Offenheit

A young woman makes an Instagram post about it the day after her partner suddenly dies. She presents her belly covered in stretch marks to thirty thousand people. She makes her mental illness public, even at the risk of being stigmatised. Jaqueline Scheiber opens a virtual window to her world every day. As minusgold, she touches people on Instagram with very personal, luminous, sometimes uncomfortable posts. This creates a space for others' experiences to interweave with her own to form a dense web of sympathy and support. But what is courageous for some is met with rejection by others. Jaqueline Scheiber reflects precisely why she believes it is essential to raise one's own voice and be heard. She describes the balancing act between publicity and privacy and provides evidence that "radical softness as a weapon" (Lora Mathis) is the basis for honest exchange, empathetic debate and real change.