Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore

If you grab this off the shelf expecting it to be about "Gender and Conformity" as linked terms, you may be disappointed. Although there are several contributions that address both gender and conformity, there are equally as many contributions that address these topics as separate issues. For instance, trying to pass as a person of color or passing on passing as part of a culture. This does not, in any way, take away from the intentions of the book. Gender and conformity need not be linked to prove true to the title that "Nobody Passes". This was a compelling read and I am now a fan of Mattilda, as well as several of the authors within this book, for life.… (meer)

This book really challenged my views on sexuality, sex, and radical feminist and queer thought. Theory, story, interview and case study blended together to create a coherent radical queer agenda against assimilation into the white supremacist capitalist patriarchy. The hot topics of the "gay rights" white gay male "movement" are Gay Marriage, Adoption, and the Right to Military Service. These all benefit the system more than they benefit queer liberation, so that even if you win, you lose.

One of the highlights of the book for me was the story of PISS, the campus movement to create gender-neutral and handicap accessable bathrooms. To have things as simple as being able to go to the bathroom be a serious complication with your body and identity is heartbreaking. It was inspiring to read about what I had previously thought of as disparate movements working together for a common goal and supporting one another.

Another highlight was the article stating that Gay Marriage is racist. Marriage is seen as the route to assimilation and acceptance from the hetero world. The interviewee made the case, however, that black families and mixed-race families often have the "foundation" of marriage. Black people have done the experiment of marrying for acceptance within the larger society, but the state sees them as "queer" (as in, part of the "other" that isn't white and wealthy). The state destroys their families by jailing the father, refusing welfare to the mother, and putting up children for adoption or foster care. Therefore, marriage is an ineffective route to acceptance, and even if it were effective, it would be selective acceptance based on race, as black people are systematically denied family and marriage.

After reading this book, I was embarassed that I put HRC stickers on my class binders in university to show that I was a queer ally.… (meer)