Selective Disclosure

A strategy where a person carefully controls which aspects of their identity they reveal to different stakeholders, choosing to disclose some identities while obscuring others based on anticipated consequences. In disability and accessibility contexts, selective disclosure is used to navigate hostile environments where full disclosure of one's disability, health conditions, or other marginalized identities could result in discrimination, denial of services, or other harms. While it can enable safer interactions, it comes at the cost of not being able to fully communicate relevant information about one's needs.