Covering : the hidden assault on our civil rights
(Book)

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Published
New York : Random House, [2006].
Edition
First edition.
Physical Desc
xiv, 282 pages ; 22 cm
Status
Sierra View Library - Adult Nonfiction - Biography Shelf
BIO YOSHINO 2006
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Published
New York : Random House, [2006].
Format
Book
Edition
First edition.
Language
English

Notes

Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages [249]-268) and index.
Description
A lyrical memoir that identifies the pressure to conform as a hidden threat to our civil rights, drawing on the authors life as a gay Asian American man and his career as an acclaimed legal scholar. “[Kenji] Yoshino offers his personal search for authenticity as an encouragement for everyone to think deeply about the ways in which all of us have covered our true selves. . . . We really do feel newly inspired.”The New York Times Book Review. Everyone covers. To cover is to downplay a disfavored trait so as to blend into the mainstream. Because all of us possess stigmatized attributes, we all encounter pressure to cover in our daily lives. Racial minorities are pressed to “act white” by changing their names, languages, or cultural practices. Women are told to “play like men” at work. Gays are asked not to engage in public displays of same-sex affection. The devout are instructed to minimize expressions of faith, and individuals with disabilities are urged to conceal the paraphernalia that permit them to function. Given its pervasiveness, we may experience this pressure to be a simple fact of social life.Against conventional understanding, Kenji Yoshino argues that the work of American civil rights law will not be complete until it attends to the harms of coerced conformity. Though we have come to some consensus against penalizing people for differences based on race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, and disability, we still routinely deny equal treatment to people who refuse to downplay differences along these lines. At the same time, Yoshino is responsive to the American exasperation with identity politics, which often seems like an endless parade of groups asking for state and social solicitude. He observes that the ubiquity of covering provides an opportunity to lift civil rights into a higher, more universal register. Since we all experience the covering demand, we can all make common cause around a new civil rights paradigm based on our desire for authenticitya desire that brings us together rather than driving us apart. Praise for Covering.“Yoshino argues convincingly in this book, part luminous, moving memoir, part cogent, level-headed treatise, that covering is going to become more and more a civil rights issue as the nation (and the nations courts) struggle with an increasingly multiethnic America.”San Francisco Chronicle. “[A] remarkable debut . . . [Yoshinos] sense of justice is pragmatic and infectious.”Time Out New York

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Citations

APA Citation, 7th Edition (style guide)

Yoshino, K. (2006). Covering: the hidden assault on our civil rights (First edition.). Random House.

Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Yoshino, Kenji. 2006. Covering: The Hidden Assault On Our Civil Rights. Random House.

Chicago / Turabian - Humanities (Notes and Bibliography) Citation, 17th Edition (style guide)

Yoshino, Kenji. Covering: The Hidden Assault On Our Civil Rights Random House, 2006.

MLA Citation, 9th Edition (style guide)

Yoshino, Kenji. Covering: The Hidden Assault On Our Civil Rights First edition., Random House, 2006.

Note! Citations contain only title, author, edition, publisher, and year published. Citations should be used as a guideline and should be double checked for accuracy. Citation formats are based on standards as of August 2021.

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