I've often balked at arguments that trans women don't have male privilege before coming out, but this is one of the better arguments I've seen. Framing the question in terms of emotional cost is a really good way of staking out some nuance in a debate that's often framed as a "yes or no" issue. I think we could go deeper here. Negative r…
I've often balked at arguments that trans women don't have male privilege before coming out, but this is one of the better arguments I've seen. Framing the question in terms of emotional cost is a really good way of staking out some nuance in a debate that's often framed as a "yes or no" issue. I think we could go deeper here. Negative reinforcement of male gender norms is pervasive in male youth, for cis and trans AMABs alike. A lot of cis boys and men (maybe a minority, but a sizable one) feel conflicted about the social demands and deprivations of masculinity without also wanting to be girls and women, and they should be included, I think, as paying a higher cost for male privilege, albeit not as high of a cost as transfeminine people.
Also, I want to add that although the experience of male privilege is far more riddled with conflict for trans women than for most cis men, that doesn't necessarily prevent us from internalizing patriarchal perspectives from the male point of view. Growing up, we, by definition, identify more strongly with girls and women, but we rarely do so with the same social reinforcement that cis girls get. We remain outsiders, aliens. I often jokingly compare the experience to being raised by wolves. I think we can focus on the pain of this experience at the expense of taking stock of how much of the male point of view we did end up adopting, in spite of ourselves, because it was pretty much the only thing on offer. This isn't our fault, and it's going to vary from person to person, but it is our responsibility to reconcile.
It's also not entirely a bad thing. Trans women can smuggle a lot of virtues into womanhood that cis women are discouraged from cultivating, as well as skills that cis women are often barred from learning. By the act of transition, we re-code these virtues and skills as feminine, transmuting male privilege into female empowerment. And that's pretty neat :)
I've often balked at arguments that trans women don't have male privilege before coming out, but this is one of the better arguments I've seen. Framing the question in terms of emotional cost is a really good way of staking out some nuance in a debate that's often framed as a "yes or no" issue. I think we could go deeper here. Negative reinforcement of male gender norms is pervasive in male youth, for cis and trans AMABs alike. A lot of cis boys and men (maybe a minority, but a sizable one) feel conflicted about the social demands and deprivations of masculinity without also wanting to be girls and women, and they should be included, I think, as paying a higher cost for male privilege, albeit not as high of a cost as transfeminine people.
Also, I want to add that although the experience of male privilege is far more riddled with conflict for trans women than for most cis men, that doesn't necessarily prevent us from internalizing patriarchal perspectives from the male point of view. Growing up, we, by definition, identify more strongly with girls and women, but we rarely do so with the same social reinforcement that cis girls get. We remain outsiders, aliens. I often jokingly compare the experience to being raised by wolves. I think we can focus on the pain of this experience at the expense of taking stock of how much of the male point of view we did end up adopting, in spite of ourselves, because it was pretty much the only thing on offer. This isn't our fault, and it's going to vary from person to person, but it is our responsibility to reconcile.
It's also not entirely a bad thing. Trans women can smuggle a lot of virtues into womanhood that cis women are discouraged from cultivating, as well as skills that cis women are often barred from learning. By the act of transition, we re-code these virtues and skills as feminine, transmuting male privilege into female empowerment. And that's pretty neat :)