i grew up as the "Token PoC/Injun"; everyone KNEW i was Cherokee, and the hell it caused was [not to be redundant] hellish
then, at 16, i moved to Alabama - and i was suddenly "white". which was... there isn't even a word for that mindfuck, not really. sigh.
the thing is, privilege is EVERYWHERE. any random individual person is privileged against someone else. i am privileged in that i am a straight/cis person, in that i totally pass for white anymore, in my education and educational background. in that my disability isn't hugely deforming, and when i'm not in the wheelchair most people can't see it. etc, etc, etc. my boyfriend is black - but he's a sorta-cis straight man ["sorta" because i WILL NOT let him borrow my clothes. i have this thing, NO ONE gets to borrow my clothes if they'll look better in them that *I* do, kay?] so in some ways he's more privileged, in some ways I am.
and you can spin it out, and spin it further - but the thing is, to some extent or another, EVERYONE has SOME privilege or another. it's not WRONG or BAD or EVIL to have privilege. what's wrong/bad/evil is to USE said privilege ONLY for yourself all the time. SOME of the time is ok - to get out of a speeding ticket, or something. but not all the time.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2010-05-11 12:03 am (UTC)then, at 16, i moved to Alabama - and i was suddenly "white".
which was... there isn't even a word for that mindfuck, not really. sigh.
the thing is, privilege is EVERYWHERE. any random individual person is privileged against someone else. i am privileged in that i am a straight/cis person, in that i totally pass for white anymore, in my education and educational background. in that my disability isn't hugely deforming, and when i'm not in the wheelchair most people can't see it. etc, etc, etc.
my boyfriend is black - but he's a sorta-cis straight man ["sorta" because i WILL NOT let him borrow my clothes. i have this thing, NO ONE gets to borrow my clothes if they'll look better in them that *I* do, kay?] so in some ways he's more privileged, in some ways I am.
and you can spin it out, and spin it further -
but the thing is, to some extent or another, EVERYONE has SOME privilege or another. it's not WRONG or BAD or EVIL to have privilege. what's wrong/bad/evil is to USE said privilege ONLY for yourself all the time. SOME of the time is ok - to get out of a speeding ticket, or something. but not all the time.
if i make any sense at all...