Popaganda: Invisibility

If you can choose to be invisible, it’s a superpower. There’s nothing more magical than the idea that you could waltz through a room unseen or eavesdrop on anyone without them knowing. But when invisibility is not a choice—when it’s forced on you—it’s a curse. You ever say something in a crowded room and no one listens? You ever turn on the TV and feel like no one else like you actually exists? Invisibility is the theme of Bitch magazine’s summer print issue. What are we not seeing in our films? Who are we not hearing from in our media? Who remains invisible, despite having more technology than ever before to broadcast ourselves into the world? On this episode, we talk with two authors featured in the Invisibility print issue: Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha sets some ground rules for the often-invisible work of emotional labor and lawyer and activist Andrea Ritchie discusses her powerful new book Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color. Plus, musician Julia Weldon shares their new album Comatose Hope, which explores the terrifying experience of falling into a coma after gender-confirming top surgery. Listen in.