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Beyond the Binaries: Passing as Cisgender in Middlesex, Trumpet, and Redefining Realness

Weiss, Hillary, Weiss
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1463410881

Abstract Details

2016, Master of Arts (MA), Bowling Green State University, English/Literature.
Today, the concept of passing for trans* individuals is often reduced down to a good/bad dichotomy. Passing can be used for safety and can reaffirm a trans* individuals' identity. However, passing can be seen as deceptive or hiding one's true identity. The history of passing contributes to this supposed deception: since passing as a different race or sexual orientation signifies a performance, some believe passing for trans* individuals means passing as a man or woman. Because of this assumption, I use the phrase "passing as cisgender" to challenge the idea that a cis person is real and a trans* person is unreal. Using Judith Butler's notion of gender performativity as a basis, this project attempts to break down the concept of a real gender by examining trans* characters who can pass as cisgender. I analyze three different texts--Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex, Jackie Kay's Trumpet, and Janet Mock's Redefining Realness--and their trans* character's relation to passing as cisgender. In the first chapter, I refute the typical analyses of Middlesex and explain how Cal uses passing as cis as a strategy for obtaining agency. In the second chapter, I examine how the "double narrative" of passing provides Joss Moody with an alternative narrative, but the medical and legal communities within Trumpet attempt to rewrite this alternative narrative. In the final chapter, I argue that Janet Mock, who can pass as cisgender, chooses not to pass as cis and shares her story. This provides an alternative to passing, even though this is only available for a small group of trans* individuals. All of these chapters reveal that passing is much more complex than its standard notions.
Kimberly Coates (Advisor)
Bill Albertini (Committee Member)
80 p.
American Literature; Gender; Gender Studies; Glbt Studies; Literature; Philosophy; Womens Studies
passing; passing as cisgender; transgender; trans; agency; queer theory; real; realness; gender; gender performativity; Judith Butler; Middlesex; Trumpet; Redefining Realness; Jeffrey Eugenides; Jackie Kay; Janet Mock

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Weiss, Weiss, H. (2016). Beyond the Binaries: Passing as Cisgender in Middlesex, Trumpet, and Redefining Realness [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1463410881

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Weiss, Weiss, Hillary. Beyond the Binaries: Passing as Cisgender in Middlesex, Trumpet, and Redefining Realness. 2016. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1463410881.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Weiss, Weiss, Hillary. "Beyond the Binaries: Passing as Cisgender in Middlesex, Trumpet, and Redefining Realness." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1463410881

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1463410881
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© 2016, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.