Passing (gender)
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Passing, in regards to gender identity, refers to the ability of an individual to be successfully accepted by others as belonging to a gender opposite to that of their birth. Typically, passing involves a mixture of physical gender cues (e.g. hair style or clothing) as well as certain behavioral attributes that tend to be culturally associated with a particular gender.
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[edit] History
Historically, there have been circumstances wherein people have impersonated the opposite gender for reasons other than gender identity. In both the American Revolutionary War and the American Civil War there are numerous reports of women who disguised themselves as men in order to serve their country. For notable cases of women who adopted a male persona in order to become soldiers, reference may be made to the lives of Mary Anne Talbot and Hannah Snell.
[edit] Who does it
In modern times the endeavor of trying to pass is most often practiced by transvestites and transsexuals. Because most performers, drag queens, and drag kings are often open about their natal sex and are not actually trying to appear to be the opposite gender, they are not typically referred to as passing, even though some may be able to do so. Similarly, while most cross-dressers and transvestites who venture out into public areas do try to pass, unlike transsexuals, they do not (usually) undergo any permanent physical alterations or attempt to live full-time as their adopted sex in order to make passing easier.
Conversely, almost all transsexuals will attempt to live and work as their preferred gender and be fully accepted as that gender rather than their natal sex. Therefore, passing is not just an option but is seen as a necessity. The majority who have undergone gender reassignment surgery or who are past the transition stage do not usually refer to themselves as passing, since they now consider themselves to actually be that gender. Those who are completely accepted after transition often choose not to disclose their natal sex and instead live in Stealth, a term used because they are so completely invisible within the population of their current gender.
Transgender people who do not describe themselves as either cross dressers, transvestites, or transsexuals may have different attitudes towards passing. For example, they might not try to pass at all, they may send consciously mixed signals, or they might be able to pass but do not hide the fact that they are transgender. Personal views on passing and the desire or need to pass are independent of whether an individual has had medical treatment or has legally changed their gender.
In the transgender community, those that cannot pass may sometimes view those that pass with jealousy. Because of this, there may be a tendency for some of those who pass to avoid those that are easily read. There is the perception among many that when one person is read, anyone with that person will be assumed to be transgender by association. This is one reason why people living in Stealth rarely if ever associate with other transgender people.
[edit] Read
The failure to pass as the desired gender is referred to as being Read. In this context, read is used as a Verb.
The event of being read is known as "a read". In this context, read is used as a Noun.
[edit] Who reads transgendered people?
People of the same Race are far more likely to read another of their own race but less likely to read someone of a different race. It is generally accepted that this is because gender cues within one's own race are more readily recognised than gender cues of other races.
Depending upon a person's presentation, anybody may read them. What is more important than whether a person is read or not is how others react if they do read that person. It is suggested by some researchers that many transgendered people who believe that they are passing are in fact being read by many observers, but the observers do nothing confrontational and hence the transgendered person is not even aware that they were read.<ref>Jennifer Anne Stevens. From Masculine to Feminine and All Points in Between, Different Path Press, 1990. ISBN 0-9626262-0-1</ref>
[edit] References
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[edit] See also
