Nobody Passes

A great read for gaining a little bit of insight into so many different perspectives. Each story is unique and incredibly thought-provoking. Not for the faint of heart but really, for every heart.

A reminder of the diversity of human experience and the day-to-day struggles of non-conformists against a binary expectations of society. Whether it's gender, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, expression, or any number of combinations, this collection of stories is startling proof of our diversity. While it's a reaction against patriarchy, white supremacy, and the heteronormative expectations of society at large, it also exposes the difficulties inherent in trying to eliminate categories altogether and reject the concept of "passing."

Good reading on a wide range of identity related topics. Some of the essays seem to go a little long and repetitive, but overall, a very good read. You may not find yourself agreeing with every conclusion drawn in each essay, but they are certainly thought provoking and engaging.

If you think you have problems , read this book and you may change Y our X mind also. I have not read it ear to ear but that does not mean that it did not blow to hell some of my challenges and or"problem people" like shit , it gave me more compassion in fact for my own as well

PLESE READ THIS BOOK!!!!!So many great, eye opening stories! Educational, emotional, relatable!

Many months have gone by since the publication of this handsome and groundbreaking anthology, and is is time to declare it a true classic, having passed the test of time, the test truly exacting, the test that makes sense. The articles are still as timely and fresh as the day they were written. On the topic of passing, Mattilda (a/k/a Matt Bernstein Sycamore) is often eloquent, while stretching the topic into unexpected places to such a degree that the often elastic word comes to have little or no connection with the activity it once used to denote. In a way, this book is a more progressive and activist sequel to Brooke Kroeger's standard-bearing study PASSING: WHEN PEOPLE CAN"T BE WHO THEY ARE. "Passing"---the search to be what you're not---has gotten a bad press over the years, and Kroeger's book was one of the first to make us challenge our assumptions regarding this taboo topic.In a similar vein, Mattilda assembles a cross section of profiles of young contemporary Americans, supplementing extensive interviews with expert comment. In the background of NOBODY PASSES we experience, as though a shadow had crossed the sun, the tragic tales of "passing" as that of Brandon Teena, the drifter whose murder became the basis for the film "Boys Don't Cry." Mattilda's book urges to ask the question, Aren't we all "passing" in one way or another? She musters scholarly and theoretical sources to support her speculations on identity and authenticity, and even dares to ask, why are we doing this? What market are we being offered up to satisfy?Why is eros shaped the way it is? Why do some pass the test (the other test, not the test of time) and others fail, condemned into a limbo of "quirky" and deprived of the rights accorded other citizens with more money. Gender reassignment is just one way in which the staus quo is seized with a desire to smooth every bump away. Other prejudices must be battled daily. Some of the writers aren't as skilled as others, but that's just a fact of life and it doesn't mean they don't have fascinating things to say. "We're jaded, shaded, judged every day by everyone else's eyes, given pass or fail," writes Jen Cross, "a glance over, an examination." Unlearning oneself may be the only way out, that, and organized mass action. Your identity may not be the same as mine, but you will learn to respect mine, and your own, after you read through the challenging and controversial essays in this book.

Good. Thank you.

Essentially, it is about the way the experiences of minority [gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity class] intersect with the larger world and each other, and break down the clear-cut narratives.It was increadibly rewarding.

An amazing and thoughtful anthology. I love how diverse the contributions are. Passing is not only explored through the lens of gender but also disability, race and so on. I really recommend it.

The clue is in the title: through a series of different writers this book demonstrates how we're all trying to pass in different situations, attempting to perform our roles in life whether through gender, race, class or whatever, and this is a great compilation of life experiences and an interesting journey through the development of people's sense of identity. Highly reccomended to the open minded :)

Many insightful essays. Demonstrates an awareness of intersecting axes of oppression. Pro femme, pro trans*, and anti-racist. Pleased to have had chance to read it.

After a while all the essays started to feel very similar. Obviously about different types of identity, but all were of personal experience, anecdotal, with little analysis of the wider context. It felt more like raw material for an anthology, and I think would have benefitted from more rigorous editing. Underlying them all, implicitly, at least in part is the concept of stigma. For a more academic treatment Goffman's "Stigma" is well worth a read.

While presumably ground-breaking on publication, Nobody Passes is way too dated to read comfortably in 2020. The dated transmisogyny in the first essay alone was cringe worthy.