The Guide To Being Transgender

Passing Privilege

Passing privilege is the privilege trans men gain when they start to pass should they decide to go on testosterone. Once they pass 100% of the time, they are perceived as cis men in society's view. This means they have gained a certain degree of male privilege, and it's important for trans men to learn to navigate that privilege and use it for others.

Studies have shown that people are more likely to take the word of a cis, white, straight man as important and honest. We don't know why this is, but research has been done on it.

Because of that, trans men (especially white ones) owe it to the community and other minorities to speak out in the fight for more protected rights.

Now, it's not always the best idea to have a white man as the spearhead of your campaign, but advocacy on the side can help almost just as much.

Trans men at this point run almost no risk of being murdered or jumped just because of their trans status, especially if they're stealth or work out a lot.

Passing privilege is a powerful thing, and we understand the minority struggle better than cis men do, so we have to speak out and help our brothers and sisters who aren't as fortunate as us.

However, passing privilege is fragile. Passing privilege can be taken away just as fast as it's been given.

If you're pulled over or boarding a plane, your passport and/or driver's license will be looked at. If you haven't had your gender marker and/or name legally changed, you'll be outed immediately and it's unlikely they won't notice.

This puts us in a bad spot, because many people see going stealth as being deceitful, despite the fact that it absolutely is not. A routine check could be done on you just because of this, and any mercy you may have received as a cis white man, is completely gone now.

Passing privilege is fragile, but if used correctly, it could mean a world of difference to the fight for our rights.

Chase Ross, on youtube, has a great video about navigating passing privilege. I'll link that above, and if you can't access it there, then here's the link for you to copy.

https://youtu.be/qk8-fN7-juQ

I hope this opened some people's eyes. Until next time, farewell.