Privilege Within the Trans Community

Awareness is the first step toward uniting our community

Photo by Hunters Race on Unsplash

Transgender people face many challenges in their lives, trying to navigate through a world where many people are against us. Yet, even within a marginalized community such as ours, some of us do enjoy certain levels of privilege.

Transitioning later in life

Those of us who transition when we’re older are often more financially secure. At the very least we’re more likely to live on our own, away from potentially judgmental family. This affords us a certain level of privilege that we wouldn’t have enjoyed if we’d transitioned as teens or even young adults.

I’m not suggesting that anyone should delay their transition. However, for those of us who are older Millennials, Gen-X, or Boomers, we may not have been aware that gender transition was even possible until recently. It’s not always an easy decision to transition later in life. Many of us have very established lives with spouses, children, and careers.

Yet, for some of us, being older can also make the transition easier, especially if we’re financially secure and have good health insurance plans. I believe that we’re more likely to be taken seriously and less likely to be told we’re just going through a phase.

In my case, I was in a good place in my life when I began to transition at the age of forty-six. I’m not struggling financially. I can afford good health insurance coverage, which has helped pay for most of my treatments — everything from therapy to surgeries. The friends and family I have surrounded myself with have all been incredibly supportive. None of that would have been true when I was younger.

Dysphoria

Within the transgender community there is currently a divide on whether you need dysphoria, or even to what extent, to be considered transgender. Some of us believe that you can still be transgender even if you do not experience gender dysphoria.

gender dysphoria: a distressed state arising from conflict between a person’s gender identity and the sex the person has or was identified as having at birth. — Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Being trans with extremely low or no dysphoria is certainly another privilege, and I can understand why those who suffer from crippling levels of dysphoria may not want to accept us into their ranks. However, while I have always had an incongruence between my gender identity and my biological sex, I will admit I have been privileged to not have any distress over this incongruence.

The fact that the incongruence didn’t cause me distress doesn’t negate the fact that I still needed to transition. The misalignment of my gender and my sex should be enough for me to be considered transgender.

I know some transgender people question whether they would go through all the effort to transition if they didn’t experience dysphoria. I understand it’s upsetting to know for some of us who are born with a gender identity that doesn’t align with our biological sex, that it doesn’t always result in dysphoria. That’s a privilege I wish I could share with all transgender people, but it’s a sad fact that some of us suffer a lot more than others. We must understand that everyone’s experience and journey in their transition is their own and we shouldn’t judge anyone regardless of the amount of suffering they are going through.

Mental health

While many transgender people also suffer from clinical depression and generalized anxiety disorder, not all of us do. Not suffering from severe depression and/or anxiety is yet another privilege some of us have.

I know I am lucky not to suffer from any severe level of depression or anxiety. It’s why I was able to endure living as a tomboyish female most of my life. I think depression and anxiety can amplify the effects of gender dysphoria, which may be one of many reasons why suicide rates among transgender people is so high.

This is also why I stand against the gatekeeping some people in the trans community are doing. Shutting out people who desperately need our love and support is not doing them any favors. We need to be supportive of each other and keep in mind that some of us must deal with mental health issues on top of being trans.

Location, location, location!

Where you live when you transition, if you can transition at all, is also a privilege. I am fortunate to live in an area where my transition has been at the very least tolerated, if not enthusiastically accepted. I’ve not run into any discrimination at local hospitals or businesses, even when I was in that awkward phase of my transition where people weren’t sure if they should be calling me ma’am or sir.

Many transgender people don’t have the luxury to live where they are accepted, and in some countries, it may even be illegal for them to transition. Relocation may be an option for some transgender people who find themselves living in hostile or discriminatory environments. However, having that option is a privilege not all trans people can afford.

Male privilege

Also, those of us who are transgender men experience privilege because we’re not as looked down on as our transgender sisters. Transgender women, especially trans women of color, experience a much higher rate of assault and homicide than transgender men. That is, at least in part, due to the internalized misogyny in our society that views feminine people as weaker and less-than.

Transgender men also have an easier time going stealth in society. After a few years on testosterone and either wearing a binder or having one or two surgeries, we can often pass publicly as male. It’s not as easy for transgender women, as they require more surgeries and vocal training to pass as women. These procedures are expensive and not everyone can afford them.

It’s no secret that men, in general, have more privilege in our society. So, if a person is viewed as male, they are going to benefit from that perception. Many transgender men find it an eye-opening experience when they begin to pass, and how people treat them, compared to when they were viewed as women.