But First, What is Visibility?
Welcome to the first episode of the Visibility Medicine Podcast, where our host, Danielle Cohen, explores, what is visibility? Is it risking being known? To see and be seen?
Danielle challenges us to become comfortable taking up our own space in the world. She reminds us that expanding our own visibility doesn't have to come at the expense of others, but can actually create more space for everyone to shine.
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Time Stamps:
[00:04:45] “So why is visibility so hard? What I see again and again are these two big threads. One is the cultural thread. As women and really as anyone who doesn't hold the dominant identity of a man, we're not born into a culture that's here for our personal visibility, right? Women are used as props. We're used to sell, other people something. That's our place. And so in the right season of life, if we have the right look, the right shape, the right weight, the right color, then maybe our visibility is desired in order to sell somebody something. But never is it meant for us to be front and center in a place of power forwarding our ambitions, our dreams.”
[00:06:20] “But we live in a world that is not here for you as a primary source of power in your own life. So if it feels scary, know that that makes sense. It should feel scary. It's risky. It's not really designed to be that way, and that's not pointing a finger at any one person, but if you step into visibility at some point you are going to struggle with imposter syndrome or fear of being canceled or called out, or fear of being misunderstood or feeling like, who do you think you are? Or hearing that voice of who do you think you are or why are you navel gazing? Or What if you should be doing something else? What if this is not the thing? As if you have to have it right? You have to earn your right to exist in any kind of full, powerful way. I call bullshit. You already earned the right by being born. Your job is simply not easily to move towards taking up space. Your space.”
[00:11:00] “Here's a few things. First, And I'm gonna say these maybe first, second, third, but they're not sequential. See yourself. Really see yourself. Practice, make it literal. Pick up a photo of you not to examine it, but to see it. Go straight for your eyes. If you have a hard time looking at you without being critical, go to the eyes, see the human that's there, and tell her you love her. Tell her she belongs. Tell her you can't wait to hear what she has to say and see what she does next. Daily. Do it in the mirror. Do it in the photos. Don't stop.”
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This podcast was produced by The Willoughby Co.