#conditional privilege

[fuck-u-maga]

[blue-village]

Why Having Conditional Privilege Is Not the Same as Simply Being Privileged

originally published on writingalchemy.net

"Binary thinking encourages us to think of privilege as an all or nothing thing: a person is either privileged or not. However reality is more complicated that this, and every time I’ve seen an accusation that an oppressed person is actually receiving privilege for being falsely perceived as a member of the privileged group, it was intended to invalidate and dismiss their lived experience as an oppressed person. Rather than jamming lived experience into a model that doesn’t fit, I would like to make room for lived experience by complicating the discussion of privilege and oppression."

[wetwareproblem]

surely trans people can have het privilege, unless youre also claiming that trans men dont have male privilege???

I... may have spoken a bit too glibly there, but I do think it’s more nuanced than that. I honestly don’t remember if I said “can’t ever” or “very conditionally;” I originally wrote the former, but intended to change it to the latter.

Trans access to Straight privilege is very conditional, because a trans woman and a cis man are not read as a standard male-female couple by Straight society most of the time. Similarly, I’d argue that trans men have conditional access to male privilege. Trans access to privilege is always conditional on the wielders of that privilege accepting us as members of their class.

[brinconvenient]

That "trans women didn't have male privilege" REALLY missed the whole passing privilege thing. Which, obvs, you guys are white and that makes a lot of sense in how you view privilege, but how people perceive you fucking matters and does give you a leg up. I'm a lesbian and a WoC. I pass pretty easily as straight and white. I have heaps of privilege for that. And despite hearing what people are saying about PoC and internalizing it, they're not saying it TO me, usually, and that also matters.

You're talking about this post for those following along at home. 

This discussion very quickly leaves the realm of my expertise. One, I'm white, so I will try to tread carefully, and please let me know when I'm speaking out of turn. Two, I'm not a sociologist, so I have only the most basic (and autodidactic) understanding of privilege/oppression dynamics.

Passing privilege, as I understand it, is better called "conditional privilege." Essentially, once your status as not-a-member-of-the-privileged-class is known, any privileges you were extended are rescinded permanently and irrevocably. 

At my job, I'm passed as a cis straight man. My Mormon homophobic boss, who cancelled his subscriptions to ESPN2 and CNBC because of their airing of Michael Sam's kiss with his boyfriend when he was drafted by the St. Louis Rams, has always treated me like a member of the in-club, but started side-eyeing me when I ventured that I stopped purchasing Orson Scott Card's books because of his comments on "certain topics." He assured me of his respect of my "voting with my dollar," but then immediately followed it up with the above information and that we should probably not discuss "certain topics." My company is based in Texas, and I can guarantee that my position would become very uncomfortable if he were ever to find out that I'm, in fact, a bigender queer woman. 

I can't speak for your experience as a woman of color, of course, but the knowledge of how tenuous my hold on this privilege is sets my anxiety through the roof ... this is not among the "privileges" white cis straight men are granted. The fact that people say things about queer people (things which I know would be directed at me if I were not in the closet) and I have to weigh how much I can counter, or interject, while not jeopardizing my livelihood (and that of my children) is pretty terrifying actually. I'm out in almost the entire rest of my life, and the few places I'm not, the situations would be awkward, briefly, but not unmanageable, you know. But this area... oof. I technically can have access to those privileges, but not in the same way that a white cis straight man has. They don't hear those same messages the same way I do, and his privilege is not in jeopardy. And hell, if anything is going to fuel Impostor Syndrome and all of its attendant fears and anxieties, it's that. 

I'm not trying to say that your experience isn't valid, I'm just saying that conditional privilege isn't the same thing as actual privilege. I'm sure smarter people than me can comment with more accuracy and intelligence.

[jaythenerdkid]

The patriarchy's greatest victory

I’m a pretty girl. People tell me this makes me lucky. They say it will make me more successful in life. People will respond more positively to my presence and what I have to say just because they enjoy the appearance of the person saying it. People who…

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