...relate to racism. Jobs, acceptance, equality, benefits, this list is harder to label is it not? White Privilege is just as real as racism, but not as apparent. According the University of Dayton’s online dictionary, White Privilege is defined as, “a right, advantage, or immunity granted to or enjoyed by white persons beyond the common advantage of all others; an exemption in many particular cases from certain burdens or liabilities,” (“white privilege”). White Privilege is a subject rarely covered by educators due to the difficulty students’ have understanding it; therefore, resulting in a lack of awareness. White Privilege, unlike racism,...
Words: 985 - Pages: 4
...White privilege otherwise known as white skin privilege is a term for societal privileges that benefit white people in western countries beyond what is commonly experienced by the non-white people under the same social, political, or economic circumstances. These privileges are unearned and are distributed based on values of the dominant group, which in the west is white people. According to McIntosh and Lee, whites in a society considered culturally a part of the Western World enjoy advantages that non-whites do not experience. This leads to the controversy over whether or not White people should be able to enjoy these privileges. The term denotes both obvious and less obvious passive advantages that white persons may not recognize they have, which distinguishes it from overt bias or prejudice. These include cultural affirmations of one's own worth; presumed greater social status; and freedom to move, buy, work, play, and speak freely. The effects can be seen in professional, educational, and personal contexts. The concept of white privilege also implies the right to assume the universality of one's own experiences, marking others as different or exceptional while perceiving oneself as normal. Some critics argue that the term uses the concept of "whiteness" as a proxy for class or other social privilege or as a distraction from deeper underlying problems of inequality. Others argue that it is not that whiteness is a proxy but that many other social...
Words: 286 - Pages: 2
...working under dangerous conditions; those stakeholders with greater power are able to deprive other stakeholders. Thus, workers and residents with minimal political power are the most vulnerable to environmental inequality. In order to obtain approval and minimize opposition, companies adopt many strategies, which are connected to "colonial" hierarchies and institutionalized racism. “Throughout history, one of the most effective ways of controlling a colony was to create hierarchies (or intensify existing ones) between social classes and/or ethnic groups, so that each would have an incentive to focus its energies on the others rather than on the colonizer” (Pellow, 80). In the case of Krisjon company, John Christopher “had discovered what every successful polluter knows: that the most profitable path is the path of least resistance”. It began dumping in working-class and low-income African American and Latino communities,...
Words: 373 - Pages: 2
...“White Privilege” Topic: McIntosh, Peggy “White Privilege” The author made use of the phenomenon of male privilege to bring out the fact that white privilege is similarly denied and unconsciously protected. By describing how male privilege has rooted in our society, and how men denied this phenomenon by avoiding acknowledgement of the issue, the author explained the development of white privilege. According to the author, whites are taught not to recognize their privileges. They are disciplined in a way that they are unable to recognize racism as something that puts them at an advantage while as a result, put others at a disadvantage. They do not realize the existence of unearned skin privilege and therefore do not feel the need to stop it. By identifying the daily experiences granted by their skin privilege, whites can help themselves to reveal this distorted culture. They have to recognize the problem before they can lessen it and work to end it. The most obvious privileges are that white individuals are assumed to be affluence, civilized and morally neutral. The white community is perceived as a group of people who interact pleasantly and peacefully and that their country enjoys a widely represented state and its people enjoy many of its freedom. These perceived and unearned privileges are not only preserved from other people, they are also used as weapons to oppress others. However, even if white individuals do not approve the way which white dominance has been...
Words: 328 - Pages: 2
...social phenomenon of 'white privilege' is defined in various ways from different scholars. White privilege is defined as having unearned benefits, rights and advantages that one receives because of one's race. Peggy McIntosh understands the privileges that are appointed to her simply because she is white. (White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, McIntosh, 1988) The thesis of McIntosh's article is that white privilege is burdensome to people who have or have not encountered white privilege. / To those who have or have not encountered white privilege, it is burdensome. Mcintosh identifies herself for having white privilege. In the article she analyzed how having white privilege in her daily life affected her. McIntosh encountered situations such as not getting questions when discussing matters of race or being able to go to most places and finding those of her own skin, even being able to find bandages that will more than likely match her skin tone. Different scholars have distinct meanings for white privilege. The social phenomenon of white privilege is complex. Different scholars have a different say of what white privilege means. Naomi Zack, a professor of...
