page_title: Passing (gender)
section_title: Passing/not passing
hierarchical_section_title: Passing (gender) / Terminology / Passing/not passing
caption_attribution_description: English: Crossdresser from UK in black, ball gown with tight corset. Wearing beige tights and red high heels. The face is covered with a strong make-up. Deutsch: Crossdresser aus Großbritannien in schwarz, Ballkleid mit engem Korsett. Beige Strumpfhose und rote High Heels tragen. Das Gesicht ist mit einem starken Make-up bedeckt. Čeština: Crossdresser z UK v černé, kuličkové šaty s pevným korzet. Má béžové punčocháče a červené podpatky. Jeho tvář je pokryta silným make-up.
context_page_description: In the context of gender, passing or blending is when someone, typically a transgender person, is perceived as cisgender instead of the sex they were assigned at birth. The person may, for example, be a trans man who is perceived as a cisgender man.
  The appropriateness of the term passing, and the desirability of blending into cisgender society, are both debated within the transgender community. A trans person who is perceived as cisgender may face less prejudice, harassment, and risk of violence, as well as better employment opportunities, and this is sometimes termed passing privilege.
context_section_description: Passing typically involves a mixture of physical gender cues, for example, hairstyle or clothing, and certain behavioral attributes that tend to be culturally associated with a particular gender.  Many experienced cross-dressers say, regardless of a person's presentation, confidence is more important for passing than the physical appearance.
  The failure to pass oneself off as the desired gender is referred to as being "read". (/rɛd/) The event of being read is known as "a read". (/riːd/) or "being clocked".
  Passing entails much more than physical appearance, since there are many factors : height, bone structure, appearance of having or lacking an Adam's apple. Mannerisms and vocabulary are important; the mind picks up these inconsistencies or supporting traits to determine whether the person is "read" or not. A person's dress, for example out-of-place clothing for the surroundings, will draw attention. A miniskirt, mink coat and knee high boots even on a cis woman in a supermarket will focus one's attention on her, leaving her open to observation for other tell-tale traits.
  Depending on a person's presentation, anyone may be able to read them. What is more important than whether a person is read or not is how others react if they do read that person. It is suggested by some researchers that many trans people who believe that they are passing are in fact being read by many observers, but the observers do nothing confrontational and hence the trans person is not even aware that they were read.
  It is also notable that "reading" and "being read" have the alternate meaning of insulting and being insulted in the context of Ball culture.     Very often the subject of the read is a flaw that would result in not passing.  The term used for passing in Ball culture is "realness".
caption: Crossdresser in a prom dress
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