#passing privilege

[shamebats]

[labgrowndaddyissues]

Passing privilege doesn't exist and claiming it does is fed talk meant to divide the trans community.

Transandrophobia is real and denying its existence because "xyz oppression is worse" is fed talk meant to divide the trans community.

Transmisogynoir is real and denying its existence because "intersectionality doesn't work like that" is fed talk meant to divide the trans community.

Exorsexism is real and denying its existence because "it's just misdirected transphobia" is fed talk meant to divide the trans community.

Denying and minimizing your trans siblings' experience is what they want you to do. Quit falling for it.

[honeylemony]

Nothing puts online discourse into perspective more than the experience of walking past protestors into my local pride yesterday.

My bi sister and her husband arrived before us and walked in together. They weren't approached or harassed.

Myself (lesbian) and the girl I'm dating walked in together with an extremely opposite experience. I'm extremely thankful for the security volunteers that eventually made the picketers relocate to outside the park.

No one cares that you're at pride with your different sex partner. But you cannot in any way say that you don't experience the world differently if your relationship is perceived as straight. You are offered protections and privileges that visibly gay and trans people are not.

[boobexplosion]

it's nice to pass as a cis guy at my job when the trans topic comes up with my coworkers. we both will agree that they are the gender they say they are, we agree it's so ridiculous how people get so upset over them, we talk about how people deserve respect. it's nice to know that when people think youre cis, there's allies out there who think theyre talking to another cis person but theyre being kind and respectful talking about us, and that they love us. :) this has happened with over half a dozen coworkers from three different jobs. there are cis people who really do care.

[korrasera]

Important Notes on Privilege

And since I'm talking about privilege now, I think it's important to go over some nuances of privilege that can be easily misunderstood.

People can benefit from the effects of privilege regardless of their identity. This is not the same as saying they have privilege.

Privilege is not a benefit that people receive. It's a tendency for society to give people with that identity more benefits than other people.

Privilege is an overloaded term. It means too much to be easy to use. It's very useful to break it down in terms of empowerment and vulnerability.

When someone has privilege, they are empowered and made less vulnerable. White people can find it easier to get a home loan. Straight people doesn't have to worry about their marriages being outlawed.

When someone does not have privilege, they are disempowered and made more vulnerable. A woman has a harder time getting a job. Black people are policed at much higher rates than white people.

Last, privilege is not a condemnation. Having privilege does not make you a bad person. It's just a way for us to look at how society is structure so we can figure out how to structure it in a better way.

Again, privilege is not a condemnation. Having it doesn't make you a bad person. It's okay to talk about the ways in which society makes it easier or harder for people based on who they are.

Finally, something more complex than I can relate in a simple point:

Take care if you're going to talk about concepts like passing privilege or the benefit of privilege, because they're often used to invalidate people's identities.

The reason passing privilege isn't really a thing is the same reason that benefiting from privilege isn't the same as actually having privilege. Any benefit you might see is conditional on your appearance and you are still subject to the same vulnerability. You're still a target even it they can't see you.

I hope this helps you avoid some of the common misconceptions of what privilege is and how it works.

[gettinontopic]

[I made this post on another blog so if it seems familiar then you are probably remembering my other post. Wanted to make a new version here. ]

.

I want to talk about the terms White, Straight and Cis passing privilage... And how they're kind of inaccurate to the average passing persons experience.

It is not a privilege to have to shove down, hide, or escape a part of your identity for your well being and safety. It is also not a privilege to have people ignore oart of your identity for their comfortability. The only privilege is when people know and respect your identity unfaulteringly.

Mixed folks who have lighter skin or straightened hair aren't experiencing privilege. They're experiencing white people projecting whiteness and erasing their color. That is hurtful and any advantages are quickly lost if you dare argue with them on how they see you. It's also lost if you stand up for fellow poc or the issues their community faces.

