Passing

Passing is the ability of a person to be regarded as a member of an identity group or category, such as racial identity, ethnicity, caste, social class, sexual orientation, gender, religion, age and/or disability status, that is often different from their own. “Passing” can refer to a few different things within queer communities. Generally speaking, it means being perceived by people, and mainstream society as cisgender and/or heterosexual. There are a lot of different reasons why some people want to pass as cisgender. Passing is not inherently good or bad. It can be an affirming experience for some people, and a stressful, negative source of pressure for others.

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