This list inspired by her work, though, isn't as brilliant. To the positive, the list - which I will post here and to which I will respond line-by-line - makes some solid and impactful assessments; to the negative, though, it makes just as many half-baked ones, which neither further the movement for social equality and justice for transgender people nor paints a totally-accurate account of their realities.
The author of this particular list is unknown. Additionally, what I like about said list is that it looks upon cisgender people as the subject. Too often, non-heteronormative people are studied and scrutinized as the "other," meaning that almost all research fails to look back and study the majority. This list attempts to undo this problem by studying the majority, something expertly suggested by Toni Morrison in her 1992 piece Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination.
A List of Cisgender Privileges
1) Stranges don't assume they can ask me about what my genitals look like and how I have sex.
This first point is a very telling look into something inappropriate that transgender - particularly transsexual - people face. Common decency dictates that asking another person about their genitals is a no-no, and so it is both troubling and rude that trans people must field questions about their genitals. Frankly put, it's no one's business what a trans person's genitals look like, just like it is no one's business what your genitals look like.
This second point, though, is not as strong, for it isn't factually accurate. Gay and bisexual men and women are often asked by ignorate people how, exactly, they have sex. Lesbians, in particular, seem to field this question too often. People living with disabilities equally face this question. Because this question about how another engages in sex is not limited to transgender people, this second point is, in fact, not a "cisgender privilege."
2) My validity as a man/woman/human is not based upon how much surgery I've had nor how well I "pass" as a non-trans person.
If you've ever seen an episode of Bravo's The Real Housewives... or been to L.A., you would know that there are whole cultures of people who value people, particularly women, according to how they look. These cultures pressure people to go to extremes to appear "youthful," often through cosmetic surgeries. In this way, a person's worth is based on their ability to pass as young.
Moreover, I am interested in how the author equates "man," "woman," and "human" here, as if these things are synonyms. In trans communities, it is rather common to suggest that another person devalues their humanity when said person does not respect their gender identity. Now, is that a tragic and unkind thing to do? Yes. But is it the same as revoking someone's humanity? I'm not convinced that it is. Consider this: as an out gay man, I've been called a "girl" before, even addressed as "Miss." I, however, don't identify as a woman; I identify as a man, and thus my gender identity was purposefully disrespected - I was disrespected. But was my humanity, the essentiality of my status as a human being, disrespected? No, I was simply called another 'type' of human, and thus "man/woman" and "human" are not synonymous terms. (LGBT people are often dehumanized, but that's for another post.)
3) When initiating sex with someone, I do not have to worry that they won't be able to deal with my parts or that having sex with me will cause my partner to question his or her own sexual orientation.
This bullet is not true, either. Many endowed cisgender men experience that potential sexual partners worry about his genitals. Likewise, I've heard from a lot of female friends that their sex partners rejected their choice not to remove their pubic hair. In both of these situations, other people are "unable to deal" with the genitals of their cisgender partners, and thus this point, too, is something that is not trans-specific.
The second part is also inaccurately suggested to be a trans-specific experience. Many LGB people share sexual and/or romantic experiences with someone who, at the time of the event, identifies as straight. Often, the straight-identified person uses that LGB person to "figure out" what their sexual orientation is, and thus the straight-indentified person goes through a process of understanding their sexual orientation.
4) I am not excluded from events which are either explicity or de facto* men-born-men or women-born-women only. (*possibly anything involing nudity)
This point is true, but is it something that only trans people experience? I don't think so. There are many spaces that discriminate. For instance, there aren't many people of color at golf clubs, fat people in Abercrombie and Fitchs, or men in Baby and Me classes. In 2000 in the United States, the Boy Scouts of America sued the American government for the right to discriminate against gay people, and the US Supreme Court, in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale, found that the Boy Scouts had a constitutional right to "define their membership" as inaccessible to gay people. While many trans people are excluded from gendered spaces such as dressing rooms while shopping, sadly, that experience is not limited to trans people, and thus it, too, does not constitute a true "cisgender privilege."
5) My politics are not questioned based on the choices I make with regard to my body.
