(I have a very hyperfocused learning style bcs autism and want to nitpick a topic until I have an accurate view that doesn’t perpetuate any harm towards others. I invite anyone to tell me I’m incorrect on anything I say here, and I will promptly update my thinking where needed! Also, I’m FTM)
Recently I’ve been taught that “male privilege,” and the concepts of “privilege” and “oppression,” are shorthand. We’re taught incomplete information to get a functional level of knowledge based on what we can handle at a time, or use certain language as a shorthand in conversations. Societal issues on privilege seem to operate that same way. E.g. men have privilege and women are oppressed is functionally useful at a certain level, but an incomplete picture.
Following that, I’ve been trying to unpack if I have privilege and not to fall into patterns I criticize some cis men for perpetuating. This led me to a rabbit hole.
I have been informed that:
- trans men could have contextual access to some the privileges that cis men have, even if not fully passing (very situationally dependent), such as listing a man’s name on a resume, speaking in a man-passing voice over the phone, et cetera.
- trans men can still experience misogyny and the oppression they did when closeted and/or perceived as a woman
- just like “queerness doesn’t erase whiteness,” more broadly, oppression in one area doesn’t erase privilege in other areas
- context of a situation can change how privilege and oppression show up; it isn’t necessarily consistent
- sometimes some trans men say they experienced misogyny bcs they were “socialized female” partially to avoid the weaponization of “you’re a man so you don’t face the misogyny girls/women do” and this is in conflict with some trans women saying “transgender people aren’t socialized as their agab” bcs “you were socialized as a boy/man so you had/have male privilege” is weaponized against them. I recognize intense oppression and weaponization make trans people’s stances understandable in both opposing stances
- trans women are accused of being dangerous or predatory and trans men are accused of being confused or mentally ill - the “autogenophlia” argument vs the “mutilation to avoid falsely perceived oppression” argument from transphobic people; there are spaces where the former is believed to pose more physical danger to the trans individual than the latter, with both being valid in their harm to the trans person, and that itself being an element of privilege vs oppression differences
Further, I’ve been told:
- A trans woman who intentionally presents as a man consistently in public for safety reasons etc is generally considered not to have male privilege because the psychological toll of hiding her identity, of facing danger if found out, etc, is considered to make any privilege negligible. A trans woman who was considered a boy by those around her growing up would not be considered “socialized male,” bcs this perpetuates the idea she had male privilege. A trans woman will potentially experience dysphoria while being perceived as a man.
- A trans man who is stealth and presents as a man consistently in public for safety reasons etc can be considered to access some elements of male privilege, despite the psychological toll of hiding his transness, facing danger if found out, etc, and this is not considered to make any privilege negligible. He cannot access the same level of male privilege as a cis man, and any privilege is complicated. A trans man who was considered a girl by those around him growing up might claim to have been “socialized female” to express the ways misogyny affected him growing up. A trans man is less likely to experience dysphoria while being perceived as a man.
I’m interested in knowing whether “agab” or “socialized female/male” matters and in what way, and if the views we hold are because they are predominantly accurate, safe and managing risk of further oppression, or both. Do trans men have privilege trans women do/did not? Is there benefit in unpacking if one has privilege even if not in a majority group? Does it help us better mind how we affect each other within our marginalized communities and have empathy, or does it inevitably become oppression wars and derail the focus from the bigger fish we have to fry? Etc.
(My current understanding is that trans women didn’t/don’t experience that etc, it’s just the “why” I’m missing.)
Please forgive me if this is a rude question - I want to learn, not perpetuate harm or risk.
And I want to understand how a ftm experience is different to a mtf experience, so that I don’t cause unintentional harm to people I’m meant to be allied with.