Once I cooled down, though, I realize that it's not as problematic as I thought. Including the concept of trans male privilege, which I'd like to keep the focus of this simply because I am a trans man and don't want to be telling women what's what. Also, the way people fight against this usage is I think sort of indicative of the same attitudes that drive some groups (particularly people of color groups) away from feminism.
First, a memory.
So I'm at a trans panel (One of the few I wasn't actually on!) and there is a nice assortment of trans women, crossdressers, and one trans guy. I don't remember the whole thing. It wasn't a bad panel overall, if I remember right. But one part I remember quite... distinctly.
A (an audience member): This is for T.
T (the lone trans guy): Yes?
A: I was wondering, since you for all intents and purposes have male privilege now...
T: I do NOT have male privilege. Men do NOT have privilege! People always tell me that, but did you know that now that I am male I have to pay more for auto insurance? How fair is that?
*Ahem*
Male privilege exists. I'm not going to delve too deeply into that, because I assume that people who read my blog are at least somewhat aware of the dynamics of oppression here, but for any man FTM or otherwise to claim men are oppressed over something like *gasp* increased auto insurance rates... now I'm not saying that's fair (or unfair, actually), but it's also not indicative of an overall trend of anti-male oppression. It's in fact quite trivial compared to what women go through, which is why every time any man let alone one of us trans men who are promoted (stereotypically) as "knowing better" starts going on about this I am forced into a facepalm position.
The thing is, people don't want to believe that they are privileged. Or they don't want to believe that that privilege affects the ways they aren't privileged. So they focus on the lack of privileges they have in one area and, when it turns out that focus caters to privilege within those communities, they assume that those interests are free of interference. When women in certain feminist waves talk about female oppression, they are often referring to things specific to white, heterosexual, cis women. But because in an oppressive society white, heterosexual, and cis are "defaults" or "normal," they think that these are just women's issues. Period. They're inclined to see issues relevant to trans women, or women of color, or lesbians as issues to be dealt by the trans, people of color, and lesbian communities respectively and not by feminists.
Concepts like white female privilege are meant to address that issue because not enough people bring up the immense amount of inequity within feminist theories. Interestingly it seems people just outright assume that this is referring to female privilege over men. Rather, though, it addresses white privilege within feminist and female contexts which are specific to those contexts. When people butt heads against it, it strikes me as merely a way to avoid the uncomfortable fact that one has privilege when we spend so much time talking about ways in which we don't. And we surely don't want to be forced to listen to other people, right?
Trans male privilege is the same concept. It includes not only just flat out male privilege, but ways in which trans men have advantages that trans women do not. For example:
- Trans men are substantially less likely to be murdered than trans women.
- Trans men are less likely to be required to go through therapy or a real life test than trans women.
- Trans men are more likely to be accepted by cis men than trans women are by cis women.
- Trans men are more likely to be accepted into men's mystery religions than trans women are in women's mystery religions.
- Trans men are less likely to be associated with pornography and sexual deviance than trans women.
- When people use slurs such as "tranny" in a general context, they usually are not referring to trans men.
- Historical references to women dressing in men's clothing (whether trans or not) are less likely to be described as deviant by modern people than men dressing in women's clothing.
- Trans men are less likely to be denied an identity over petty differences in behavior.
- Trans men are more likely to be accepted in radical communities than trans women.
- Trans men are more likely to be able to get our gender changed on legal documents without bottom surgery.
- Trans men are often more openly accepted in non-specific LGBT communities than trans women.
But why are these trans male privileges and not just male privileges? Because they are only relevant among trans people. Once I started thinking about it like that, it made a hell of a lot more sense than my knee-jerk reaction to this type of terminology made it feel. It may be uncomfortable to see it for the first time, but the fact of the matter is that oppression within communities needs to be addressed and it never will be as long as people who have privilege within our communities are too busy complaining about semantics just because those semantics don't benefit us this one damned time.
Do you have to buy it? I think you should certainly think about it, but no. I don't believe everything anybody says just because they aren't in some category in which I am privileged. That would be impossible anyway because, I mean, it's not like those communities all have one hive mind and believe the same things. But when they do say things, it is far better to calm down and really, really think about it. Those communities have important things to say, and we are not adequately listening. It's time to start.