This argument is pathetically incorrect. The politics of people with tattoos and/or piercings or who wear political or religious attire are constantly in question. For example, France's ban on burqa has highly politicalize a Muslim woman's adherence to purdah, meaning that the political and social choices of any woman who chooses to veil are majorly examined. Likewise, a cisgender woman's rights to reproductive choice are under constantly scrutiny in the United States, as seen most recently with the GOP's recent attempt to defund Planned Parenthood.
6) I don’t have to hear “So have you had THE surgery?” or “Oh, so you’re REALLY a [incorrect sex or gender]?” each time I come out to someone.
This is the first item that is truly trans-specific, and thus freedom from this question is a real cisgender privilege.
7) I am not expected to constantly defend my medical decisions.
Like No. 5, this item is pathetically incorrect. Some proof? In the US state of Montana, medical marijuana patients recently fought for their right to have their medical decision respected; in Washington state, the terminally-ills' decision to die with dignity is under constant scrutiny; and around the country, a woman's constitutional right to a safe and private abortion is jeopardized, recently by state governments.
8) Strangers do not ask me what my “real name” [birth name] is and then assume that they have a right to call me by that name.
True. Freedom from this unkind situation is a cisgender privilege.
9) People do not disrespect me by using incorrect pronouns even after they’ve been corrected.
As covered by a personal anecdote in No. 2, cisgender people are subjected to this mistreatment too. Indeed, feminization is a common tactic in male-male bullying.
10) I do not have to worry that someone wants to be my friend or have sex with me in order to prove his or her “hipness” or “good” politics.
Unlike the other assertions which were simply not-totally true, this one is offensive. It is offensive because it puts-down the very people who attempt to befriend trans people, to accept them for who they are. In English, there's a very clever colloquialism for this phenomenon - "biting the hand that feeds you." I do not disagree that there are people who attempt to befriend minority people for the supposed "cool factor," (after all, I have been befriended by several people who were really into interested because I was gay or an immigrant) but is that really a bad thing? Sure, on one level, it does reduce an individual into being solely a member of a minoritized community as opposed to a vibrant individual worth knowing on their own merits. But the underwritten argument here creates an impossibility: the subtext of this assertion is that a stranger can see another as a total, complete person when they first meet. I don't believe that argument for a second, for no one can see the totality of "Me" in an instant, and I constantly see new aspects of people I'v eknown my entire life. It's not possible for another to see another's totality, and to claim that a person who attempts to befriend you 'can only see me as a minority' will lead to a guaranteed friendless future.
11) I do not have to worry about whether I will be able to find a safe and accessible bathroom or locker room to use.
While transgender people often struggle with this situation, they are not alone. People living with disabilities often must put forth greater-than-average effort to find accessible restrooms. Likewise, the US Navy recently suggested that they might need Gay-Only locker- and showerrooms so that they could impliment the repeal of DADT.
12) When engaging in political action, I do not have to worry about the gendered repercussions of being arrested. (i.e. What will happen to me if the cops find out that my genitals do not match my gendered appearance? Will I end up in a cell with people of my own gender?)
The situations of LGBT people in prisons is a major and serious concern, though transgender people statistically do not fair worse in prison environments than their lesbian, bi, and gay peers. Additionally, women and people of color are disproportionally abused, harrassed, and/or injured in jails, and thus this point is not a cisgender privilege, either.
13) I do not have to defend my right to be a part of “Queer” space or movement, and lesbian, gay, and bisexual people will not try to exclude me from our movements in order to gain political legitimacy for themselves.
This argument is pretty lofty, for two reasons. Firstly, this assessment rests on the idea that the majority of lesbian, bisexual, and gay people exclude transgender people from their community. I'm certain that some LGB people do exclude trans people from their community, but I am not one of them. In fact, I devote the majority of my LGBT advocacy to transgender-specific topics. Likewise, I do not know any other gay or bi people who hate, distrust, or exclude trans people. I am going to go out on a limb and presume that this point was inspired by the Human Rights Campaign's dubious and unkind decision to support an ENDA that dropped trans-inclusion in order to have a snowball's chance in hell of passing (which I consider to be a low point for American human rights).