Words: 545 - Pages: 3
...White American Privileges and Social Class Aieleen Lanot University of Hawaii – West Oahu White American Privileges and Social Class Privilege is a concept of sociology used to implicate that there are certain groups of individuals that have an advantage over others. “Social liberties use the term to mean benefits according to white people under economic, political, and social circumstance. (Anyon 17)” I agree with his stance because there is no extension of such privileges to individuals of other races such as Blacks, Hispanics or Asians. The use of this term is mainly in the social inequality context primarily in relation to social class, sexual orientation, race, age, and gender. Several recorded privileged elements show the advantageous that White America has in getting access to better housing, jobs, and education. This paper will explore the issue of White American privileges and how social class status is based on color of your skin and the financial means of your family. In the article by Peggy McIntosh, she defines, “White privileges as a package of unearth assets, invisible in nature and are obvious” (McIntosh 10). There is a comparison of white privilege to an undetectable light knapsack of assurance, maps, tools, guidance, visa, codebooks, clothes, passbooks, emergency gear, blank checks, etc. I concur with Peggy McIntosh analysis since there are several functions brought about by white privileges. These functions include provisions of “perks”...
Words: 3186 - Pages: 13
...The article “What is white privilege?” is written by Christine Emba, who explains what “white privilege” means, how it originated and how it manifests itself in America. It’s the level of societal advantage that comes with being seen as the norm in America, automatically conferred irrespective of wealth, gender, or other factors. According to Christine Emba, white privilege is: “life easing level of advantage, no matter what your wealth, gender, or any other status is and just being white in America, you are respected and assumed the best. It is a set of unearned assets that a white person in America can count on clashing in each day but to which they remain largely oblivious. The article “Making My Head Spin” talks about unearned privilege...
Words: 653 - Pages: 3
...Professor Vann WMST 231-001 Privilege For my mini paper topic I focused on privilege. Before enrolling in this class I had no idea of what privileges were, who had which privileges, how we get our privileges, and the role that privileges play in our everyday lives. The topic of privileges shows up in Shaw and Lee chapter two which is the main focus. Privilege as defined by Shaw and Lee is defined as “Advantages that people have by virtue of their status or position in society.” For example males have advantages that are inherent just because they are males that females do not have. In the case of my topic I focused mainly on the privilege that white people have over black people. In early August in Ferguson, Missouri, 18 year old Michael Brown, an unarmed African American male was shot multiple times and killed after a confrontation with a cop. The officer, Darren Wilson, drove by the boys walking in the road and told them to move onto the sidewalk. Wilson then reversed his car back to the two boys where there was an apparent confrontation as Wilson recognized Brown as a suspect for a convenience store robbery days prior and the boys split off running in separate directions. It later became known that the robbery was not the reasons for the encounter that led to Brown’s death. (Washington Post) When Brown was killed there was a public outcry for him because he had been unarmed and was shot by a white police officer, Darren Wilson after what witnesses say looked like Brown...
Words: 1246 - Pages: 5
...race, each person possesses a different point of view on what it truly means, depending on his or her previous experience. Here in the United States, race is far more complicated. A perfect example that captures exactly how divisive the issue of race can be is white privilege. At first mention, the word can cause a feeling of discomfort. Although, it is not intended to do so. Overtime, the idea has gained awareness, which has led some groups to believe that white Americans are born more privileged than the rest of the population. In turn, this perspective is being met with a fair amount of criticism. Similarly, the article Yes, You Can Measure White Privilege, published on The Root, attempts to address this aspect of the race issue. It argues that white privilege exists, but not in the way that people believe it does. Not only that, the author offers up all the ways that the privilege can be measured. So as to avoid confusion, Harriot makes...
Words: 960 - Pages: 4
...The similarities between Citizen, An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine and What is White Privilege? by Christine Emba both showcase the concepts of microaggressions and white privilege. Many examples of microaggressions and white privilege are common between the two texts, but the examples in the texts are manifested in different ways. For example, in Citizen, An American Lyric Rankine writes many personal accounts of microaggressions targeted at and experienced by black people. While in What is White Privilege? by Christine Emba the author discusses examples of white privilege while providing evidence and statistics to back it up. Also, in What is White the Privilege, Emba explains that the concept of white privilege has been and will continue to be misinterpreted by people and that it exists in American society even though some Americans don’t believe it exists or is a problem....
Words: 295 - Pages: 2
...White privilege is a topic that I never really heard about or grasped the concept of until I became older, maybe around late middle school or early high school years. Coming from a very small, railroad town in western Virginia, white privilege was not apparent or noticeable to me. It was not a topic that was commonly discussed unless you were taking a history class or another class that addressed racism in our country. Even in those classes, racism in our country was talked about, but rarely was the topic of white privilege and what it stands for brought up in discussion. My initial thoughts about white privilege are that I think it is unfair and morally wrong to have such a difference in treatment and opportunities between races. However, I’m not surprised that it exists in our world today and it doesn’t shock me to hear and see that white privilege is still embedded in the crevices of everything we do. We live in a world where racism is still...
