Feminism and Oppression - Henry Wilkinson

Is there a hierarchy of oppression? Does cisgender privilege exist? Certainly. A little over a week ago, the majority of America's female, LGBTQA+, non-white, disabled, and self-identified feminists took to the streets to protest Trump's inauguration and they were joined by hundreds of thousands all over the world. A important point brought up during the march is that it was not just women marching, though it was called the Women's March. The crowds were made up of many people from many different walks of life because as Audre Lorde pointed out, "There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives." This struggle would not exist if there was not a system of power in place that discriminates every "other," and yes, sadly there is a hierarchy of oppression.

People who are bisexual or pansexual but straight-passing or are in a heterosexual relationship will experience less outward oppression (i.e. discrimination out and about) than a gay or lesbian person. They still experience oppression because benefiting from privilege IS a form of oppression because it denies a part of who they are. I can speak to this from experience. However,  they will not experience the form of oppression a gay or lesbian person experiences as they cannot be straight-passing and therefore not benefit from straight privilege unless they completely conceal who they are, which is not always a possibility.

A person who is not white but a lighter skin tone than their friend will benefit from having lighter skin. If they have "white-passing" features, they will suffer less oppression than darker-skinned people, though again this is a form of oppression in that it looks over a part of who they are and erases their heritage, cultural, ethnic, and racial identity. Everyone lives intersectional lives and depending on how "privilege-passing" they are they will experience less outward discrimination, though this does not even begin to cover the internal turmoil that they face. People who are cisgender inherently experience privilege because their gender identity is not questioned. If they blur the lines of gender norms, then this will likely experience discrimination, but it's a lesser form of oppression than the oppression faced by people who are transgender and constantly have their identity questioned and not respected.

The way the system is set up, it could be easy for different oppressed groups to turn against each other. I am not going to even begin to cover the rampant racism in the LGBTQA+ community or the homophobia in many ethnic or cultural groups. However, my point is that at the Women's March we were able to see an intersectional crowd come out, protest, and march for equality which is what feminism is. Feminism is not the belief that women are better than men or that women hate men. Feminists are not only women either. Feminists are those who believe in equality for all people, regardless of race, gender, sexuality, age, nationality, ability, etc.