zaxal:

“passing privilege” is not a real thing.

the term ‘passing’ was, iirc, used to describe african americans whose skin and facial features were light enough that they could escape from slavery to somewhere else and live in a state of constant fear of being found out.

people who could ‘pass’ did not have any sort of privilege; they simply lived out their oppression in different ways. they still suffered at the hands of the system that had been built to subjugate them.

arguing that anyone who is oppressed has ‘passing privilege’ is fundamentally misunderstanding what passing is and how dangerous it is.

a trans woman who ‘passes’ for a cis woman is in as much danger of being a victim of violence, of being murdered, as her non-passing sisters, especially if a cis man feels ‘tricked’ into finding a ‘man’ attractive.

a bisexual man who ‘passes’ for heterosexual is more likely to be abused by hetero and homosexual partners, who will then blame his sexuality for dissatisfaction in the relationship.

a ‘high functioning’ neurodivergent person will suffer the same lack of accommodations as a ‘lower functioning’ person with the same disability, but will be expected to achieve more because they aren’t ‘really’ affected by it.

passing means having your struggles erased or considered ‘lesser’ because there’s a chance that you could be seen as ‘normal’ in the eyes of passersby.

this is not a privilege. it’s living your life in terror of being found out. it’s being denied access to the community and services that claim to support you.

it’s oppression in its most insidious form; it pretends that you have gained something positive through the way you experience oppression.