Words: 675 - Pages: 3
...In the article White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Back Pack, Peggy McIntosh explains how white people have an unearned advantage in society solely due to the colour of their skin. The first important aspect of the article is that McIntosh argues that white people gain this privilege from the prejudice we attribute to people of colour. These ideas people have, put people of colour at a disadvantage in comparison to white people. The preconceived ideas people have about others affects their opinions causing them to undervalue people belonging to particular racial groups. Examples of these ideas are: that a certain race is uneducated, that a certain race is incapable performing certain tasks, or that one race is superior to another, also known as ethnocentrism. Since being white is an asset, it opens many doors for white people to rise to the top (McIntosh 8), while the undervalued people of colour are being held back. The fact that this happens and while people remain oblivious to white privilege, allows the current “taxonomy of privilege,” (McIntosh 9) to remain. Another important aspect of the article is that McIntosh acknowledges that all white people are not racist, but they “are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege,” (McIntosh 3). If they do not see white privilege as being real, they will be less inclined to agree that other races are not treated as fairly and they will also not attempt to do anything to help the under privileged groups. In society today...
Words: 1240 - Pages: 5
...White Privilege Karie R. Shepherd Ivy Tech Community College Abstract The study of sociology allows us to understand the relationship between people and other cultures along with racial and ethnic inequality. As we define culture by a set of norms and values, we can also study how these cultures can often change over time and attitudes towards racial and ethnic groups. Several concepts, such as prejudice, racial profiling, and white privilege can often change the way we think or view other cultures. These topics become more relevant as you read Tim Wise’s article “White Swim in Racial Preference” and force us to think about how these ideas are put into practice. How this short piece makes us initially feel or perhaps react to other cultures can say a lot about who we are as a person and our level of understanding and tolerance towards groups other than our own. As we study sociology we seek to explain social behavior and human groups and how social relationships influence peoples behavior. We also seek to understand how those relationships and behaviors can change and develop over time. To study sociology we need to look at theoretical ideas such prejudice, racial profiling and white privilege to gain more understanding of how society functions as a whole. Tim Wise’s article “Whites Swim in Racial Preference” speaks to the ideas that white privilege very much exists in the country and how the University of Michigan’s affirmative action sanctions essentially did nothing...
Words: 918 - Pages: 4
...SWK207 “White Privilege: American Reality“ America is the land of the free and the land of opportunity. All men are created equal and can achieve the “American Dream”. These are the kinds of phrases one hears throughout life. Unfortunately, these words are misleading because not everyone has the same opportunity. Court documents from the Dred Scott decision state: “… people of African-American descent are a subordinate and inferior class that, whether slave or free, remains subject to the authority of the dominant and superior white race.” (Day & Schiele, 2013) The concept that we live in a land where all people are equal and success is achieved through hard work alone is nothing more than a myth. White Privilege provides a distinct advantage to white Americans over all non-whites simply by virtue of birth. White Privilege is like gravity, everyone feels the effects but you don’t see it. According to Eduardo Bonilla-Silva most whites believe that racism is less relevant in today’s society. Focus is placed on cultural differences as the reason why some people achieve more success than others. A closer look reveals that this idea still supports the status quo of White Privilege (Bonilla-Silva, 2001). White Privilege is so ingrained in American society that it is virtually invisible (O'Malley Halley, Eshleman, & Vjaya, 2011). The dominant American social values (Day & Schiele, 2013) while separate are still to some extent an extension of White Privilege. White privilege...
Words: 1698 - Pages: 7
...Diane Baquedano Comm 315 Professor Puente 02/09/15 White Privilege Assignment My ethnicity is Central American. I am Costa Rican on my maternal side and Honduran on my paternal side. I am a first generation American on my maternal side because my mother was born in Costa Rica and moved to Los Angeles, California when she was ten years old. I am also a first generation on my paternal side as well because my father was born in Honduras and moved to this country later on in life. After reading the article by Michael Omi and Howard Winant, I learned how race was determined in the New World and how with time, the meaning of race changed by many factors such as science, social factors, and “common sense” qualities that people have when meeting people of a different race other than their own. In the New World, Europeans did not know what to call people that looked different than them and decided to outcast these people as “natives”, whom they believed may have not been human beings at all. This idea eventually led to slavery of non-whites. I agree with the authors about the idea of “racial etiquette” because race has become a part of who we are and what we go through every day. I know that being Hispanic has many stereotypes such as knowing how to cook well, speaking fluent Spanish, and most likely having Mexican ethnicity. In reality, none of these things define me but I already expect people to believe these ideas and perceptions about me. I also agree that these stereotypes...
Words: 898 - Pages: 4
