Passing: When People Can't Be Who They Are [Hardcover]

Brooke Kroeger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 2003

Through the provocative stories of six contemporary "passers," and examples from history and literature, a renowned journalist illuminates passing as a strategy for bypassing prejudice and injustice. Despite the many social changes of the last half-century, many Americans still "pass": black for white, gay for straight, and now in many new ways as well. We tend to think of passing in negative terms -as deceitful, cowardly, a betrayal of one's self. But this compassionate book reveals that many passers today are people of good heart and purpose whose decision to pass is an attempt to bypass injustice, and to be more truly themselves. Passing tells the poignant, complicated life stories of a black man who passed as a white Jew; a white woman who passed for black; a working class Puerto Rican who passes for privileged; a gay, Conservative Jewish seminarian and a lesbian naval officer who passed for straight; and a respected poet who radically shifts persona to write about rock 'n 'roll. The stories, interwoven with others from history, literature, and contemporary life, explore the many forms passing still takes in our culture; the social realities which make it an option; and its logistical, emotional, and moral consequences. We learn that there are still too many institutions, environments, and social situations that force honorable people to twist their lives into painful, deceit-ridden contortions for reasons that do not hold. Passing is an intellectually absorbing exploration of a phenomenon that has long intrigued scholars, inspired novelists, and made hits of movies like The Crying Game and Boys Don't Cry .

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Biographer Kroeger, whose lives of reporter Nellie Bly (1994) and novelist Fannie Hurst (1999) were well received, now extends Hurst's Imitation of Life subplot on "passing" into luminous sociological research. Passing-the search to be what you're not-has gotten a bad reputation over the years, and Kroeger's aim is to challenge readers' assumptions regarding this still-taboo topic. To this end she assembles six profiles of young contemporary Americans, mixing extensive interviews with expert comment from psychologists and ethicists, with reference to such tragic tales of "passing" as that of Brandon Teena, the drifter whose murder became the basis for the film Boys Don't Cry. Among Kroeger's portraits: a half-Jewish man suppresses the black heritage of his father; a Puerto Rican student becomes an Orthodox Jew; a gay man denies his growing homosexuality to obtain a rabbinical certification, while a career navy officer hides in the closet unwilling in the age of "Don't ask, don't tell" either to ask or tell. Some of the stories are genuinely moving, some amusing, and Kroeger explicates the dilemmas with a fine understanding of the difficulties of modern life. A male rock critic with a female-sounding pseudonym lies to his cross-country editors about his gender, then gets to keep his job anyhow, as all involved come to realize the extent to which everyone "passes" in one way or another. Kroeger skillfully musters scholarly and theoretical sources to support her speculations on identity and authenticity, and even casts an eye back to the original Passing, Nella Larsen's 1929 Harlem Renaissance masterpiece. "Who says I am obliged," asks Kroeger, "to be what you think I am? Or what I think you think I am? Or even what I think I am but sincerely wish I weren't?" Kroeger's study is quirky and provocative, and doesn't settle for answers where none can be found.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The term passing is most often thought of as racial minorities passing for white to receive the privileges denied them due to race. But Kroeger plumbs the varieties and complexities of passing across racial, sexual, and economic lines. She offers profiles of a black man who passed for a white Jew; a working-class Puerto Rican woman who became an Orthodox Jew and passed for privileged; a gay man at a conservative Jewish seminary passing for straight; a lesbian naval officer who passed for straight; and a respected poet who, on a lark, adopts a difference persona and ends up writing pseudonymously about the rock-and-roll music scene. Kroeger intersperses these profiles with references in history, literature, psychology, and contemporary culture that explore the dynamics of passing--the lies and deception involved as well as the separation from community and family. She also explores the parallels between civil disobedience and passing, which, although it is a self-centered act, allows the passer to secure opportunities in the present rather than waiting for social change. An engaging look at how certain people choose to deal with social inequities. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: PublicAffairs (September 16, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1891620991
• ISBN-13: 978-1891620997
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #534,448 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Challenges us to think about the issues, January 14, 2004

By 

Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Passing: When People Can't Be Who They Are (Hardcover)

I gave Passing four stars, because of the high quality of the author's writing -- no surprise, she's a journalist -- and because the topic has rarely been explored.