Additionally, some of the most vocal people that wish to exclude transgender people from the LGBT community are other transgender people, who see their needs and rights as categorically-different from gay and bisexual ones.
Secondly, this argument forgets (or doesn't really care about) bisexual erasure in the LGBT community, which, in my personal experience, is overwhelmingly more common than transgender erasure.
14) My experience of gender (or gendered spaces) is not viewed as “baggage” by others of the gender in which I live.
Similar to No. 10, this assertion pretends that transgender people can read the minds of others, and unless they are Professor Charles Xavier or Emma Frost of the X-Men, they can't. (But if you, dear reader, are Emma Frost, we totally need to be friends!) Moreover, trans people are not the only ones whose gender experiences are minimalized. Recently, feminist circles have been highly critical of medicalization of women's experiences, such as pregnancy and childbirth, PMS, and the contended PMDD. In all of these examples, feminist writers argue that women's natural, personal experiences are incorrectly viewed as "baggage" in order to depower women, and as I agree with them, transgender people are not the only ones whose gender experiences are belittled.
15) I do not have to choose between either invisibility (“passing”) or being consistently “othered” and/or tokenized based on my gender.
Again, this assertion is myopic. Gay and bisexual people constantly face this same challenge, as do many mixed people. Mariah Carey, for instance, who is mixed and passes as white, is notable for her zero-tolerance stance on being categorized as solely white or black. As a cisgender woman who experiences this same situation, this argument is not a cisgender privilege, either.
16) I am not told that my sexual orientation and gender identity are mutually exclusive.
Honestly, I think the author of this list is not totally certain of what "mutually exclusive" means; if two things are "mututally exclusive," they cannot occur at the same time. What the author intends to say here, then, is that a cisgender person does not have to fear that someone will say that their gender identity and sexual attraction are incongruent. But unfortunately, that is not true, for gay and bisexual people face constantly scrutiny, notably from ex-gay organizations like Exodus International, which makes very specific statements that all people are innately heterosexual, and thus homo- and bisexual people have "incongruent" sexual orientations for their gender identities.
17) When I go to the gym or a public pool, I can use the showers.
Yes, assuming that you aren't a person of color living under apartheid in several regions of Africa, South America, or Asia; a person with a tattoo or unusual birth mark in Japan; or possibily a recently LGBT recruit to the US Navy. No go on this one, either.
18) If I end up in the emergency room, I do not have to worry that my gender will keep me from receiving appropriate treatment nor will all of my medical issues be seen as a product of my gender. (“Your nose is running and your throat hurts? Must be due to the hormones!”)
Sadly, there are too many examples of transgender people who do not receive proper medical attention due to their trans statuses. Even more tragically, they are not the only group of people to whom this situation occurs. For example, lesbian women have filed several complaints about inappropriate or nonexistent care in rape cases and American and Canadian medical personnel are currently in major professional discussions about how their hospitals and/or insurance providers require that they refuse services to illegal immigrants, something which violates the Hippocratic Oath.
Secondly, it is factually inaccurate to suggest that medical professionals assume that all medical situations a transgender person my experience are a product of their hormone regimen. For one thing, not all transgender-identified people undergo Hormone Replacement Therapy, and a person writing a list of transgender inequalities ought to know that. For another thing, no one with a lung tumor or broken arm will ever be told by a real medical professional that their condition is a product of their HRT, and ergo this second assertion is untrue.
I find it sad that the author of this list chose to focus on this particular element of the troubling relationships between medical and insurance providers and transgender people, which is a major area of inequality that must be addressed.
19) My health insurance provider (or public health system) does not specifically exclude me from receiving benefits or treatments available to others because of my gender.
Like many of the other arguments, this point is not wholeheartedly true. Intersexed people are often denied or excluded from appropriate insurance or care due to their intersex statuses. Thus, this trouble is not one unique to trans people.
20) When I express my internal identities in my daily life, I am not considered “mentally ill” by the medical establishment.
