Customer Reviews

Passing: When People Can't Be Who They Are

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

Even though this book didn't come when I had expected it to it was in great condition when I received it, so I am content with that.

Not much of interest in the book but it was a requirement for a class. But has interesting stories of people who have been passing to be accepted in their community and has a lot of history to show why they felt they had to pass.

I am very happy to have purchased this book at such a low cost and the book that I received was in great condition. But the only thing was that the edition/cover art of the was completely different. It was the same story though. Thanks :)