Nobody Passes: Rejecting the Rules of Gender and Conformity edited by Mattilda a.k.a. Matt Bernstein Sycamore

Holy shit, this book is so good I'm sorry I've read it all. In taking on the concept of passing, Mattilda and her contributors have laid out a wide range of identities and experiences to illustrate the hoops we all need to jump through in order to fit in. LGBT issues are only part of the story - the essays in here ask questions such as: what can you do to be read as an incest survivor if you can walk with your head held high and your shoulders back? If you're an Asian femme and you walk into a gay bar, what are the chances you won't be seen as straight, lost, and unable to speak English? How does the modern-day domestic violence movement disadvantage poor and ethnic minority women? If you wear a yarmulke why do non-religious people assume the right to pass judgement on how observant you are? How does the war on terror impact on Bangladeshi pilots and transgender passengers? And what's with the mainstreaming of genderqueer? Nobody Passes is an inspiring, innovative anthology compiled by one of the most exciting activists on the scene today, and I'm already hoping for an extended second edition. [Nine]