Passing - Is it a Privilege?

BullDog · 06-21-2010, 11:32 PM

I don't have any issue one way or another with anyone's post, but in terms of health care and social services, feminism has helped to pave the way for many- including trans people- and there seems to be a lack of knowledge and appreciation for that at times. Sometimes it does feel like a kick in the teeth.

The reason some are able to pass is because of work that has been done before them to create the services needed for that. None of us would have access to the social services and health services we do now, however limited they may be, without the work done by the generations before us- in terms of the queer community that includes both feminists and trans activists (with overlap between the two of course).

Our Bodies Ourselves- our ability to have agency and control over our bodies- is very critical for women and trans people (some of course are both)- and all the work that has gone into that has given us so much more than those who went before us.

It seems a bit hard to hear sometimes that I am just doing my thing and take my privilege and no I'm not a political activist.

I posted a link to this already in another thread, but there was an interesting article written by Michelle O'Brien, a trans woman, who discusses the intersections of feminism and trans activism, particularly around health care issues.

http://www.deadletters.biz/feminism.pdf

As to the topic of this thread, I do not pass for male and I do not pass for straight. I pass as a dyke or lesbian, which is what I am. I don't think many people out in the world really understand or know about butch or what that is. If I am mistaken for male, it is only temporary. I don't think many see me as straight because I am treated quite differently from feminine women- straight men seem to think quite often that women are at their disposal- for their attentions, to do their bidding, etc- which is why I have never thought of femmes as having any sort of straight privilege. Men ignore me, unless they are being hostile.

I am white, middle class and able bodied so I do have my own sets of privileges. Being a masculine woman is a mixed bag. I am more at risk in some ways for homophobic attacks, but I am also fairly insulated from male attention and many assumptions they can have about women- which I am quite grateful for.

apretty · 06-22-2010, 12:25 AM

i hate being confused for straight; it sucks being thought of as something (anything) i'm not.

lillith · 06-22-2010, 01:04 AM

This is interesting. I am currently working on a Ph D. internship and my topic is Nella Larsen's novel Passing, and have had to recently define what it is. It never really dawned on me all the different ways it can be applied. Even in a fiction novel from the Harlem Renaissance, the characters enjoy some kind of privlegde as Mulottas passing as white.

I know for my life being a femme is both difficult and a luxury. In this internship, I have had to explain my life and who I am to my peers because there is sort of no way around it. One of my peers is a straight girl who is rather masculine and she has to explain to people, including her family, that she is straight. We have exchanged stories of invisibility and now that this topic has come up, I will have to ask her about any privledges she feels she has or lacks because of her appareance.

Thanks for the thought provoking topics of discussion that I can take into the real world and find out about.

lillith

06-22-2010, 01:04 AM	#3
lillith Member How Do You Identify?: Femme Preferred Pronoun?: She, her, hey you! Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 514 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 204 Thanked 688 Times in 225 Posts Rep Power: 5173241	This is interesting. I am currently working on a Ph D. internship and my topic is Nella Larsen's novel Passing, and have had to recently define what it is. It never really dawned on me all the different ways it can be applied. Even in a fiction novel from the Harlem Renaissance, the characters enjoy some kind of privlegde as Mulottas passing as white. I know for my life being a femme is both difficult and a luxury. In this internship, I have had to explain my life and who I am to my peers because there is sort of no way around it. One of my peers is a straight girl who is rather masculine and she has to explain to people, including her family, that she is straight. We have exchanged stories of invisibility and now that this topic has come up, I will have to ask her about any privledges she feels she has or lacks because of her appareance. Thanks for the thought provoking topics of discussion that I can take into the real world and find out about. lillith __________________ now how can you ignore a dancing pink elephant? and how i so wish it would rain here.

06-21-2010, 11:32 PM	#1
BullDog Infamous Member How Do You Identify?: Dominant Stone Butch Daddy Preferred Pronoun?: She Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: In A Healing Place Posts: 5,371 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 18,160 Thanked 22,640 Times in 4,463 Posts Rep Power: 21474856	I don't have any issue one way or another with anyone's post, but in terms of health care and social services, feminism has helped to pave the way for many- including trans people- and there seems to be a lack of knowledge and appreciation for that at times. Sometimes it does feel like a kick in the teeth. The reason some are able to pass is because of work that has been done before them to create the services needed for that. None of us would have access to the social services and health services we do now, however limited they may be, without the work done by the generations before us- in terms of the queer community that includes both feminists and trans activists (with overlap between the two of course). Our Bodies Ourselves- our ability to have agency and control over our bodies- is very critical for women and trans people (some of course are both)- and all the work that has gone into that has given us so much more than those who went before us. It seems a bit hard to hear sometimes that I am just doing my thing and take my privilege and no I'm not a political activist. I posted a link to this already in another thread, but there was an interesting article written by Michelle O'Brien, a trans woman, who discusses the intersections of feminism and trans activism, particularly around health care issues. http://www.deadletters.biz/feminism.pdf As to the topic of this thread, I do not pass for male and I do not pass for straight. I pass as a dyke or lesbian, which is what I am. I don't think many people out in the world really understand or know about butch or what that is. If I am mistaken for male, it is only temporary. I don't think many see me as straight because I am treated quite differently from feminine women- straight men seem to think quite often that women are at their disposal- for their attentions, to do their bidding, etc- which is why I have never thought of femmes as having any sort of straight privilege. Men ignore me, unless they are being hostile. I am white, middle class and able bodied so I do have my own sets of privileges. Being a masculine woman is a mixed bag. I am more at risk in some ways for homophobic attacks, but I am also fairly insulated from male attention and many assumptions they can have about women- which I am quite grateful for.

06-22-2010, 12:25 AM	#2
apretty Senior Member How Do You Identify?: femme Preferred Pronoun?: sea shell Relationship Status: married Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: san diego Posts: 1,687 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 1,927 Thanked 4,373 Times in 1,012 Posts Rep Power: 21474853	i hate being confused for straight; it sucks being thought of as something (anything) i'm not.