[Mister Bent]

Originally Posted by EnderD_503

Talking about male privilege in relation to transguys/male ids is a little more complicated. Especially considering all the shit transguys go through, even when living full-time having an employer, landlord or random guy in the washroom somehow find out your trans can mean losing your job or your home with no legal back up, or being threatened for who you are. On top of that the potential reactions just going about your daily business, losing family, friends and anyone you care about, again for simply being who you are.

There is a reason why attempted suicides among trans people is approximately 70%, why suicide rates themselves are so much higher than in any other portion of the population, why approximately half of the trans population lives below the poverty line, why trans people are 3 times more likely to be the victims of violent crime than other areas of the population. How many trans people have been raped, beaten and killed because someone found out they were trans? How many trans people have been denied medical care outright because they are trans? Not to mention potentially never feeling at peace with yourself because of the body you were born into. Personally, this body does not feel like a privilege to me. Everytime people bring up male privilege in conjunction with transguys/male ids it seriously feels like an undermining of everything each and every guy that has to live his life as a guy born in the wrong body (whether pre-HRT/post-HRT, pre-op/post-op) has to go through. I'm not sure if you realise how disrespectful that can feel coming from a community that should be more aware of each other's struggles.

Perhaps it could have been stated with more clarity, but I think this is exactly to what "superficial" speaks. Quite literally, scratch beneath the surface and this artificial, or assumed, privilege is gone.

It can't be denied that transmen can walk into situations and assume a sort of cloak of privilege. If they don't reveal their history, and are never "discovered," they can walk through the world with a form of privilege not possessed by women and those of us who don't always "pass" (I really hate that term, for the record). But should their history become known, there is often an undeniable shit-storm to face.

I'm not certain we can legitimately speak in terms of trade-offs, however. "Here, have a little male privilege in exchange for your trials." While transmen "enjoy" privilege in ways others don't, I agree it's not something for which our "community" should constantly berate them (assuming individuals with a certain degree of self-awareness and understanding of their privilege); each time it's brought up it feels a little "undermining" to me, too. Male privilege is a fact, one that stands alone outside all the other aspects of being trans that hardly feel like "privilege." When speaking of male privilege we are speaking of one very particular social construct, which becomes decidedly more complicated when applied to transmen/male IDs. Choosing to identify male is hardly a guarantee one will experience male privilege, and it is when this accusation is levied, that I most bristle.


ETA:

Originally Posted by The_Lady_Snow

You're right I know nothing my bad for partaking in the conversation my apologies.

Snow, you made a statement and Ender was countering you, as happens in dialogue. Nowhere did I see any statements accusing you of "knowing nothing." These are sensitive topics with strong emotional weight for both "sides" and your comment here feels dismissive of that. I, for one, was looking forward to your response. Not this.