Transracial
|
|
Transracial transformation is the process by which someone changes their appearence with respect to race, either from their current race to another race or to a new category. These changes are currently done though a variety of methods including surgery or chemical treatments.
Transracial transformation is similar to passing, however it requires someone attempt a medical procedure, rather than lying about one's race (in the case of Johnny Otis (a Greek who claimed to be African American) or a physical disguise such as in the movie White Chicks. Transracial transformation refers to something surgical, medical, or an attempt at permanence. Michael Jackson through various surgies has become transracial. [1] (http://anomalies-unlimited.com/Jackson.html) He is also different than passing because in his 2005 Trial his lawyers played the race card for being African American, asserting that he still wanted to belong to his birth race. In another example, there was a movie where a Caucasian man took skin tanning pills to pose as African American so he could get a scholarship to college.
Race choice in fiction
The subject of race choice and transformation occurs in a variety of well known fictional works, especially in the category of science fiction. In the book Eon & Eternity by Greg Bear, new human consciousness is created in a virtual realm and the parents choose the race of their children when it is time for them to be 'birthed' into the real physical world. In this work as well, many humans do not conform to the standard human figure and choose a variety of shapes and sizes to exist in both in the physical world and in the virtual world.
University Studies
UC Berkeley offers a course on transracial transformation, including references to Michael Jackson. [2] (http://english.berkeley.edu/courses/fall03r1ar1b.html)