Passing recounts stories of individuals who chose to present themselves to others in a way that can best be described as "problematic." David, for instance, has an African-American father and a white, Jewish mother. Until his mid-twenties, David presented himself to others as a white Jew.

A gay woman presented herself as straight while serving in the Navy, and a gay man presented himself as straight while studying to be a Conservative rabbi. A Hispanic woman converted to Orthodox Judaism but had trouble getting accepted by the Jewish community. A white woman unexpectedly was mistaken for African-American and she wasn't sure how to clarify the confusion. A young male poet wrote under a female pseudonym.

Kroeger focuses on philosophical and ethical aspects of passing, rather than the psychological. She accepts the right of others to judge and at times she seems to be judging her own subjects.

On page 32, for instance, Kroeger states directly that identity is "not a matter of choice." On page 33, the author suggests, "We migh see" David's actions as those a "young black man willfully engaged in an insult to his black heritage." Or, says the author, we might be "amused" by his "tenuous Jewish connection."

First, if David feels closer to his Jewish friends than his "black heritage," who are we to judge? Was he insulting his heritage or just being a friend-seeking adolescent?

And David's Jewish connection is hardly tenuous. When Madeline Albright's Jewish parentage was made known, media and religious leaders urged her to embrace her roots, although her cultural connection to Judaism was even weaker than David's. As Kroeger notes, David's mother was Jewish -- a fact that should establishes his identity strongly, not tenuously.

Passing suffers from the author's decision to focus on philosophical and ethical issues rather than psychological and sociological perspectives. Psychologically, Hazel Markus writes of possible selves -- a perfect framework to study these cases. Other psychologists have studied betrayal. What identity constructions lead to one's friends and family experiencing betrayal? Are some identity constructions more difficult to accept, e.g., pseudonym as compared to sexual or religious identity?

And are all these stories really about one phenomenon? A gay woman who denies her sexuality (under duress) to keep a job she loves, seems to differ in important ways from someone who has to deal with inaccurate perceptions of her race or someone who feels like a swan who was dropped into a duck's nest by mistake. The "Jane" case, a woman using a male pseudonym, doesn't seem to belong at all: the practice isn't that infrequent, and "Jane's" editor rightly wasn't at all concerned. The "Virginia" teacher who was mistaken for black seems to have identity management rather than "passing" challenges.

Kroeger recognizes that a need for passing can be based on outdated rules, e.g., gays passing for straight in the mlitary. But why does anyone have to "pass" at all? Why do we fail to respect those who are born into one culture but feel drawn to another, when we recognize that a man may really belong in a woman's body? Biology can interact with environment to create temperament and disposition. So why can't we accept that the Hispanic woman feels a closer affinity with Judaism than with another heritage?

As the 2004 presidential primaries begin, many writers criticize candidates who choose to keep their early lives private. This book forces us to ask tough questions about presentation of identity that will become increasingly relevant as people explore their options at different stages of their lives, in or out of public office.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A sensitive and profound look at identity's complexities, October 3, 2003

By 

Arlen N. Weinstein (Silver Spring, MD USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Passing: When People Can't Be Who They Are (Hardcover)

Kroeger has written a piece that allows us to witness deception as a virtue in certain circumstances. When the zeitgeist tyrannizes isn't the most virtuous path subversion? In many of these cases, that is the conclusion to which the "passer" comes.
It is a book where "sophisticated" and "page turner" belong in the same sentence. Read it!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Why people pass for other than what they are, February 7, 2004

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Passing: When People Can't Be Who They Are (Hardcover)

It may surprise readers to learn that many Americans today still 'pass: black for white, and in new ways. Passing is viewed as negative, but Brooke Kroeger's Passing reveals the underlying reasons why people pass for other than what they are, using the lives of six present-day 'passers' to reveal these motives and experiences.