At present, transgender people are considered to be mentally ill by the DSM-IV, the American book of criteria for mental illnesses, meaning that trans people are seen as being "ill;" I find this fact to be disgusting and contrary to scientific studies about the nature of gender identity and the mental health(s) of trans people. However, this fact is not the end of the story. There has been a major movement by mental health professionals - fueled by scientific research - to demedicalize transgender and transsexual people. Likewise, gender therapists, therapists with backgrounds in gender identity who aid transgender people, certainly do not see trans people as being mentally ill, and they are part of this nebulous "medical establishment." Additionally, this argument is American-specific, for other industrialized nations like the UK, Canada, Spain, and the Netherlands do not use the DSM as their diagnosis manual, and thus this argument is not inclusive of all transgender people worldwide.
21) I am not required to undergo extensive psychological evaluation in order to receive basic medical care.
The use of the phrase "medical care" here is a bit tricky, for the author is not talking about dental care or a heart surgery, but for Hormone Replacement Therapy and Sexual Reassignment Surgeries. There is major debate about whether or not transition constitutes a basical medical right, as some argue that transition is "cosmetic" in nature. (Personally, I disagree, and feel transition should be a medical right for transsexual people.)
Moreover, at present, this assertion is not true. Abortion rights in the United States for cisgender women elucidate this point well: mandatory "counselling" for women seeking an abortion is a legal requirement in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Lousiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, almost half of the states. These "counselling sessions" sometimes last several days and, in some cases, a "counsellor" must approve that the woman is not unwell or deceptive before she can have an abortion. In other words, cisgender people are sometimes required to to be evaluated before they can receive their necessary healthcare.
22) The medical establishment does not serve as a “gatekeeper” which disallows self-determination of what happens to my body.
A friend of mine - a healthy and attractive young heterosexual man - recently sought a vascetomy. Though an easy out-patient procedure, he was turned-away for no legitimate medical or legal reason by ten local doctors before he found a doctor willing to perform the procedure. In this case, medical professionals served as "gatekeepers" for this cisgender man. In 2011, some American states have attempted to limit the reproductive capabilities of same-sex couples by preventing anyone by legally-married women from receiving in vitro fertilization. (As same-sex couples cannot legally wed in these states, same-sex couples, thus, would legally be excluded from surrogacy.) Additionally, as mentioned above, changing and differing abortion laws (discussed above) prove that cisgender people also fight medical gatekeepers that limit the self-determination of their bodies.
23) People do not use me as a scapegoat for their own unresolved gender issues.
Just like No. 14, no one can read the minds of others, so it is impossible to prove that cisgender people "scapegoat" transgender people in order to deal with their "unresolved gender issues," issues they may or may not have. This bitter sentiment has no game!
24) My childhood innocence was not interrupted with desperate prayers to a divinity begging to wake up the opposite sex.
Again, not true. If I were a cisgender girl born in Iran, Somalia, or Tonga, three of the UN member states that have not signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, I would wish to wake up as a boy. If I were a survivor of Female genital mutilation, my supposed childhood innocence would be major interrupted by my desires to escape genital mutilation and reclaim my genital integrity.
Additionally, not all transsexual person knew that they were born in the wrong body when they were children, meaning that their assumed "childhood innocence" could not have been threatened by something they did not know.
And lastly, this notion of "childhood innocence" is very troubling, for children are not all the ignorante, blissful simpletons many adults would like to imagine they are.
25) I never grieve about my lost childhood and adolescence because I was born the opposite sex.
This argument is technically the same at No. 24. Moreover, not all transgender people are transsexuals, and thus not all transgender people feel that they were born the "opposite sex," for neither biosex could be congruent with their gender identity.
26) I will only experience puberty once.
This point is really, really stupid. In order to transition from one biosex to another, one must go through puberty, and as the majority of transsexual people who transition have already undergone their biological puberty, they have no option but to undergo a second puberty to obtain a body that better reflects their gender identity. I can understand what this point is trying to say, but the way it is currently written denigrates the emotions behind it. And as a matter of class, one should not complain when one gets what they want; it's in poor taste to do so. To this argument's credit, though, it is the only one since No. 6 that was trans-specific. But does it really constitute a "privilege?" I'm not really sure....
