We wear the mask : 15 true stories of passing in America

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Title:

We wear the mask : 15 true stories of passing in America

Author:

Skyhorse, Brando, editor.

ISBN:

9780807078983

Physical Description:

xii, 204 pages ; 22 cm

General Note:

Source of cataloging data: WCP

Abstract:

"For some, "passing" means opportunity, access, or safety. Others don't willfully pass but are "passed" in specific situations by someone else. We Wear the Mask, edited by authors Brando Skyhorse and Lisa Page, is an illuminating and timely anthology of original essays that examines the complex reality of passing in America."-- Publisher.

Contents:

College application essay #2 / Secret lives / The inscrutable Alexander Fitten / Letter to the lady who mistook me for the help at the National Book Awards{u2014} or some meditations on style / Passing / Which lie did I tell? / Negroland / Slipping into darkness / Among the heterosexuals / On historical passing and erasure / Stepping on a star / Class acts : ways to be something you’re not / Jewess in wool clothing / Passing ambition / Terror and passing / Notes on contributors -- Acknowledgments.

Subject Term:

Ethnicity -- United States.

Passing (Identity) -- United States.

Added Author:

Skyhorse, Brando,

Page, Lisa Frazier

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Library	Material Type	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
Searching... Sugar Grove - Todd Library	Book	E184 .A1 W327 2017	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

Why do people pass? Fifteen writers reveal their experiences with passing.

For some, "passing" means opportunity, access, or safety. Others don't willingly pass but are "passed" in specific situations by someone else. We Wear the Mask , edited by Brando Skyhorse and Lisa Page , is an illuminating and timely anthology that examines the complex reality of passing in America.

Skyhorse, a Mexican American, writes about how his mother passed him as an American Indian before he learned who he really is. Page shares how her white mother didn't tell friends about her black ex-husband or that her children were, in fact, biracial.

The anthology includes writing from Gabrielle Bellot , who shares the disquieting truths of passing as a woman after coming out as trans, and MG Lord , who, after the murder of her female lover, embraced heterosexuality. Patrick Rosal writes of how he "accidentally" passes as a waiter at the National Book Awards ceremony, and Rafia Zakaria agonizes over her Muslim American identity while traveling through domestic and international airports. Other writers include Trey Ellis , Marc Fitten , Susan Golomb , Margo Jefferson, Achy Obejas , Clarence Page , Sergio Troncoso , Dolen Perkins-Valdez , and Teresa Wiltz .

Reviews (2)

Kirkus Review

Writers explore how and why the phenomenon of "passing" both shocks and fascinates.Skyhorse (English/Indiana Univ.; Take This Man, 2014, etc.) and Page (Creative Writing and English/George Washington Univ.) assemble a collection of 15 authentic narratives about how people attempt to "win access to the specific life they want, the ultimate form of assimilation, the pure embodiment of the American Dream," by assuming to be a class or race they are inherently not. Both of the editors know this particular form of "reinvention" well and contribute their perspectives in highly personal essays. Skyhorse, who received his name from his mother "after my Mexican biological father abandoned us," opens with reflections on how he, as a Mexican-American with the surname Ulloa, passed himself as an American Indian on his college applications. Page chronicles how her black great-grandmother passed for white in Mississippi in order to get a college education. The editors agree that "each of us sometimes employs misdirection to let someone jump to a different conclusion about who we are." Racial passing also plays a key role in Achy Obejas' tender recollection of how her Cuban-born father reinvented his "Third World soul" to create a better future for his family in America and in Marc Fitten's excavation of his familial roots as an urgent preventative tool against diseases predisposed to Asian culture, which his great-grandfather went to great lengths to blur. Class-crossing comes into play in poet Patrick Rosal's address to a woman who mistook him for a waiter at the National Book Awards. Sexuality passing became tantamount when M.G. Lord suppressed her lesbian leanings in favor of "appropriate feelings towards men" while at Yale, until she fell in love with a woman. In presenting these insightful, provocative life experiences, the editors give inquisitive readers (some of whom may be passing themselves) nutritious food for thought. Other contributors include Margo Jefferson, Susan Golomb, and Sergio Troncoso. Sharply drawn reflections on identity fluidity, stereotypes, marginalization, and cultural assumption. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Library Journal Review

The act of passing, and its many permutations, is the subject of 15 superb essays in this collection edited by Skyhorse (English, Indiana Univ.; Take This Man: A Memoir) and Page (English, George Washington Univ.). Beginning with Skyhorse's description of his experiences passing as Native American at the insistence of his mother, contributors explore the circumstances-some intentional, others accidental-that led them to pass as a member of another race, religion, sexuality, or class. The authors come to various conclusions about the nature of the act of passing, as well as its impact upon the individual and society as a whole. Contributor Marc Fitten discusses the decontextualization inherent to passing, while Clarence Page recognizes class passing as something akin to an American tradition. There is value to be found in each essay, but particular highlights include author Rafia Zakaria's description of the acts of passing required to get through airport security as a Muslim American, while writer Gabrielle Bellot, in a beautiful essay about passing as a cisgender woman, emphasizes how transgender individuals use passing as a means to be recognized as their true, authentic selves. VERDICT Highly recommended for readers interested in American sociological issues and current events.-Sara Shreve, Newton, KS © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Brando SkyhorseAchy ObejasMarc FittenPatrick RosalTeresa WiltzTrey EllisMargo JeffersonLisa PageM. G. LordDolen Perkins-ValdezGabrielle BellotClarence PageSusan GolombSergio TroncosoRafia Zakaria

Editors' Note	p. ix
College Application Essay #2	p. 1
Secret Lives	p. 22
The Inscrutable Alexander Fitten	p. 37
Letter to the Lady Who Mistook Me for the Help at the National Book Awards-or Some Meditations on Style	p. 52
Passing	p. 63
Which Lie Did I Tell?	p. 77
Negroland	p. 92
Slipping into Darkness	p. 97
Among the Heterosexuals	p. 109
On Historical Passing and Erasure	p. 122
Stepping on a Star	p. 129
Class Acts: Ways to Be Something You're Not	p. 151
Jewess in Wool Clothing	p. 168
Passing Ambition	p. 175
Terror and Passing	p. 189
Notes on Contributors	p. 199
Acknowledgments	p. 203

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Summary

Summary

Reviews (2)

Kirkus Review

Library Journal Review

Table of Contents