A term that accounts for the phenomenon of seeing as well as the forms of knowledge and power that circumscribe how, what, and why something is seen. In many ways, it parallels ideas of “voice” as a term that accounts for the phenomenon of voicing and listening as well as the forms of knowledge and power that circumscribe how, what, and why certain voices are heard. Like studies of voice, visibility also requires that attention be paid to technologies and politics of display [i.e. photography, the burden of representation, and visual spectacles]. In turn, the discourse of visibility seeps into discourses of the voice when we consider the voice as standing in for “political visibility” [that is, to have a voice is somehow equated with notions of being politically visible]. It is a term that has both been highly contested and of great import within the fields of performance, sound, and popular music studies, especially in discussions on racialized/gendered voices. See also: Michel Foucault, Laura Kang, Fred Moten, Richard Tagg.