passing
Last updatedDefinition
Passing is a term that identifies someone as able to “pass,” or be perceived as a member of a dominant group. The term has historical resonance in racial and cultural contexts. In the context of gender and sexuality, femme-presenting lesbians and bisexual/pansexual women can pass for straight; masculine-presenting gay, bisexual, and pansexual men can pass for straight; and nonbinary and trans people with more conventional gender presentations can pass for cis. Passing is used as both a suffix (as in “straight-passing”) and by itself.
When writing about trans people, considering the history of the term, be mindful about assigning subjective value in the extent to which you believe that they pass. This includes language that, for example, describes the pitch of someone’s voice, their body shape, or body hair (unless you are quoting someone’s self-description). Before commenting on someone’s physical characteristics, consider how necessary and relevant it is to your content.
The ability to pass is often considered a privilege and offers safety and access to opportunities that people who can’t pass don’t have. Factors such as socioeconomic status and race can affect who is able to pass in certain contexts. However, a person’s ability to pass does not erase their identity, nor should the ability to pass be used to invalidate their gender or sexual orientation. The term can be used to suggest that certain people or groups “have it easy” because of their ability to pass. It is also used in an offensive way to accuse trans people of trying to “trick” people into believing they’re cisgender.
Additional resources
- The Myth of Bisexual (and “Straight-Passing”) Privilege (Medium)
- What Does “Passing” Mean Within the Transgender Community? (Huffington Post)
- Why Passing Is Both Central and Controversial to the Trans Community (Slate)
Summary
Passing is a term that identifies someone as able to “pass,” or be perceived as a member of a dominant group. In the context of gender and sexuality, this could mean, for one example, the ability of nonbinary and trans people with more conventional gender presentations to pass for cisgender. The ability to pass is often considered a privilege. It offers safety and access to opportunities that people who can’t pass don’t have. However, a person’s ability to pass does not erase their identity, nor should the ability to pass be used to invalidate their gender or sexual orientation.