Of discursive passports and checkpoints.

The article focuses on the concepts of "discursive passports" and "checkpoints" as analytical tools to understand how identity and desire are shaped, constrained, and contested within regimes of normativity and geopolitical power imbalances. Discursive passports refer to institutionalized identity categories—constructed through intersecting discourses and media representations—that define individuals as specific "types," often limiting access to resources beyond the effects of physical passports. Checkpoints are interactional moments of self- and other-policing, which can be external (when others question or block one's identity expressions) or internal (when individuals regulate their own sense of belonging and desires). Through diverse case studies involving migration, gender, and sexuality, the article illustrates how these notions illuminate the complex interplay of language, power, and identity in contexts of mobility and social control.