A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
“Wait, is she Black?”: Unsuccessful White Pass in Tiffany D. Jackson’s The Weight of Blood
Authors: Myllymäki, Monica; Ghasemi, Mehdi
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Publication year: 2025
Journal: Journal of Black Studies
Article number: 00219347251376391
ISSN: 0021-9347
eISSN: 1552-4566
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00219347251376391
Web address : https://doi.org/10.1177/00219347251376391
Self-archived copy’s web address: https://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/500326323
In this article, we study Tiffany D. Jackson’s novel The Weight of Blood (2022) as a neo-passing narrative that interrogates the colour-blind ideology and the idea of a post-racial society. By focussing on the biracial character of Maddy Washington, we explore the necessity of white passing in contemporary American society and examine her challenges after her unsuccessful attempt at passing. We aim to show that, despite the false claims of post-racialism, racial predicaments are still intact in American society in the 21st century. To offer a better analysis of the novel, we draw upon W.E.B. Du Bois’s notions of the “colour-line” and “double consciousness.” Du Bois’s theories enable us to further explore the black-white racial hierarchies and dichotomies, as well as the persistence of colour-blindness within today’s American society.
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The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.