(Ev-psych story: holding oneself up as the victim of injustice might get a person what they want, but it often comes off as a strong signal of low status.)

It can, but there is a line in there between 'victim of injustice' and 'someone who has the social resources to get away with demanding more status by claiming offence'. It comes down to how good you are at framing situations and how scared other people are of rejecting or ignoring your claim.