Kenji Yoshino speaks about the act of passing and covering in society in both the video we watched along with his article “Pressure to Cover.” The two have an do share similar ideas, even having some quotes said verbatim from the article that appears in the video. Keeping in mind, the quote that Yoshino quotes from Erving Goffman explains passing and covering the best, at one point saying, “he distinguishes passing from covering by noting that passing pertains to the visibility of a characteristic, while covering pertains to its obtrusiveness.” (Yoshino)
The article, which is much more informative in regards to passing and covering speaks about the trials and tribulations people have gone through throughout the years in regard to needing to cover for their self-identity and such other characteristics that are shamed by society. Yoshino in his article brings up more specific cases regarding covering, quoting, “I read that Helen Keller replaced her natural eyes (one of which protruded) with brilliant blue glass ones. On the radio, I heard that Margaret Thatcher went to a voice coach to lower the pitch of her voice.”, (Yoshino). Although the video does relate to the article in some sense in regards to covering, as he speaks about the percentages of people in the LGBTQ+ community feeling the need to cover along with African Americans. Which is spoken more in-depth in the article, especially in the very beginning when Yoshino himself speaks about his experience of covering as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
It’s clear the two bodies of work share the same ideals and structures as they do speak about the same topics for the most part, with the video going off a brief tangent about covering in the workplace for white men. But for the most part they share the same ideals, mirroring each other frequently between the two. With some quotes being identical in both the video and the article such as, “He relates how F.D.R. stationed himself behind a desk before his advisers came in for meetings. Roosevelt was not passing, since everyone knew he used a wheelchair. He was covering, playing down his disability so people would focus on his more conventionally presidential qualities.” (Yoshino). Along with a handful of other quotes.
If anything can be said regarding the two, it’s that the article is arguably much more detailed in regards to the content that is included inside of it. Providing much more detail’s regarding not only covering and passing, but also speaking about assimilation and authenticity which the video fails to mention. What should be noted overall though is that the ideals seen in both bodies of work remain the same and are definitely connected.
Yoshino, Kenji. “The Pressure to Cover.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 15 Jan. 2006, www.nytimes.com/2006/01/15/magazine/the-pressure-to-cover.html.
