A letter to all the white, straight, cisgender, man people out there -- people like myself -- who are struggling with the idea of being told to "check your privilege."
If you identify as a man, these are a bunch of unearned benefits you get that folks with other genders do not. Read them and consider them. It’s not about shame. It’s about understanding.
We know that "male or female" has plenty of issues. So what's the best way? Here are a few options to get you started.
In my show, I address the issue of positive stereotypes head-on, but I wanted to write an article about it as well. Â For those of you unaware, positive stereotypes are assumptions about an entire group or identity (e.g., gay men) that are considered to be “good.” Â Some examples of positive stereotypes of gay men: they... Read more »
With a bit of new language, it's easy to see how much of a non-issue this really is.
My first version of this tasty little guide to gender. It presents gender along three different continuums, one for identity, expression, & biological sex.
If you're heterosexual, these are a bunch of unearned benefits you get that folks with other sexualities do not. Read them and consider them. It’s not about shame. It’s about understanding.
A term that's gone from zero cultural recognition to infinity in t-minus 20-some years.
About the Author
Hi! I'm Sam Killermann, an activist, educator, and artist who is employed by a collective of bosses to create for global justice. I write everything here, do the doodles, and even coded the site itself. Here are some other sites I've made that you might dig:
- The Safe Zone Project (a free online resource for LGBTQ awareness and allyship training workshops)
- The Sexualitree (a comprehensive sexuality model, curriculum, & downloads)
- I <3 Singular They (a love letter I wrote to a pronoun... yep. Oh, and I animated it!)
Would you like to better understand gender?
Great! I wrote a book for you! It's called A Guide to Gender: The Social Justice Advocate's Handbook. It's just like this website, but instead of being made out of code, it's made out of murdered trees.
Or would you like to learn about facilitation?
Then you'll appreciate this book I co-authored it with Meg Bolger. It's called Unlocking the Magic of Facilitation: 11 Key Concepts You Didn't Know You Didn't know. It's the HOW where this website is the WHAT.
Or maybe you just need an LGBTQ+ vocab primer?
I hear ya. This stuff can be confusing. Here's a solid place to start: Defining LGBTQ+: A Guide to Gender & Sexuality Terminology. Think of this as an elaborately annotated glossary turned into an e-book — because that's what it is.