Bisexuals who are having either Straight and Gay people assign them heterosexual even though many preach "don't assume or force anyone to out themselves." It's not a privilege I imagine to be told that you look straight when you aren't. I as a masc butch I don't feel validated being called straight why would a bisexual?? Also with the ammount of families who project their want for you to be with the opposite sex/gender even after you come out is a major fucking loss actually.

Being cis passing means shit comments, the risk of being outed and then hurt, and other queers projecting their belief there is a "gay look" on you to the point where they'll act like you're on cis peoples side for "following the binary too close."

Personally I think it should be called _____ passing safety or something similar?

Because that's the main reason people hide themselves to pass. And it's the reason they don't argue when someone assigns them and identity. Its because of fear of backlash, harm, or even the risk of death.

Idk it's not fully fleshed (So feel free to add your own thoughts on the matter) out but privilege implies gain, and none of those really gain youanything. Especially if it can be taken at. moments notice if they learn who you actually are.

Link to original which has photos of important tags and some addtional thoughts

[centrumlumina]

Okay, the thing about F1nn5ter has helped crystallise something I've been thinking about a lot lately: we need better words for the way society labels people without their consent.

I know most people on Tumblr Dot Com are on board the intersectional feminism train, people can self-identify however they want, etc., but this stuff is baked in deep. I'm talking about gaydar, about "I can tell a trans woman by looking", about "but you don't look disabled." It runs even deeper - I'm betting everyone reading this has recently assumed someone's gender or race without explicitly asking them how they identified. And I'm not saying that's bad necessarily; I don't know if society would function if we couldn't use any non-verbal indicators of identity.

But the idea that appearance alone is enough to know someone's identity can be a dangerous one, primarily because of how people react when they are told they are wrong. There are a number of situations I've seen where people are so confident in their assessment of other people's appearance that they will become belligerent or aggressive when corrected, even if the correction is coming from the person whose identity is in question.

I'm sure there are terms which already exist for this - I'm no expert on the topic - but I'm surprised I don't already know what to call it. This is such a common issue that you'd think it would be more widely discussed. Instead the closest I can think of is "passing", which isn't quite right - it puts all the focus on the person being judged and how they present themselves, while I'm much more interested in talking about the person doing the judging.

So my proposed term, at least for now, is "presumption of identity." F1nn5ter experienced a presumption of female identity, despite the fact that he identifies as a man. Certain fictional characters are assigned a presumption of white identity, in spite of their actors being mixed race.

Anyway, let me know what you think.

[friday411]

This is the best essay on the concept of “passing privilege” I’ve ever read.

Credit: @pet_foolery

[rimbaudofficial]

wild that people have decided passing privilege isn't real because "if they knew, I wouldn't have the privilege."

hey, do you know what passing connotes?

[radiance1]

Danny has been reincarnated.

Which was an odd thing to realize, it wasn't even a slow one he just... snapped into it one day. One moment he was staring at a wall out of boredom the next, well, he was staring for an entirely different reason.

It was a task for his now young -he thinks around three years old?- mind to work its way through the memories, but it wasn't like he had much else to do honestly. So, what does he know?

His name is Danny, like, his actual name and not just a moniker. He was once a halfa and he already knows he's going to be missing invisibility and intangibility. He, well, died. For like, a second time which actually makes sense because reincarnation-

Anyways.

He was a clone of two people from this thing called the Justice League which, weird name but probably some government or activist group. Wonder Woman and Superman. Which were pretty weird names to name your kids but eh.

He doesn't really remember much besides that from this life, or the one from before but he's an adult! He'll figure things out once he gets out of this containment tube thing.

Did he mention he was in a test tube? He's a tube baby now. He thinks? Or maybe it's more like he's being contained.

Whatever.

So he breaks out. Thank you apparent superstrength that he has no idea why he has but he's not going to complain! He then wandered around all of the other test tubes, able to remember just enough of English to see that yea, they're dead.

He probably was too, before he had memories zapped into him. Or a vegetable.