27) I never considered hiding my body parts by binding or tucking.
Some sexologists work specifically with pubscent children who experience deep shame or fear with or about puberty. Some of these children attempt to hide or undo changes to their body, among them breast development and genital growth. Thus, there are some cisgender people who attempt to hide the sex characteristics of their bodies, and ergo this point is not a cisgender privilege.
28) I do not belong to a group of individuals who hold a 45% suicide rate.
Sadly, this statistic seems to be true. Or rather, mostly true. This study finds that 45% of transgender people have attempted suicide, not that they have succeeded at it, as the above point insinuates. This bulletin, then, is one of the few to have been certifiably true.
29) I expect my gender to not unduly affect my ability to travel internationally.
True. The ability to travel internationally without gender discrimination is a cisgender privilege.
30) My control of my body is independent of the good will of oppressive institutions.
As noted with American troubles with abortion rights and attempted legal restrictions on the ability of same-sex couples to conceive, this point is not exclusive to trans people.
31) Recognition of my gender is independent of the good will of oppressive institutions.
This article is half-true. This list, for its American perspective, was clearly written by an American, and thus it is (tragically) true for trans people born in the US. It is not true, however, for all trans people worldwide, for many countries - such as Spain, the Netherlands, Canada, and Brazil, among others - appropriately recognize transgender people.
32) My right to inhabit my currently chosen gender is universally considered valid, regardless of my gendered behavior as a child, or how I felt about being forced into the gender I inhabited then. If I require medical treatment to keep up an appearance that matches my gender, it will be granted immediately and without question.
This argument is proven trans non-exclusive through intersexed people, whose felt gender identites sometimes contradict the gender identity they were assigned at birth. Moreover, insurance companies and governments have oscillating policies about the coverage and recognition of intersex people, and thus this assumption is not a cisgender privilege.
In total, then, only four of the suggested cisgender privileges are actually privileges that cisgender people experience. (In case you're wondering, they are No.s 6, 8, 28, and 29.) However, that finding is not to disagree that transgender people are minorized individuals whose needs are inadequately recognized and responded to. In most of the articles, I believe that there are elements of truth, and either gaps in scientific research about transgender people or near-sightedness on part of the list's author produces an ennumerated list of cisgender privileges that does not accurately delineate the social privileges that cisgender people enjoy.
This is the first item that is truly trans-specific, and thus freedom from this question is a real cisgender privilege.
7) I am not expected to constantly defend my medical decisions.
Like No. 5, this item is pathetically incorrect. Some proof? In the US state of Montana, medical marijuana patients recently fought for their right to have their medical decision respected; in Washington state, the terminally-ills' decision to die with dignity is under constant scrutiny; and around the country, a woman's constitutional right to a safe and private abortion is jeopardized, recently by state governments.
8) Strangers do not ask me what my “real name” [birth name] is and then assume that they have a right to call me by that name.
True. Freedom from this unkind situation is a cisgender privilege.
9) People do not disrespect me by using incorrect pronouns even after they’ve been corrected.
As covered by a personal anecdote in No. 2, cisgender people are subjected to this mistreatment too. Indeed, feminization is a common tactic in male-male bullying.
10) I do not have to worry that someone wants to be my friend or have sex with me in order to prove his or her “hipness” or “good” politics.
Unlike the other assertions which were simply not-totally true, this one is offensive. It is offensive because it puts-down the very people who attempt to befriend trans people, to accept them for who they are. In English, there's a very clever colloquialism for this phenomenon - "biting the hand that feeds you." I do not disagree that there are people who attempt to befriend minority people for the supposed "cool factor," (after all, I have been befriended by several people who were really into interested because I was gay or an immigrant) but is that really a bad thing? Sure, on one level, it does reduce an individual into being solely a member of a minoritized community as opposed to a vibrant individual worth knowing on their own merits. But the underwritten argument here creates an impossibility: the subtext of this assertion is that a stranger can see another as a total, complete person when they first meet. I don't believe that argument for a second, for no one can see the totality of "Me" in an instant, and I constantly see new aspects of people I'v eknown my entire life. It's not possible for another to see another's totality, and to claim that a person who attempts to befriend you 'can only see me as a minority' will lead to a guaranteed friendless future.
