Visibility

Visibility — kejiandu (可见度) — names how present LGBTQ+ people are in public life: whether film and television carry real, three-dimensional queer characters; whether public figures are open; whether ordinary people can mention a partner in conversation without ceremony. It matters because prejudice grows best in soil where “I’ve never met one” — when people discover that someone they already know and like is LGBTQ+, the abstract label turns back into a particular person. And for a confused teenager, simply seeing someone like themselves living a good life is already an answer.

But a distinction must be kept sharp: collective visibility is not an individual obligation to come out. Visibility is an asset the whole community accumulates slowly; whether, when, and to whom any one person is open should be governed only by their own safety and willingness — safety first, and waiting is allowed (see coming out, the outness inventory, and safety notes). In a hostile environment — the reality for many people in Chinese-speaking contexts — invisibility is self-protection, not a debt owed to the community. People who are not out are no less real, and no less fully living and loving.

Register note: common in advocacy and educational writing; Chinese variants include nengjiandu (能见度) and kejianxing (可见性).

Common misuse: turning “raise visibility” into a moral demand — pressuring, hinting at, or outright disclosing someone else’s identity. Making someone visible against their will is not advocacy; it is harm.