A speaker explains why online communities need visual imagery that reflects underrepresented identities. Sonia, a 48-year-old conference attendee, felt invisible when all speakers were under 30, revealing how ageism in digital spaces pushes people out when they don't see themselves represented.
Chapters
We think about people of color or even just anybody from an identity that's historically underrepresented. Think about the importance of visual imagery. People need to see themselves or who they aspire to be reflected in the visual imagery that you put forth. I was a speaker at a conference a couple of years ago. I always laugh at this because I'm like, is she, what is she saying? Right? She was saying, like, man, the content of this conference is a virtual conference. It was fantastic. I loved it. But you know what? Until Sonia came and she said, I felt invisible. Why is everybody who was a speaker here under the age of 30? And so she's like, ageism is real, like, especially in the digital world. So I don't know, she was maybe like 48, right? And so, but she felt invisible because she didn't see people who looked like her, Right.