Privilege and oppression have and always will play a huge role in society, whether we like it or not because everyone will not always agree on the same thing. Privilege is defined as a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group of people. Privilege is a very sensitive topic and we tend to get uncomfortable when this comes into conversation because we don't want to hear how we have more 'power' than others, or how others have more 'power' than us. There is nothing that we can do to really stop this because it's just how it is, and people can't really control it. Everyone has privilege in one way or another, but some people depending on their race, gender, economic status, or sexual identity will have either more or less privilege. That's where this non-discriminatory ordinance comes into play.
Committee proposal In this article, it shows us that there is support for the proposal of making it illegal for the city of De Pere to discriminate based on gender identity or expression. Proponents of the article say that keeping transgender workers is good for the economy and it would set an example of inclusiveness for other communities.
Proposed transgender rights ordinance This article goes a little more in-depth on this problem. Becuase discrimination is such a problem in today's society, people are trying to put an end to this. By doing so, this proposed ordinance will allow people who claim to have been discriminated against, can file a complaint and the offender could be fined. Something that stood out to me in this article is when a couple on the panel mentioned their daughter is transgender and asked other people on the panel if they are worried about being attacked due to their gender identity, and that this probably doesn't cross their mind, but it's constantly on their daughter's mind.
This proposed ordinance applies to privilege and oppression in that De Pere, in this case, understands certain minorities aren't getting the right/fair treatment as everyone else. In particular, people who express themselves as something other than straight, are looked down upon, and/or aren't given the same opportunities that straight people have. A big issue is safety when it comes to people who are transgender/bi and anything in between, and that's something that puts other people more in control because everyone else doesn't have to worry about how they're going to get treated or viewed. What is Privilege? This video is a GREAT example of how people recognize they are in a position or more/less power and how it makes them feel. Relating this particular video to the article about privilege is that there was this one black, lesbian woman who ended up being in the very last position. This shows that being anything other than straight will lead to being oppressed by others and giving you a lack of power. This ordinance wants to stop people from feeling this way in society because everyone should be treated equal and like they said in the privilege video, 'Stop complaining about what you don't have and just be grateful for what you do have.'
You mention that there's nothing we can really do to challenge privilege and oppression--do you see policies like the one DePere is trying to implement as one way to challenge these systems?
ReplyDeleteRemember that transgender is a gender identity and not a sexuality.
Even though I agree that if you are anything but straight you will experience oppression, you might also have privilege as well in your own group of society. For example, schools have to have bathrooms for transgender people to go in so they usually get a private one where straight people need to share a bathroom with multiple stalls and get no privacy. It's just a small thought to add onto the fact that in some ways they may be privileged despite all of the oppression they deal with.
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