Nobody Passes: Rejecting the Rules of Gender and Conformity

An anthology exploring the act of passing-as the "right" gender, race, class, sexuality, age, ability, body type, ethnicity, and beyond

Nobody Passes is a collection of essays that confronts and challenges the very notion of belonging. By examining the perilous intersections of identity, categorization, and community, contributors challenge societal mores and countercultural norms. Nobody Passes explores and critiques the various systems of power seen (or not seen) in the act of "passing." In a pass/fail situation, standards for acceptance may vary, but somebody always gets trampled on. This anthology seeks to eliminate the pressure to pass and thereby unearth the delicious and devastating opportunities for transformation that might create.

Mattilda, aka Matt Bernstein Sycamore is the author of a novel, Pulling Taffy, and the editor of three nonfiction anthologies. Most recently, Mattilda edited That's revolting! Queer Strategies for Resisting Assimilation, a finalist for a 2005 Lambda Literary Award. Mattilda is an instigator with Gay Shame: A Virus in the System, a radical queer activist group that fights the monster of assimilation. The Austin Chronicle calls her "a cross between Tinkerbell and honky Malcolm X with a queer agenda."