He then finds this really big container, checks it out, then opens it because the clone inside isn't dead!

'Project Match' it said. He'll just call him Match.

Was he thanked for helping him? Nope. You would think that he would be thanked or at least somewhat respected for saving this guy but nope!

He was, quite literally, held up by his leg and dangled in the air. Who dangles a three-year-old?! Well, he was technically and adult but still! The next few things were a blur but after pulling off the old Fenton charm he found him and Match outside as he tried to stop him from attacking random people.

Luckily the charms and privilege of the youngest (he's assuming he's the youngest, because he's physically three) was more than enough to get through to him. Sure, the guy couldn't form words, really aggressive for literally no reason, really weird but also absolutely cool looking eyes. But he worked around the first issue by developing their own personal language from like grunts and stuff, the second he once again used his youngest privilege to boss him around and the third a pair of sunglasses easily fixed.

He just had to steer Match clear of those random S crest mark thingies. Which was a weird thing to hate but hey, he's not there to judge.

[kingkrillin]

just need to share how much I dislike this post lol

people will fully expect trans men to put ourselves on the line for everyone else and meanwhile the only time they acknowledge our existence is to talk about how "low risk" we are (obviously untrue) or to volunteer us out as a community for potentially dangerous activist endeavors that they wouldn't risk doing themselves

"we need to get uncomfortable!" and what's actually being discussed is convincing a subset of the community to be uncomfortable on your behalf while you do nothing to show solidarity with us

[bloodanna]

Privileges are things that larger systems award you for.

Just because the situation you're in freaking sucks doesn't mean that you aren't getting privileges from it and while you don't have to be "thankful" for it: you do have to be aware of it and what it means.

Being in a room while someone is waving around a gun is a horrific scenario to be in, but that fact that you're there at all *is* a privilege.

You could survive.

You could make things better.

That responsibility can be a terrible burden, but I and many others I know wouldn't even survive crossing in front of the doorway.

To use your metaphor: the T-rex can only see movement and I have involuntarily tremors. I am going to die.

You can *choose* to not risk danger; I don't have that option.

That is a privilege.

We should be working to change that, but we have to admit it exists to start doing that work.

Honestly if there's ONE thing I wish I could get all queer people to understand is that if you're in a situation where you know everyone would treat you differently, especially to the point of it putting your life in danger, if they found out you're queer, you aren't experiencing privilege, you're in a hostage situation.

Like sorry experiencing "passing privilege" is actually just being trapped in a room with a bloodthirsty t-rex and having people tell you that you should be thankful because thier vision is based on movement and you can just stand still. It's not a privilege to be erased, to have to lie to everyone around you to stay safe-ish, to have to closet yourself because you know even a single step out of line could be the end of your entire world.

None of us should have to be thankful to stand in front of a loaded gun while the person holding it goes "haha, don't worry, I only use this on faggots, and you're not a fag....right?" Like this is not a net good and it has almost nothing in common with actually being part of a privileged group.

Anyway, Happy Pride, let's leave this shit behind.

[turquoisepaws]

yh I know I fucking pass as being "able-bodied, Christian, or straight"

[trans-androgyne]

My whole stay in the hospital, after introducing myself with he/they and having he/him on my little wristband and charts and stuff, I only got called he without having to correct someone once out of the dozens of times I was gendered. Even by the other trans person there. They also marked me down as female even though my legal gender is X and everywhere they don’t have X it’s M. They did the same thing to the transfem I befriended, putting her down as M even though she’s legally F. But at least she got she/her’d most of the time despite not passing either :/

[danielnelsen]

while i get where this comes from and it’s true to an extent, i reeeaaaally don’t like how people try to explain “trans men don’t [necessarily] have male privilege” with things like “some trans men don’t pass”.

like sure that’s the most obvious example (someone who is seen as a woman won’t have the privilege that comes with being seen a man) but you’re still acting like being a passing trans man is just a free opt-in to male privilege which is………kinda the issue.