11) I do not have to worry about whether I will be able to find a safe and accessible bathroom or locker room to use.
While transgender people often struggle with this situation, they are not alone. People living with disabilities often must put forth greater-than-average effort to find accessible restrooms. Likewise, the US Navy recently suggested that they might need Gay-Only locker- and showerrooms so that they could impliment the repeal of DADT.
12) When engaging in political action, I do not have to worry about the gendered repercussions of being arrested. (i.e. What will happen to me if the cops find out that my genitals do not match my gendered appearance? Will I end up in a cell with people of my own gender?)
The situations of LGBT people in prisons is a major and serious concern, though transgender people statistically do not fair worse in prison environments than their lesbian, bi, and gay peers. Additionally, women and people of color are disproportionally abused, harrassed, and/or injured in jails, and thus this point is not a cisgender privilege, either.
13) I do not have to defend my right to be a part of “Queer” space or movement, and lesbian, gay, and bisexual people will not try to exclude me from our movements in order to gain political legitimacy for themselves.
This argument is pretty lofty, for two reasons. Firstly, this assessment rests on the idea that the majority of lesbian, bisexual, and gay people exclude transgender people from their community. I'm certain that some LGB people do exclude trans people from their community, but I am not one of them. In fact, I devote the majority of my LGBT advocacy to transgender-specific topics. Likewise, I do not know any other gay or bi people who hate, distrust, or exclude trans people. I am going to go out on a limb and presume that this point was inspired by the Human Rights Campaign's dubious and unkind decision to support an ENDA that dropped trans-inclusion in order to have a snowball's chance in hell of passing (which I consider to be a low point for American human rights).
Additionally, some of the most vocal people that wish to exclude transgender people from the LGBT community are other transgender people, who see their needs and rights as categorically-different from gay and bisexual ones.
Secondly, this argument forgets (or doesn't really care about) bisexual erasure in the LGBT community, which, in my personal experience, is overwhelmingly more common than transgender erasure.
14) My experience of gender (or gendered spaces) is not viewed as “baggage” by others of the gender in which I live.
Similar to No. 10, this assertion pretends that transgender people can read the minds of others, and unless they are Professor Charles Xavier or Emma Frost of the X-Men, they can't. (But if you, dear reader, are Emma Frost, we totally need to be friends!) Moreover, trans people are not the only ones whose gender experiences are minimalized. Recently, feminist circles have been highly critical of medicalization of women's experiences, such as pregnancy and childbirth, PMS, and the contended PMDD. In all of these examples, feminist writers argue that women's natural, personal experiences are incorrectly viewed as "baggage" in order to depower women, and as I agree with them, transgender people are not the only ones whose gender experiences are belittled.
15) I do not have to choose between either invisibility (“passing”) or being consistently “othered” and/or tokenized based on my gender.
Again, this assertion is myopic. Gay and bisexual people constantly face this same challenge, as do many mixed people. Mariah Carey, for instance, who is mixed and passes as white, is notable for her zero-tolerance stance on being categorized as solely white or black. As a cisgender woman who experiences this same situation, this argument is not a cisgender privilege, either.
16) I am not told that my sexual orientation and gender identity are mutually exclusive.
Honestly, I think the author of this list is not totally certain of what "mutually exclusive" means; if two things are "mututally exclusive," they cannot occur at the same time. What the author intends to say here, then, is that a cisgender person does not have to fear that someone will say that their gender identity and sexual attraction are incongruent. But unfortunately, that is not true, for gay and bisexual people face constantly scrutiny, notably from ex-gay organizations like Exodus International, which makes very specific statements that all people are innately heterosexual, and thus homo- and bisexual people have "incongruent" sexual orientations for their gender identities.
17) When I go to the gym or a public pool, I can use the showers.
Yes, assuming that you aren't a person of color living under apartheid in several regions of Africa, South America, or Asia; a person with a tattoo or unusual birth mark in Japan; or possibily a recently LGBT recruit to the US Navy. No go on this one, either.
