidelberg University and funded by the Jellinek Center for Ethics. With our activities, we aim to strengthen interdisciplinary networking on topics related to queer in/visibility, build connections with the local community, and bring excellent international research to Heidelberg.  

Principal investigators: Theresa Heyd, Miriam Neuhausen, Vroni Zieglmeier 

Student assistants: Sam Gaugele, Lea Luhr 

We understand in/visibility as a concept of ambivalences. Visibility is a sensory, embodied and physiological experience on the one hand, a metaphor and sociopolitical discourse of representation and self-assertion on the other hand. Likewise, while visibility has historically been valorized and even idealized as a goal of emancipatory movements and struggles for equity and liberation, it has also been recognized as a risk of exposure, a tool of surveillance, and an unattainable goal for many.

A vocabulary of in/visibility informs many ways of talking about queer individuals and communities, their lived experience and politics: from the metaphor of the closet with regard to sexual orientation, to the notions ‘passing’, ‘clocking’, and ‘going stealth‘ for gender. Many aspects of queer practice rely on becoming visible in public space: kiss-ins and pride parades, trans and lesbian days of visibility, and material objects such as rainbow flags and pronoun buttons. And in media-saturated and digital contexts, being visible has become an omnipresent metric of the self.  

In current political climates, the ambivalence of queer in/visibility has become a matter of broad societal attention. Antifeminist and antiqueer backlash from above and below threatens queer individuals and communities, but it also makes acute the ambivalences of in/visibility. In other words, matters of  queer in/visibility are matters of ethical challenge: they hold implications for the dignity, identification and well-being of the individual, but they are also embroiled in some of the most conflictive dynamics in ongoing negotiations of our societal fabric.  

If you are interested in our project, feel free to reach out at queerinv@as.uni-heidelberg.de!