The Social Process of Passing to Manage Stigma: Acts of Internalized Oppression or Acts of Resistance?

In order to manage social stigma, some individuals construct and enact a social interaction strategy known as passing, which is a performance in which one presents himself as what one is not (Rohy, 1996). Based on interviews with lesbians and gay men of color, this article suggests that the process of passing is not based upon a rejection of stigmatized identity, but situationally employed to resist social oppression