18) If I end up in the emergency room, I do not have to worry that my gender will keep me from receiving appropriate treatment nor will all of my medical issues be seen as a product of my gender. (“Your nose is running and your throat hurts? Must be due to the hormones!”)
Sadly, there are too many examples of transgender people who do not receive proper medical attention due to their trans statuses. Even more tragically, they are not the only group of people to whom this situation occurs. For example, lesbian women have filed several complaints about inappropriate or nonexistent care in rape cases and American and Canadian medical personnel are currently in major professional discussions about how their hospitals and/or insurance providers require that they refuse services to illegal immigrants, something which violates the Hippocratic Oath.
Secondly, it is factually inaccurate to suggest that medical professionals assume that all medical situations a transgender person my experience are a product of their hormone regimen. For one thing, not all transgender-identified people undergo Hormone Replacement Therapy, and a person writing a list of transgender inequalities ought to know that. For another thing, no one with a lung tumor or broken arm will ever be told by a real medical professional that their condition is a product of their HRT, and ergo this second assertion is untrue.
I find it sad that the author of this list chose to focus on this particular element of the troubling relationships between medical and insurance providers and transgender people, which is a major area of inequality that must be addressed.
19) My health insurance provider (or public health system) does not specifically exclude me from receiving benefits or treatments available to others because of my gender.
Like many of the other arguments, this point is not wholeheartedly true. Intersexed people are often denied or excluded from appropriate insurance or care due to their intersex statuses. Thus, this trouble is not one unique to trans people.
20) When I express my internal identities in my daily life, I am not considered “mentally ill” by the medical establishment.
At present, transgender people are considered to be mentally ill by the DSM-IV, the American book of criteria for mental illnesses, meaning that trans people are seen as being "ill;" I find this fact to be disgusting and contrary to scientific studies about the nature of gender identity and the mental health(s) of trans people. However, this fact is not the end of the story. There has been a major movement by mental health professionals - fueled by scientific research - to demedicalize transgender and transsexual people. Likewise, gender therapists, therapists with backgrounds in gender identity who aid transgender people, certainly do not see trans people as being mentally ill, and they are part of this nebulous "medical establishment." Additionally, this argument is American-specific, for other industrialized nations like the UK, Canada, Spain, and the Netherlands do not use the DSM as their diagnosis manual, and thus this argument is not inclusive of all transgender people worldwide.
21) I am not required to undergo extensive psychological evaluation in order to receive basic medical care.
The use of the phrase "medical care" here is a bit tricky, for the author is not talking about dental care or a heart surgery, but for Hormone Replacement Therapy and Sexual Reassignment Surgeries. There is major debate about whether or not transition constitutes a basical medical right, as some argue that transition is "cosmetic" in nature. (Personally, I disagree, and feel transition should be a medical right for transsexual people.)
Moreover, at present, this assertion is not true. Abortion rights in the United States for cisgender women elucidate this point well: mandatory "counselling" for women seeking an abortion is a legal requirement in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Lousiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, almost half of the states. These "counselling sessions" sometimes last several days and, in some cases, a "counsellor" must approve that the woman is not unwell or deceptive before she can have an abortion. In other words, cisgender people are sometimes required to to be evaluated before they can receive their necessary healthcare.
22) The medical establishment does not serve as a “gatekeeper” which disallows self-determination of what happens to my body.
A friend of mine - a healthy and attractive young heterosexual man - recently sought a vascetomy. Though an easy out-patient procedure, he was turned-away for no legitimate medical or legal reason by ten local doctors before he found a doctor willing to perform the procedure. In this case, medical professionals served as "gatekeepers" for this cisgender man. In 2011, some American states have attempted to limit the reproductive capabilities of same-sex couples by preventing anyone by legally-married women from receiving in vitro fertilization. (As same-sex couples cannot legally wed in these states, same-sex couples, thus, would legally be excluded from surrogacy.) Additionally, as mentioned above, changing and differing abortion laws (discussed above) prove that cisgender people also fight medical gatekeepers that limit the self-determination of their bodies.
