Imagine a hypothetical young woman. Her father works in a very well paid finance job and her mother is a fairly famous actress. Her education was expensive and then she went on to a top university.
She is good looking, gender conforming and had a spectacular traditional white wedding to a gender conforming man at a reasonably famous wedding venue. So far she pretty much ticks every single privilege box going, other than her sex.
She identifies as LGBTQI+++++++++++ and in particular non-binary, and as an aspiring musician regularly appears at various open mic nights for the LGBTQ+ community across Los Angeles where she lives.
Now, this hypothetical woman could, for all we know, have suffered significant trauma as a kid. She could be bi-sexual and suffered homophobic abuse all through her teens. She could suffer from depression or autism or any number of mental health conditions that make her life a struggle.
But I cannot help think that it is deeply offensive.
(1) Saying you are NB when married and gender conforming is meaningless.
(2) Surely the LGBTQ+ community is about the shared experience of oppression as a result of one's identity / orientation? Even if one is bi-sexual and NB does one experience any oppression at all if gender conforming and heterosexually married? Even if one is literally part of the LGBTQ+ community does that mean that one is morally part of it? Is your participation not taking opportunities away from those suffering from genuine oppression (eg a feminine gay man who was kicked out of home at 16 for being gay).
(3) Under what circumstances is it reasonable to call the woman out for appropriating oppression and playing the victim? Note - she is probably Top 1% of the global population when it comes to privilege, even accounting for the fact that she is relatively underprivileged as a woman.
(4) Is there anything more annoying than hypothetical people like the person above? Maybe this post should be in AIBU. "AIBU to get insanely cross when I see deeply privileged people identifying into oppression?"
Feminism: Sex and gender discussions
Identifying into oppression - discussion, challenging etc
GCRich · 18/05/2022 09:42
GCRich · 18/05/2022 10:08
Well, I have come across a many people online who veer towards having this as a story, and I have combined elements I have seen from various random people, with others I have made up, in order to illustrate a point.
I suppose that I have the tendency to detest dishonesty. I absolutely hate it. And I find myself INCREDIBLY angry and frustrated when I see privileged people espousing hateful beliefs (homophobic and misogynisitic) from a deeply privileged position, whilst claiming to be the victim of misogyny and homophobia and transphobia.
TheWeeDonkey · 18/05/2022 10:10
Pulp wrote a great song about this in the 90s
TheWeeDonkey · 18/05/2022 10:10
Pulp wrote a great song about this in the 90s
GCRich · 18/05/2022 10:43
"How do you know that they're gender conforming and heterosexual? Are you the LGBTQ police? If it's a typical scenario then it's not hypothetical, is it? Who are you calling out? Is it Lady Gaga or Michelle Visage???"~
In my hypothetical example (and online in real life multiple times) I have seen the social media profile which shows the woman to be gender conforming and in a heterosexual relationship. As I made clear in OP I acknowledge that it is possible to be bisexual whilst being in a straight relationship (but I also think that feminine gay men probably suffer more homophobic abuse than gender conforming women in straight marriages. )
What is your problem? Are hypothetical examples based on numerous real life experiences an invalid way of talking about an issue?
GCRich · 18/05/2022 13:42
IcakethereforeIam · 18/05/2022 13:34
Bit of a tangent, haven't there been straight women in relationships with tw, who call themselves lesbians? Not the transwidows, that's a whole different shitshow. In these instances there's no gaslighting. Do these women have the PC of sexual orientation? Not judging them, just curious. I don't know if it would make any difference in practice.
Would the problem be that PCs become so diluted and broad they essentially become meaningless.
Yes. I am not a lesbian, but I am offended on behalf of lesbians. I cannot imagine how frustrating it would be to suffer from discrimination for being a lesbian, and then get a lecture from a straight woman having straight sex with a male bodied penis-haver about how that straight women is actually even more oppressed because not only are they a lesbian but they are in a relationship with a trans person as well. "Back of the queue butch lesbians - you don't matter"
I am judging them!
GCRich · 18/05/2022 13:44
"I know a couple gay musicians, I can't really imagine any of them going to a special LGBT+ open mic night."
But presumably if someone were to decide that an LGBT+ open mic night is what they wish to host, in order to give LGBT+ musicians a chance that they might not get elsewhere, your gay friends might consider it a bit cheeky of straight musicians to sign up?
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Onionpatch · 18/05/2022 16:29
I'm not part of the lgbtq+ community but is it all about a shared experience of oppression?
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