I don't really think a whole lot about gender priviledge, which may in fact be just a way of saying that I do enjoy "normal gender" priviledge. I'm male-identifying and male-chromosomal and male-equipped, so I would imagine so.
However, I'm also weird about the ideas of "priviledge" in some senses. I grew up half-Pakistani in very, very caucasian circles. I never felt descriminated against, so maybe I just wasn't. However, I didn't even realize that I was part of a visible minority until my late teens when I was confronted with an, "Are you a member of a visible minority?" checkbox on a job application form. It was literally not something that I'd ever thought of before. It blew my mind. It altered my reality perception in some ways. I still don't think I suffer any racial discrimination at all, or ever have, but I wonder if, growing up, part of my perception thereof was because it never occurred to me that it was something I *could* be discriminated against for. When it's not one of the available mental slots, of course actions and behaviours never get filed there.
My experiences with weight sometimes make me also wonder how much my lack of perception of an issue there caused there to *be* no issue there. I only get teased or catcalled or mocked or discriminated against due to my weight when I'm feeling vulnerable about it to begin with. While I'm not saying that discrimination and persecution aren't real -- they're very real -- I think that there's a class of "casual discriminator" that's perhaps more common where the people are just ordinary bullies who are looking for any opening or chink in the armour to sieze upon.
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Date: 2004-07-01 08:22 am (UTC)However, I'm also weird about the ideas of "priviledge" in some senses. I grew up half-Pakistani in very, very caucasian circles. I never felt descriminated against, so maybe I just wasn't. However, I didn't even realize that I was part of a visible minority until my late teens when I was confronted with an, "Are you a member of a visible minority?" checkbox on a job application form. It was literally not something that I'd ever thought of before. It blew my mind. It altered my reality perception in some ways. I still don't think I suffer any racial discrimination at all, or ever have, but I wonder if, growing up, part of my perception thereof was because it never occurred to me that it was something I *could* be discriminated against for. When it's not one of the available mental slots, of course actions and behaviours never get filed there.
My experiences with weight sometimes make me also wonder how much my lack of perception of an issue there caused there to *be* no issue there. I only get teased or catcalled or mocked or discriminated against due to my weight when I'm feeling vulnerable about it to begin with. While I'm not saying that discrimination and persecution aren't real -- they're very real -- I think that there's a class of "casual discriminator" that's perhaps more common where the people are just ordinary bullies who are looking for any opening or chink in the armour to sieze upon.