Thanks. I understand the Mike Tyson example; but what would you then consider ‘openly violent oppression’, using the previous analogy? Because for me, the phrase “beat the crap out of someone” suggests that the acting subject is fully aware of what they are doing and chooses to do so; it thus differs from the act of hurting someone without intending to, even if the result might be the same.
That’s why it’s a metaphor.
Regarding Tyson - is there then any possible way in which he could act or speak that would not be violent, or is violence an unavoidable, inherent part of his existence as a privileged person within society? If so, can he rightly be blamed or condemned for something he cannot help or change?
1. Yes, it’s inherent. 2. This isn’t about blame. Recognizing privilege isn’t about blame. It’s about recognizing the power you wield, and adjusting your behavior accordingly so you don’t step on other people.
Understood, thanks!
Would you consider it ethically wrong to act in ways that directly increase one’s privilege, since the act of doing so will simultaneously increase the inherent oppression and violence one’s existence enforces over others? Here I’m thinking specifically about trans men transitioning to male, where things such as going on T allows us to obtain increasing male privilege by being perceived and treated as male, and thus oppress/hurt women, even if unintentionally; where this additional hurt would not exist or be minimised if the trans man did not go on hormones and/or decides to continue living being perceived as a woman.
Or is this a matter of a necessary and unavoidable evil in cases where medical transition is required for the well-being of the trans man in question? Should the process of starting FTM transition then be considered with greater thought and sensitivity than MTF transition, given its additional ability to hurt women, and is something that should only be undergone if the ethical benefits outweigh the potential damage?
I realise that it’s hard to quantify oppressions, such as transphobia vs. misogyny, which makes it hard to know what the right thing to do is in various situations where the two are placed in opposition. e.g. if I’m in a situation with women present where I’m wrongly perceived as female (name, pronouns etc), would it be wrong to correct them and by so doing establish my male privilege over them where previously it would not have been there as an indirect force of oppression or harm? Would the potential harm against women outweigh the potential transphobic harm against myself? Even if not, would it be selfish to put my own needs above those of the women in question?
(sorry if this is getting too nitpicky; I’m autistic and need to overanalyse things before I’m comfortable enough with knowing how to act correctly in particular social situations, and more nuanced aspects of morality have always given me trouble. I currently haven’t been correcting people when they use female pronouns for me mainly because of this issue, and wanting to minimise my male privilege where possible, but have been getting a lot of conflicting advice from the trans community.)
