Passing

This article deals with the external perception of a social identity. For information on passing with regard to gender identity, see Passing (gender) .

Under Passing [ pɑːsɪŋ ] (of English to pass for or to pass as "as ... go through," "to be ... spend") refers to the sociological phenomenon that the social identity of a person - such as gender , class , race / ethnicity , sexual orientation or a physical disability  - is not recognized by outsiders and the person is therefore not subject to the social expectations, norms and rights associated with this identity. Classically, one speaks of successful passing when a black person with very light skin is taken for a white person and treated accordingly. In the USA in particular , this phenomenon is an issue both in everyday life and in research.

The ethical evaluation of passing and the associated subjective gain in social prestige can be very different: on the one hand, it can be interpreted as successful integration , on the other hand, especially by representatives of minority rights, as political opportunism , since the "passing" does not mean the elimination of social differences and discrimination is oriented, but benefits from such differences. At the same time, however, it can be interpreted by the group whose identity the Passer assumes as a violation of a natural order and the use of advantages that are not due to the person concerned, and arouse corresponding hostility.

The "passing novel"

The phenomenon of passing finds a strong echo in American literature ; in the meantime, a genre of its own , the so-called passing novel, has been postulated. A well-known example is Philip Roth's The Human Blemish (2000).

The earliest known example of a 'passing novel' is the French novel Marie; ou, L'Esclavage aux États-Unis (1835) by Gustave de Beaumont . The first American authors to take up the subject are William Wells Brown with Clotel; or, The President's Daughter: A Narrative of Slave Life in the United States (1853) and The Garies and Their Friends (1857), by Frank J. Webb . William Wells Brown himself was a former slave of African American descent who became a recognized writer with his autobiography Narrative of William Wells Brown, a Fugitive Slave (1847). It is common to all novels of the 19th century that they describe the phenomenon of passing as consistently positive and without any ambivalence ; they see themselves as the successful realization of the American dream .

This changed in the 20th century, for example with Nella Larsen and her novel Passing (1929), which probably influenced the proverbial use of the term, and Jessie Redmon Fauset's Plum Bun from the same year. Fannie Hurst's novel Imitation of Life (1933) was lavishly filmed by Universal Pictures just a year after it was published . Here the political-emancipatory context and the ambivalence of passing itself are clearly accentuated.

More recently, the focus of the subject has shifted away from novels and towards non-fiction books : Examples are Shirlee Taylor Haizlip's The Sweeter the Juice: A Family Memoir in Black and White , Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black by Gregory Howard Williams and Love on Trial: An American Scandal in Black and White by Earl Lewis and Heidi Ardizzone . Black Like Me is journalist John Howard Griffin's account of his experience as a white man who was treated as black in the late 1950s because of his darker skin. In his essay White Like Me , Henry Louis Gates addressed the literary critic Anatole Broyard's passing .

Case studies

The one-drop rule (Virginia 1924), which was only introduced by law in the 20th century, immediately categorized people of mixed origins as blacks. In Louisiana , however, people of color who could pass as white were referred to as passe blanc . Civil rights activist Walter Francis White had mostly white ancestors, but identified himself with the black community. Rachel Dolezal , the daughter of white parents, established herself as the president of the local division of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and instructor ( instructor ) for African studies at Eastern Washington University and as a member of the Police Ombudsman Commission Spokane , Washington, hardly inhabited by African Americans . In June 2015, there was a lot of media attention after her parents publicly stated that their daughter Rachel was not at all African American . The case is considered a paradigm of passing. Conversely, when dealing with whiteness, its often subsequent construction is discussed. Indians are also popular as role models. The environmentalist Gray Owl posed as an Indian, the actor Iron Eyes Cody , as an American of Sicilian origin, played many Indian roles, authors such as Asa Earl Carter , Ward Churchill , Jamake Highwater and Yeffe Kimball also presented themselves as at least partially Indians, who are also claimed Senator Elizabeth Warren Native American Ancestors and Heritage.

literature

• Aischa Ahmed: "Well, somehow you saw that". Passing in Germany - Reflections on Representation and Difference . In: Maureen Maisha Eggers, Grada Kilomba, Peggy Piesche, Susan Arndt (eds.): Myths, masks and subjects. Critical whiteness research in Germany . Unrast Verlag, Münster 2005, ISBN 3-89771-440-X (review h-soz-kult hsozkult.geschichte.hu-berlin.de )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Aischa Ahmed: "Well, somehow you saw it". Passing in Germany - Reflections on Representation and Difference . 2005
2. ^ ^{A b} Daniel Victor: NAACP Leader Rachel Dolezal Posed as Black, Parents Say. In: New York Times. June 12, 2015, accessed June 12, 2015 . 
3. ↑ Polly Mosendz: Family Accuses NAACP Leader Rachel Dolezal of Falsely Portraying Herself as Black. In: Newsweek. June 12, 2015, accessed June 12, 2015 . 
4. ↑ Jessica Elgot: Civil rights activist Rachel Dolezal misrepresented herself as black, claim parents. In: The Guardian. June 12, 2015, accessed June 12, 2015 . 
5. ↑ Rachel Dolezal: “False Blacks” fascinates the USA . In: sueddeutsche.de . June 13, 2015, ISSN  0174-4917 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed June 14, 2015]).
6. ↑ Maggie Nolan, Carrie Dawson (Eds.): Who's Who? Hoaxes, Imposture and Identity Crises in Australian Literature . University of Queensland Press, St. Lucia 2004, ISBN 978-0-7022-3523-8 , pp. 16-17.
7. ↑ Josh Hicks: Did Elizabeth Warren check the Native American box when she 'applied' to Harvard and Penn? . In: The Washington Post . September 28, 2012. Accessed June 14, 2015.