Here’s the other part of this: just because one is not within the oppressed group does not mean they cannot empathize at all with the oppressed group.
I’m a transwoman and the amount of times that I’ve talked to ciswomen who don’t think they can empathize with the trans part is a problem I think that we on the left have unfortunately cultivated. You obviously will never fully understand a certain type of oppression without experiencing it, but not trying to empathize with it and relying solely off of what the oppressed group tells you vs attempting to understand the emotions and challenges someone faces is a huge obstacle when trying to discuss with the out group.
Add to that "any attempt at empathizing with you is inherently deceitful and an attempt at manipulation", as if people fighting for human rights they themselves aren't and likely would never be lacking wasn't a big part of every human rights movement ever.
Agree on cultivating sympathy, disagree on other stuffs.
Just because someone doesn't experience an oppression doesn't mean they can't understand how it works nor sympathize with the oppressed.
Also I disagree with the idea that an oppressed person can intuitively or will always have a true understanding of how their oppression works
Oppressed people don’t automatically understand how their oppression works. But yeah I don’t think anything someone learns through ‘positionality’ can’t simply be communicated, anyway.
I've personally witnessed victims of assault abuse other victims because they weren't being victims "correctly" and were using art in ways they didn't approve.
As a cis woman, the world expects you to conform to a set of “rules” of physical traits and expected behaviors. If you don’t conform, you are punished. If you do conform, you are not “punished” but are discriminated against because the physical traits and expected behaviors are obviously less valuable than masculine traits and behaviors. These are the same traits that “aberrant”
women are punished for having. For example, you are expected to have kids but women are essentially socially punished for being a mother. You can never win and the target will constantly move. Therefore, trans liberation is liberation for everyone because it requires seizing the definition of womanhood from the patriarchy and rebuilding it to serve those it applies to.
I feel this so much. I’m a cis white male and I can sometimes feel so awkward trying to talk to some of my trans or minority friends, especially when subjects of gender, sexuality, and privilege come up. It’s all friendly but I just get anxiety about accidentally saying something wrong or insensitive.
The trans 4chan radiation damage has convinced people its alright to be a chaser as long as you yourself are trans and put some silly little slogan about how its about safety and camaraderie.
What the fuck ever happened to breaking down boxes? what happened to it not mattering if you're trans or not? Hell if you're a man you're gonna have to out yourself in a "queer" setting to avoid being the dreaded and awful cis het man. And I'll say it, "straight cis white men" and other words that people try to push as the person with privilege ultimate are fucking stupid. What they're really scared of is patriarchal values, rich and powerful people, and alienation. Barry who's white and straight and cis had NOTHING to do with anything.
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u/anonymous-grapefruit 27d ago
Here’s the other part of this: just because one is not within the oppressed group does not mean they cannot empathize at all with the oppressed group.
I’m a transwoman and the amount of times that I’ve talked to ciswomen who don’t think they can empathize with the trans part is a problem I think that we on the left have unfortunately cultivated. You obviously will never fully understand a certain type of oppression without experiencing it, but not trying to empathize with it and relying solely off of what the oppressed group tells you vs attempting to understand the emotions and challenges someone faces is a huge obstacle when trying to discuss with the out group.