Everyone is born with a set combination of sex, race, medical conditions, nationality, home/family circumstances, socioeconomic background, etc. That said, I think it’s stupid to get too invested in being proud of just one or two of those aspects of ourselves, because all those things are just the starting line in life.
I think what’s most important is doing something and achieving in spite of those qualifiers. There are definitely people who are born into situations that are going to face more hardship and struggle than others, and there will likely always be people who are born immediately at a disadvantage. There will likely always be people who have no opportunity to escape those circumstances due to the severity of the situation.
However, it is vital that we never stop fighting the limitations given to us at birth.
Something that annoys me the most about tumblr is this idea that there is nothing that can be done, because ultimately, we are all victims of whatever society we are in, and there is no way to escape our personal demons or minority status. This is such an indulgent, defeatist, complacent conclusion, and history proves time and time again that this is not the fucking case.
Just to throw out a few examples: we don’t admire Helen Keller for being blind and deaf. We admire her for overcoming obstacles and doing great things with her life in spite of her being blind and deaf. We don’t admire Martin Luther King Jr. for being a black man. We admire him for advocating for equality and justice in spite of the hardships levied against him for being a black man. We don’t admire Malala Yousafzai for being a woman in a radically Islamic nation. We admire her for her courage and determination in spite of the danger she faced because she’s a young woman. I could go on and on.
Don’t think that being trans or black or gay or anything else immediately makes you a resilient, good-hearted, empathetic person. Assholes know no religion, race, or sex. It is ultimately up to you personally to reach down deep and find whatever it is that you have inside of yourself that will help you to succeed in spite of your difficulties.
Sometimes, you’re going to need help from other people. And that’s absolutely fine. We all need support and a lucky break now and again. However, you cannot expect other people to carry you to the finish line because you have faced discrimination, bigotry, or assholery. We all meet hardships over the course of our lives. Some of us will be in more dire straits than others. Ultimately, it shouldn’t be a competition and it shouldn’t be an excuse for us to spend the rest of our lives weighed down by the chips on our shoulders.
Go out and do something, and achieve something on your own merit. Stand on your own two feet, and show the world that you have something to offer because no success story has ever been written about someone who sat back and let their dozens of labels define their worth.
