van Wyk, Steward21/08/201421/08/20142007Van Wyk, S. (2007). ''Passing'' in die Suid-Afrikaanse literatuur: 'n vergelykende ondersoek. Stilet: Tydskrif van die Afrikaanse Letterkundevereniging, 19(2):134-1431013-4573https://hdl.handle.net/10566/1192This article examines how the phenomenon of passing, or playing white, is portrayed in selected South African texts. The findings of two studies conducted in the Cape Town area highlight the particular historical circumstances and factors that gave rise to the incidence of passing in certain areas. The article also draws on theorizing about the phenomenon in African-American literature for an analysis of issues of identity, race and gender. It is argued that passing / playing white challenges racially based constructions of identity in apartheid South Africa and that the texts explore these aspects in a multi-faceted way.af� 2007 van Wyk; licensee Alv-Tydskriffonds. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Suid Afrikaanse LiteratuurAfrikaanse-Amerikaanse LiteratuurWit speelGroepsgebiedewetkleurdiskriminasieArticle