Hoping/Failing: Ruth
I was really struck by both the Femme Erasure and Cis Passing videos. Christine’s points about some of the problems in the first video is very well founded and researched. Even after reading them I was left with the feeling that some of what she was saying from her own experience has validity. She did fall into the trap of trying to bring incorrect statistics into a conversation about her experiences to back her self up. Part of what the video was getting at was that passing has disadvantages too, not necessarily that it is more difficult than presenting as lesbian.
As a person with high-functioning anxiety this is actually something I think about a lot. I am constantly told that I can’t be struggling as much inside because I look like I’m happy and doing well on the outside. Some days, I don’t want anyone to see how hard it is for me to participate, and some days, all I want is for someone to notice and make the effort so I don’t have to.
This was one of the things that I took from the Cis Passing video as well. He articulated that in some ways it is nice for him to pass, in fact he had really wanted to pass. He feels in some ways safer because of it as well. Despite that he felt like he lost out on being a part of the gay/lesbian community because he passes. I think that the cards that he was talking about are a really interesting middle path. They allow him to pass but also enlighten others that there is more to him than meets the eye.















