Passing and the Costs and Benefits of Appropriating Blackness

Abstract

The socioeconomic position of Blacks in America cannot be fully contextualized without considering the marginalization of their racialized social identities as minorities who have historically combated subjugation and oppression with respect to income, employment, homeownership, education, and political representation. It is not difficult to understand why the historical reference to “passing” primarily has been associated with Blacks who were able to—and many who did—claim to be White to secure the social, educational, political, and economic benefits that were reserved for Whites. Therefore, the majority of passing narratives have focused on Black to White passing. This article departs from the tradition in the literature by considering appropriation of various aspects of Black culture and White to Black passing. We evaluate the socioeconomic costs and benefits of being Black and inequalities in citizenship status between Blacks and Whites. Furthermore, we examine the socioeconomic and political capital of Blackness versus Whiteness in an attempt to explore the rationality of passing for Black.

Renaming Practices: An Autoethnography of South Asian Names, Identity, and Belonging

“…(Ginsberg, 1996, p. 2). It was used to describe how racial boundaries were crossed to escape oppression (Broady et al, 2018). Considering America's history of slavery and racial segregation, it is not surprising that passing has been primarily associated with Black people who had the ability to claim whiteness.…”

“…Considering America's history of slavery and racial segregation, it is not surprising that passing has been primarily associated with Black people who had the ability to claim whiteness. Although passing could be used in my research to describe how I used my appearance and names to alter how I was perceived to gain benefits of whiteness, much of the literature and discussions on passing focuses on Black to white passing as a means of survival and escaping oppression (Broady et al, 2018). I instead focus on racial ambiguity because of the differential racialization of South Asians throughout history and how this has been used by myself to make claims to whiteness (Harpalani, 2013).…”

Renaming Practices: An Autoethnography of South Asian Names, Identity, and Belonging

“…(Ginsberg, 1996, p. 2). It was used to describe how racial boundaries were crossed to escape oppression (Broady et al, 2018). Considering America's history of slavery and racial segregation, it is not surprising that passing has been primarily associated with Black people who had the ability to claim whiteness.…”

“…Considering America's history of slavery and racial segregation, it is not surprising that passing has been primarily associated with Black people who had the ability to claim whiteness. Although passing could be used in my research to describe how I used my appearance and names to alter how I was perceived to gain benefits of whiteness, much of the literature and discussions on passing focuses on Black to white passing as a means of survival and escaping oppression (Broady et al, 2018). I instead focus on racial ambiguity because of the differential racialization of South Asians throughout history and how this has been used by myself to make claims to whiteness (Harpalani, 2013).…”