Straight Privilege

4 December, 2005 - 3:21am — adbak

Hey guys! I was listening to Crash and Bailey and they read a paper titled "Straight Privilege". It's an idea paralleling that of "White Privilege", which was written to show the legs-up that white people have. "Straight Privilege", by contrast, shows how straight people are advantaged in todays world. It was written by straight-identifying students at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. Without further ado, an excerpt from Straight Privilege":

This article is based on Peggy McIntosh’s article on white privilege and was written by a number of straight-identified students at Earlham College who got together to look at some examples of straight privilege. These dynamics are but a few examples of the privilege which straight people have. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer-identified folk have a range of different experiences, but cannot count on most of these conditions in their lives.

On a daily basis as a straight person...

I can be pretty sure that my roomate, hallmates and classmates will be comfortable with my sexual orientation.

If I pick up a magazine, watch TV, or play music, I can be certain my sexual orientation will be represented.

When I talk about my heterosexuality (such as in a joke or talking about my relationships), I will not be accused of pushing my sexual orientation onto others.

I do not have to fear that if my family or friends find out about my sexual orientation there will be economic, emotional, physical or psychological consequences.

I did not grow up with games that attack my sexual orientation (IE fag tag or smear the queer).

I am not accused of being abused, warped or psychologically confused because of my sexual orientation.

I can go home from most meetings, classes, and conversations without feeling excluded, fearful, attacked, isolated, outnumbered, unheard, held at a distance, stereotyped or feared because of my sexual orientation.

I am never asked to speak for everyone who is heterosexual.

I can be sure that my classes will require curricular materials that testify to the existence of people with my sexual orientation.

People don't ask why I made my choice of sexual orientation.

People don't ask why I made my choice to be public about my sexual orientation.

I do not have to fear revealing my sexual orientation to friends or family. It's assumed.

And the list goes on.

Yes, they mention sexual orientation as a choice; it isn't, but the larger message of the article trumps this oversight. Check out the rest of the article at http://www.cs.earlham.edu/~hyrax/personal/files/student_res/straightprivilege.htm.

Tags:

Adbak's journal

Comments

4 December, 2005 - 3:51am — devildog

That's a neat article, and th

That's a neat article, and that one part about it being a choice is overshadowed by the rest of the truths in it. Man, could I identify...being gay can be hard sometimes.

~*~*~*~*~*~

I’m not as sad as Doestoevsky,
I’m not as clever as Mark Twain,
I’ll only buy a book for the way it looks,
And I'll stick it on the shelf again.
-Belle and Sebastian

17 December, 2005 - 4:36am — Heh...

O_o

yea being gay can be very hard (AHAHAHAHHAAHAH..HA..ha...whooo...yea...) sometimes >_>

**~~~~||~~~~||~~~~||~~~~||~~~~**

I wanna hug :x!

4 December, 2005 - 6:38am — extreme447

Really cool article.

And they don't actually say they agree with the "sexuality is a choice thing", they just say it gets asked. And it does.

4 December, 2005 - 10:50am — Moonmage

Wow this is amazing

this is so true for me, I mean it is so true I love it:

"I should never be afriad of who I love but if they love me back"

Moonmage

4 December, 2005 - 5:37pm — cayde

Financial Consequent is a big deal

As I mentioned in my own journal earlier this week. That I was afraid to come out because being gay previously is associated renouncing your claim to setting up a family and having your relationship celebrated and recognized by the society.

Well untill now I haven't told or discuss my sexuality to my family. In my past I told them that I was a happy bachelor, this is actually half true. To certain extend I am still relying on my parents financially. I don't want to second guess their reactions toward my life style choice (actual or percieved). Well I don't mean that homosexuality is life style choice but coming out and being out comfortably around do actually require me to make a decisions on certain life style choices like drinking at certain bars and participating in certain activities. Those choices do actually entails certain kinds of perjudice and negativities from certain part of the society.

Most parents always presume their children are heterosexual and would move on to do things like marriage and starting a family. They also assume homosexuality would inhibit those natural processes. That's a priviledge because we have to prove to them that life style choices we adopted can be or would be ethical, ultimately we too are capable of having, and being part of a family.

4 December, 2005 - 9:56pm — Campfire

Just makes me even less incli

Just makes me even less inclined to come out to be honest.

"Bigamy is having one wife too many. Monogamy is the same."
- Oscar Wilde

5 December, 2005 - 1:06pm — cayde

Do come out anyway

But take your time. at least you can proudly congratulate yourself for coming out to your own self and admitting who you are and what you want. I used to think coming out to myself and to my as-was partner was good enough. When things went wrong I needed other friends to talk to, whether straight or gay. So I decided to come out to other people.

You only have to tell people you care about. There will always people who feel bitter toward you but they will soon understand. My best budd had bit of problem with one of this childhood friend who happened to be a girl and fancied him. It took him sometimes to bring her on board. His girl-friend soon got over him and started a relationship. Although she is still confessing she still cares for him. :)