Me in the kyriarchy
This page is an attempt to list all the areas in which I am privileged, and the areas in which I am oppressed. It is here, primarily, to provide context for my posts about privilege and oppression, so that readers will know where I come from. It is also here to keep me honest, to prevent me from taking things for granted, remind me where I am privileged and to help me acknowledge and own My Shit.
What I am NOT trying to do is sound like I am justifying my privilege, or for that matter bragging about it, or flaunting it, or anything like that. This page simply describes some ways in which I have advantages not afforded to other people. If any of this comes across in a way I do not intend, please feel free to let me know, and I will work on the phrasing.
I have these privileges:
White - I almost glow in the dark.
Male - I have Male Privilege even though I am not male, since I am presenting male most of the time, I benefit from the privilege it entails.
Middle Class - I live comfortably. I can provide for me and mine. We have shelter and clothing, and we do not have to worry about where our next meal is coming from. My wife doesn’t even have to work; I am able to provide for both of us.
Educated - Partially a piggy-backing of my other privilege, I have had the ability to go to University and grew up with plenty of leisure time to read. I am fully literate in my native language.
Currently able-bodied
I am part of these oppressed groups:
Woman - Society basically tells me I’m worthless constantly. If you don’t have a firm understanding of what sexism is, there are over 9000 blogs to choose from on the topic, as well as hundreds of books.
Transgender - I am a woman, but I was assigned male at birth. I pass as cisgender somewhere between 80-90% of the time, but when I don’t, I often experience very overt consequences: being misgendered and unwelcome glares have been the most common. Thankfully, I have never actually been assaulted or even verbally harassed beyond misgendering, but the microaggressions do tend to leave me feeling unsafe about being noticeably transgender. Of all the things on this list, this is the one that I most often worry will be the catalyst that leads to someone deciding to physically harm me.
Pansexual - In theory, I get the oppression of being bisexual, with a side order of defining a word every time it comes up. In passing, I’m more likely to be taken as a lesbian, which still leads to angry glares of disapproval from time to time.
Polyamorous - It gets very tiring, explaining that yes, I did just say “my wife’s boyfriend”, and that no, I do not have any problems with that.
Heathen - I was unsure whether to include religion on this list, but I eventually decided to, because being heathen hits me from two sides. The conservative fail is the predictable ‘you need to accept OUR religion’ bullshit. The liberal fail goes along the lines of “Oh is that a hammer/valknut/swastika? You must be a white supremacist!” So, given how much shit I seem to get, constantly, for being heathen, I feel comfortable including it here.
