In my opinion, вЂtransracialвЂ™ does not parallel вЂtransgender,вЂ™ where one can have the sex of a man or a woman, but the gender of the other.вЂќДЄllyson Hobbs, author of A Chosen Exile: A History of Racial Passing in American Life I do not believe that it is possible to be вЂtransracialвЂ™ because race is a social construct that is not based in biology. It is very likely that someone can identify as White, but have Black ancestry given the vast among of racial mixture that has occurred. вЂњIdentity is very, very complicated and also very, very personal. It can get you killed, and it can get you an NAACP presidency.вЂќ вЂњ shows us how stupid the construct of вЂraceвЂ™ is. Melissa-Harris Perry, talk show host and Wake Forest University professor But I wonder, can it be that one will be cis-Black and trans-Black? That there is actually a different category of Blackness that is about the achievement of Blackness, despite oneвЂ™s parentage?вЂќ But there is a useful language in вЂtransвЂ™ and вЂcis,вЂ™ which is just to say some of us are born cisgendered, and some of us are born transgendered. вЂњI want to be very careful here, because I donвЂ™t want to say itвЂ™s the equivalent of the transgender experience. People who are alienated from their presumed gender and define themselves according to another gender have existed since earliest recorded history race is a medieval European invention.вЂќ Doctors donвЂ™t announce our race or color when we are born they announce our gender. Transitioning is the product of a fundamental aspect of our humanity вЂ“ gender вЂ“ being foisted upon us over and over again from the time of our birth in a manner inconsistent with our own experience of our genders. вЂњThe fundamental difference between DolezalвЂ™s actions and trans peopleвЂ™s is that her decision to identify as Black was an active choice, whereas transgender peopleвЂ™s decision to transition is almost always involuntary. Rosa Clemente, civil rights activist and journalist вЂњAs people of color, no matter how hard we try, we cannot achieve whiteness, but the fact that a White woman can achieve Blackness and lie and take space and take resources and on top of it be belligerent when confronted is the epitome of White privilege.вЂќ All of which might make Rachel Dolezal a white woman who identifies closely with the Black community. Her parents say that she had Black adopted siblings, had a Black circle of friends where she grew up in Mississippi вЂ“ that she has married, and later divorced, a Black man. There are plenty of White people involved in the kind of civil rights work she was doing вЂ“ particularly in Spokane, where just 2% of the population is Black. Right now, one can only speculate to her motivations.

But with this right comes at least one responsibility: what you call yourself must be comprehensible to othersвЂ¦The problem for Dolezal is that her вЂњBlackвЂќ identity does not make sense. ThatвЂ™s as true for Dolezal as it is for Caitlyn Jenner. вЂњIt is a cardinal rule of social identity that people have the right to call themselves whatever they want. Take a look at 11 of the most thought-provoking quotes on the subject that have been floating around the web. Regardless of which side of the newfound argument youвЂ™re on, everyone has an opinion.

Trans 11 claims