A really interesting article, and one I don’t fundamentally disagree with. I do take issue with the way privilege is being presented as being a genderqueer issue, I think what they are talking about here is passing privilege - being seen as cis as opposed to being visibly trans* and the dangers and discrimination that can come with that. Although there is a proportion of those who identify as genderqueer who often present or are read as cis (including me, fuck you boobs), this does not apply to everyone who identifies as genderqueer or non-binary, and this is also a privilege that a lot of binary trans* people have.
It’s a difficult privilege to negotiate, because while being visibly trans* comes with a lot of oppression and not inconsiderable danger, there are a whole lot of people who really really want to give up their privilege and put themselves in the line of that oppression and that danger. It is hard to accept you have a privilege when acknowledging it can make you feel misgendered and dysphoric - the author of this article gives the example of a pre-transition trans woman having male privilege, and equally I feel frustrated that this privilege is given to me. And not the same frustration I feel that I have white privilege - I feel frustrated because being cis is not an identity that fits me, it stings that it is applied to me and it stings even more that I benefit from it because it feels like I am being asked to feel lucky when I feel erased and dysphoric.
Being read as cis is a difficult privilege to negotiate because it is one people have some choice about (in the sense that people choose to transition, not to be trans*), and choosing to enter an oppressed group can feel appropriative and strange - I find myself wishing people were confused about my gender instead of reading me as a cis woman, something a trans woman may wish the exact opposite of, not just because of her gender identity but also because of the danger and discrimination that comes with being visibly trans*. But it is important to remember that it is not appropriative to wish to be recognised as your true gender identity - I am not wishing for the trans woman’s struggle but for affirmation of myself, just as she is. No matter what bugbrennan or any other creepy crawly radfems say, trans women are not looking to fetishize or appropriate what it is to be female (including the oppressions that come with that), they are looking to be viewed as themselves, and this applies to non-binary people too.
What I really despise is when this privilege of appearing cis is used to erase and de-legitimise genderqueer and non-binary identities, because the vast majority of people I have seen doing this are trans men who share the same privilege. Femme-presenting faab genderqueers may not experience the same oppressions as someone who is visibly trans*, but that does not mean they experience no oppressions and it definitely does not mean their identity and pronouns shouldn’t be respected. The privilege of appearing cis is one I have, but it is also one that many binary trans* people have and fail to recognise, many trans men in particular do not recognise how privileged they are compared to visibly trans* women - a point that has been made many times before.
In the face of so much hate and erasure from certain parts of the trans* community it can be hard to remember that wishing to be seen as my gender identity is not appropriating anyone’s struggle; and however I or anyone else chooses to present, it has no bearing on the fact that I did not choose my gender identity any more than anyone else did.
