{"id":357,"date":"2025-05-29T19:37:41","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T19:37:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rgsinpop.2025.cmoore.sites.carleton.edu\/?p=357"},"modified":"2025-05-29T19:37:41","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T19:37:41","slug":"visibility-burnout-when-representation-isnt-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rgsinpop.2025.cmoore.sites.carleton.edu\/?p=357","title":{"rendered":"Visibility Burnout: When Representation Isn\u2019t Power"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the last decade, popular TV has become more diverse than ever. Queer, trans, and racially marginalized characters are no longer just background figures \u2014 they\u2019re often central to the story. But even as visibility increases, many of these characters remain stuck in shallow or stereotypical roles. This is what I call visibility burnout<\/strong>: the emotional and representational exhaustion that comes from being constantly visible but rarely supported with real narrative depth or power. It\u2019s the toll of being seen, but not truly cared for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Visibility is often treated as progress \u2014 a sign that society is moving forward. For many marginalized communities, being seen has been a powerful political demand. But as trans activist Miss Major puts it, \u201cThey see us, but they still don\u2019t care about us.\u201d Too often, media offers visibility without protection, agency, or care. Characters are placed in the spotlight, only to become symbols or emotional laborers for others. The spotlight can feel more like exposure than empowerment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A clear example is Eric Effiong from Netflix\u2019s Sex Education<\/em> (2019\u20132023). Eric is a vibrant, funny, emotionally intelligent Nigerian-British teen \u2014 a rare and refreshing presence. But despite his centrality, Eric spends much of the series supporting the emotional development of others, especially the show\u2019s white, straight protagonist, Otis. His own narrative is repeatedly sidelined. Even when Eric travels to Nigeria and finds moments of queer joy, these scenes are visually striking but narratively isolated \u2014 quickly forgotten and disconnected from the show\u2019s main arcs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Eric\u2019s story isn\u2019t unique. Across contemporary TV, we see marginalized characters who are colorful and meme-worthy, but underdeveloped. Their visibility often masks a lack of real care or investment. As philosopher Byung-Chul Han notes, our culture pressures individuals \u2014 especially those on the margins \u2014 to perform endlessly. The result is burnout: not just emotional fatigue, but representational depletion and disillusionment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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To move beyond visibility burnout, we need more than diverse casting. We need better stories \u2014 ones that give marginalized characters space to grow, rest, and be complex. We also need structural change behind the camera. Real representation means care, not just presence. Because being seen is not the same as being safe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the last decade, popular TV has become more diverse than ever. Queer, trans, and racially marginalized characters are no longer just background figures \u2014 they\u2019re often central to the story. But even as visibility increases, many of these characters remain stuck in shallow or stereotypical roles. This is what I call visibility burnout: the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rgsinpop.2025.cmoore.sites.carleton.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rgsinpop.2025.cmoore.sites.carleton.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rgsinpop.2025.cmoore.sites.carleton.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rgsinpop.2025.cmoore.sites.carleton.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rgsinpop.2025.cmoore.sites.carleton.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=357"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rgsinpop.2025.cmoore.sites.carleton.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":362,"href":"https:\/\/rgsinpop.2025.cmoore.sites.carleton.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357\/revisions\/362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rgsinpop.2025.cmoore.sites.carleton.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rgsinpop.2025.cmoore.sites.carleton.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rgsinpop.2025.cmoore.sites.carleton.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}