UPDATE: The Ethics of Passing (1/10/07; SGES, 2/15/07-2/17/07)
The Ethics of Passing
The concept of "passing" is not new to the American landscape. While racial/ethnic passing may be the most widely recognized form of passing, recent acceptance of queer and transgender studies reveals passing as more than a matter of skin color. The most general question, what are the ethics involved and undermined in participating in passing, opens the door to many other questions surrounding this issue. Does the actor always have control over her/his own ability to pass? What does it mean that someone can be passed without desiring such recognition? What kind of responsibility is involved in revealing ethnic, sexual, or gender "authenticity" if even the notion of the authentic has become problematic?