23) People do not use me as a scapegoat for their own unresolved gender issues.
Just like No. 14, no one can read the minds of others, so it is impossible to prove that cisgender people "scapegoat" transgender people in order to deal with their "unresolved gender issues," issues they may or may not have. This bitter sentiment has no game!
24) My childhood innocence was not interrupted with desperate prayers to a divinity begging to wake up the opposite sex.
Again, not true. If I were a cisgender girl born in Iran, Somalia, or Tonga, three of the UN member states that have not signed the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, I would wish to wake up as a boy. If I were a survivor of Female genital mutilation, my supposed childhood innocence would be major interrupted by my desires to escape genital mutilation and reclaim my genital integrity.
Additionally, not all transsexual person knew that they were born in the wrong body when they were children, meaning that their assumed "childhood innocence" could not have been threatened by something they did not know.
And lastly, this notion of "childhood innocence" is very troubling, for children are not all the ignorante, blissful simpletons many adults would like to imagine they are.
25) I never grieve about my lost childhood and adolescence because I was born the opposite sex.
This argument is technically the same at No. 24. Moreover, not all transgender people are transsexuals, and thus not all transgender people feel that they were born the "opposite sex," for neither biosex could be congruent with their gender identity.
26) I will only experience puberty once.
This point is really, really stupid. In order to transition from one biosex to another, one must go through puberty, and as the majority of transsexual people who transition have already undergone their biological puberty, they have no option but to undergo a second puberty to obtain a body that better reflects their gender identity. I can understand what this point is trying to say, but the way it is currently written denigrates the emotions behind it. And as a matter of class, one should not complain when one gets what they want; it's in poor taste to do so. To this argument's credit, though, it is the only one since No. 6 that was trans-specific. But does it really constitute a "privilege?" I'm not really sure....
27) I never considered hiding my body parts by binding or tucking.
Some sexologists work specifically with pubscent children who experience deep shame or fear with or about puberty. Some of these children attempt to hide or undo changes to their body, among them breast development and genital growth. Thus, there are some cisgender people who attempt to hide the sex characteristics of their bodies, and ergo this point is not a cisgender privilege.
28) I do not belong to a group of individuals who hold a 45% suicide rate.
Sadly, this statistic seems to be true. Or rather, mostly true. This study finds that 45% of transgender people have attempted suicide, not that they have succeeded at it, as the above point insinuates. This bulletin, then, is one of the few to have been certifiably true.
29) I expect my gender to not unduly affect my ability to travel internationally.
True. The ability to travel internationally without gender discrimination is a cisgender privilege.
30) My control of my body is independent of the good will of oppressive institutions.
As noted with American troubles with abortion rights and attempted legal restrictions on the ability of same-sex couples to conceive, this point is not exclusive to trans people.
31) Recognition of my gender is independent of the good will of oppressive institutions.
This article is half-true. This list, for its American perspective, was clearly written by an American, and thus it is (tragically) true for trans people born in the US. It is not true, however, for all trans people worldwide, for many countries - such as Spain, the Netherlands, Canada, and Brazil, among others - appropriately recognize transgender people.
32) My right to inhabit my currently chosen gender is universally considered valid, regardless of my gendered behavior as a child, or how I felt about being forced into the gender I inhabited then. If I require medical treatment to keep up an appearance that matches my gender, it will be granted immediately and without question.
This argument is proven trans non-exclusive through intersexed people, whose felt gender identites sometimes contradict the gender identity they were assigned at birth. Moreover, insurance companies and governments have oscillating policies about the coverage and recognition of intersex people, and thus this assumption is not a cisgender privilege.
In total, then, only four of the suggested cisgender privileges are actually privileges that cisgender people experience. (In case you're wondering, they are No.s 6, 8, 28, and 29.) However, that finding is not to disagree that transgender people are minorized individuals whose needs are inadequately recognized and responded to. In most of the articles, I believe that there are elements of truth, and either gaps in scientific research about transgender people or near-sightedness on part of the list's author produces an ennumerated list of cisgender privileges that does not accurately delineate the social privileges that cisgender people enjoy.
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