Thoughts Regarding Passing

Saturday, September 9, 2006

The topic of "passing" has recieved a lot of attention amongst some of my support groups of late. "Passing", in the vernacular of the Transgender community, is the ability to present in the appropriate gender without detection.It has been my contention that those who are consumed with this issue do a disservice to themselves and to the community. I make the point that it lends itself to a sense of elitism and often has the same biases we, as a minority, have tried so hard to overcome. I still hold to this point of view when the motive for passing serves to contribute to a sense of shame, or embarrassment about being Transgender. Those who are TG and who prefer to NOT be seen with others who are TG are as guilty of discrimination as any other bigot.

After careful consideration and upon hearing some well founded arguments (figuratively speaking) from friends and acquaintances, however, I have a new perspective. For many, the necessity to pass is a safety concern. For others, it is a requiremsnt to remain gainfully employed. In the former situation, the ability to pass may provide protection against the victimization that accompanies discrimination and intolerance. Passing may keep someone from being attacked or from coming to harm because of a societal predilection to fear what we don't understand and to hate what we fear.

In the latter situation, we are only too familiar with the case of individuals losing their jobs upon the employer's discovery that they are transgender. In order to ensure that they can provide for themselves and for their families, it is not only prudent but critically important for them to be able to live in stealth, undetected.

As long as we live in a society that feels entitled to withold equal rights to all of its citizens, there will remain a need for certain individials to hide the fact that they are different...regardless of what that difference may be. Of course, this is not always possible. The witholding of civil rights, as they pertain to racial issues, is blatant and unmistakable. Civil rights, as they apply to the transgender world, signify an entirely new dimension...a new frontier, so to speak, and it will take a concerted effort by many to realize the changes we so desperately need.

In the meanwhile, those who can live without the necessity to hide, those who can fight for those rights openly, and without fear, must lead the struggle. Eventually, we hope to see the day when discrimination and bigotry, fear and hatred, have been subdued. If and when that day comes, we can dispense with the necessity to pass in order to keep a job or to remain safe.

trickster108