Trans man is surprised to find that after transitioning has "gained privilege" and is treated better

[IwantToRetire]

A trans man claims he "gained privilege" after transitioning and is treated better now than when he lived as a woman - despite "daily transphobic online comments".

Samuel says an unexpected part of his transition is he "gained male privilege" -compared to when he was still living as a woman. He said as a woman, people would constantly talk over him, objectify him and he didn't feel safe walking home at night - and now it's the complete opposite.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/trans-man-says-treated-better-081652554.html

So does this mean we have to rely on transmen to get the world to believe that women experience sexism, discrimination and violence?

No. It’s just one article about one individual.

Haha so only the most marginalised online then. In real life being trans is higher status than being female, so less marginalised than 51% of the population then.

Hmm.

A few years ago I read something by a mtf transitioner who claimed to have lost the ability to park a car after 'becoming' a woman.

Sadly, at the time I was not really paying attention to the implications of all of this ideology, and didn't see it for the sexist bs that it was ("ooh, I'm such a woman, I can't park!" giggle, giggle). I just thought it was vaguely interesting and briefly wondered about the effects of hormones on a person's brain. I now regard the trans person's inability to park a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Anyway, while I have no doubt that this ftm transitioner will be treated differently from a 'gender conforming'* woman in some scenarios, I do wonder how much of it will be a case of seeing what they want to see, or presenting more confidently in their new gender identity. I'm a bit suspicious of self reporting.

• I hate the term 'gender conforming', but I'm trying to be careful with how I word things to avoid a deletion.

The claim that Samuel has ‘gained privilege’’ now that Samuel has transitioned would be a bit more believable if it wasn’t so bleeding obvious that Samuel is female from the moment you see ‘him’.

Oh lord yes having just watched samuel’s video, surely they don’t think they really pass?

I would have just thought older teen male. I didn’t hear any audio though.

I expect Sam is treated with extreme caution.

Take that as a privilege if you want Sam.

I think the privilege, is the walking on eggshells and eagerness not to be perceived as an oppressor, therefore showing extra caution around behaviour.

Well I'm convinced. I encourage the whole of femalekind to identify as men today and we'll finally be able to opt out of our oppression. Thank goodness!

I do wonder if we all did change sex would the unicorns become proper depressed? At what threshold will being trans be seen as mainstream and boring? Perhaps that's the solution - Mumsnet becomes all male, so gross

So general conclusion is this isn't about male privilege but trans privilege?!

I appreciate it's just anecdotal, but two transmen that I spoke to in the LGBT+ community at work (whilst I was exploring everything to support my gender-questioning daughter) said exactly the same thing to me.

I was able to explore a little deeper with one of them and we discussed how this was really unfair to women.

So there may be something to it.

It would certainly be interesting if a transman could step forward and call this out publicly.

.. or another transman. I guess that person in the article already has.

I would assume that generally if you wanted to transition in this direction it is with an idea of what the ‘benefits’ are.

I wonder if there’s something about wanting to be seen as a man is to be applauded? Men are the default human, women the support humans. Women wanting to be men are trying to upgrade?

whereas a man who wants to be a woman is downgrading themselves drom
tje default 🤔

I mean in terms of having “privilege”

I find the privilege ladder to be incomprehensible frankly.

Really, if people listen to Sam it's because it's far safer than speaking to or about Sam or even having a face that expresses your feelings, unless anonymous and protected by encrypted email!

What an engaging life.

I can't help but think that privilege they are experiencing is people absolutely petrified of misgendering, plus inclusion etc etc and is therefore people are going out of their way to be as careful and reverent and arse kissing as is humanly possible.

So yeah i could understand how someone used to being ignored as a female would assume that sudden uptick in status was down to male privilege. They'd be wrong but i can see how they could convince themselves of that.

A Swedish YouTube video where two older detransitioned men discuss their experiences has one of them saying that one of the advantage of not being taken for a woman anymore is that people actually listen to what he is saying.

I also read about a third detransitioner who was in IT and said that he grew tired of not being heard in meetings, of being talked over and so on. I immediately thought that he probably passed well, because that is my experience in meetings, the experience of my two sisters and so on.

So yes, I think this is a real thing happening, though of course some of it may just be caused by other aspects.

Quite surprised by some of the comments here as my post was a bit talk about stating the peeping obvious.

This was first written and spoken about years ago.

So I dont doubt the experience, just wonder which stone the person concerned had been hiding beneath, not to have thought this would happen.

Even down to a more life style explanation given by the Guardian's very special own trans man reporter, that the reason for transitioning was to have the same right as men to walk topless on a beach.

And is also assumed to be why so few trans women out themselves, because they know from their lived experience of sexism, that should their biological sex be revealed there is every possibility they will lose the "male" privilege and opportunities they have acquired.

So does this mean we have to rely on transmen to get the world to believe that women experience sexism, discrimination and violence?

No, because all they will do is tell us that if transmen gain 'male privilege" then transwomen must lose their male privilege, and we all know that's not true.

It's never equal or opposite. The men are always prioritised.

Yes it goes

Man
Transwoman
Transman
Teenage boy
Woman
Girl

Does anyone else remember the transman who won big brother years ago? They pretty much passed and almost started a lot of this, but in a well meant way not a dodgy way.

Nadia

I thought she meant Nadia, but in 2012 someone called Luke Anderson won, apparently. Who is a transman.

Yes Luke, a transman not nadia who was a tw.