
Passing
When People Can't Be Who They Are
Brooke Kroeger(Author)
PublicAffairs,U.S. (Publisher)
Published on 1. December 2004
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-1-58648-287-9 (ISBN)
Description
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.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
415 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-58648-287-9 (9781586482879)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Person
Brooke Kroeger wrote the biographies, Nellie Bly: Daredevil, Reporter, Feminist, and Fannie: The Talent for Success of Writer Fannie Hurst, and is an associate professor of journalism at New York University. A former foreign correspondent and editor, she has written widely for newspapers and magazines. She lives in Manhattan.
