Passing (Sexuality)

In a sexuality context, passing means being perceived by others as heterosexual when one is not, often because of gender presentation, the makeup of a current relationship, or other contextual cues. Passing as straight can provide safety in hostile settings, but it can also reinforce invisibility and contribute to the erasure of bisexual, pansexual, and queer identities. Bisexual and pansexual people in different-sex relationships frequently encounter the assumption that they are straight, a form of bi erasure that many find isolating. Unlike some uses of the word, passing here is often not chosen so much as assumed by onlookers who default to heterosexuality.