White privilege

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White privilege is a sociological theory denoting the advantages purported to be enjoyed by white persons beyond what is commonly experienced by the non-white people in those same nations. Author Peggy McIntosh claims there are parallels between white privilege, male privilege and heterosexual privilege.

The effect of "white privilege" on non-white people, shows up as colonial mentality, colorism and the excessive (in parts of the world) use of skin whitening creams by nonwhite people who have been exposed either directly or indirectly to the racism.

White privilege in America

The theory of white privilege in America may be seen as having its roots in the system of legalized discrimination that existed for much of American history.[1] From legalized slavery and the legalized taking of land and life from Native Americans, to Jim Crow laws, to legalized housing and job discrimination, a hierarchy of social benefits was legally and institutionally enforced for many decades in the United States[citation needed]. Although such active discrimination is now unconstitutional and illegal, the cultural, economic, social, and psychological effects of decades of such systematic, institutionalized racism continues to have an effect, according to many who have examined these issues[citation needed].

In addition to these advantages, many see a continuing, although not legalized or acknowledged, system of advantage to white people in areas such as housing, salaries, access to employment (especially to positions of power), access to education, even life expectancy.[2][3] Television programs tend to reflect white worldviews, especially the news media which tends to feature white personalities.[4] E. Manglitz argues the educational system in America has deeply-entrenched biases in favor of the white majority in evaluation, curricula, and power relations.[5] Historians and authors, including Noel Ignatiev and Karen Brodkin, discuss the historical trajectory from exclusion to acceptance of Irish and Jewish émigrés in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in terms of white privilege.

Beverly Daniel Tatum points out that most white people do not think to describe themselves as "white" when listing descriptive terms about themselves, whereas people of color usually use racial or ethnic identity descriptors. Tatum suggests this is because the elements of one’s identity that are congruent with the dominant culture are so normalized and reflected back at one that one is apt to take such traits for granted. This is not the case for identity aspects of those who are defined as "other" by the dominant culture, whether it be on the basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, or other microcultural aspects.[3] The true reasons behind this occurrence are unknown, but may also be due to many different unspoken psychological effects on minorities and majorities alike, whether it be pride, shame, or an environmental stimulation such as a rally.

Tatum contends dominant microcultures (in this case, white people) set the parameters in which "subordinate" microcultures operate. This is reflected in who gets the best jobs, whose history will be taught in school, whose relationships will be validated by society, etc. Further, subordinate groups are often labeled as substandard in significant ways: e.g., blacks have historically been characterized as less intelligent than whites.[3] Subordinates are also defined as being innately incapable of being able to perform the preferred roles in society. Some members of the subordinate microculture internalize these negative messages, thus being further disadvantaged by the entrenched belief that they cannot succeed to the same extent as white people. Such processes, it is contended, operate to maintain a generalized system of white advantage[citation needed].

Criticism

White privilege is often given as a rationale for controversial affirmative action programs. Additionally, many white people do not see themselves as being privileged or powerful, and wonder whether the concept of white privilege is asking them to admit they have not earned what they possess.[6]

White people who are poor, who have come from families affected by abuse or alcoholism, who have not benefited from advanced education, may not have benefited from being white. Critics point out that whites make up a substantial number of those living in poverty in the United States, and contend this is evidence against the existence of any system of advantage for whites.[citation needed]

Some whites[weasel words] believe that they are automatically branded as "racists" when they have not personally acted in a racist manner, whereas minorities are considered "immune" from this label, no matter how blatantly hateful or discriminatory they act towards whites. Proponents counter that everyone who benefits from a racist institution is indeed racist, even if they have not intentionally acted in a racist way, which is just as bad as branding somebody immoral because of skin color, since neither side can control the conditions of the argument.[citation needed]

Commentator Steve Sailer argues that white privilege may be real, and that "[i]t's not 'unearned.' It was earned for you by the hard work and self-discipline of your ancestors and relatives." The basis behind Sailer's comments is likely the creation of European industrialization, a "leap forward" for humanity on par with the development of agriculture. As a result, Europe and European societies progressed at a faster pace over the last century and a half than other parts of the world.[citation needed]

Other critics believe that the effects of white privilege are exaggerated. Shelby Steele argues that irresponsibility is a larger problem for blacks, who may incorrectly blame their personal failures on white oppression. He also argues that there are many "minority privileges": "If I'm a black high school student today... there are white American institutions, universities, hovering over me to offer me opportunities: Almost every institution has a diversity committee... There is a hunger in this society to do right racially, to not be racist."[7]

See also

Notes and citations

  1. ^ Williams, Linda Faye. Constraint Of Race: Legacies Of White Skin Privilege In America (Penn State, 2004) ISBN 0-271-02535-2.
  2. ^ Farley, R. (1993). The common destiny of Blacks and Whites: Observations about the social and economic status of the races. In Hill, H. & Jones, J.E., Jr. (eds.) Race in America: The Struggle for equality. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
  3. ^ a b c Tatum, B. (1997). Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria? And other conversations about race. New York: Basic Books.
  4. ^ Sunday Shutout: The Lack of Gender & Ethnic Diversity on the Sunday Morning Talk Shows
  5. ^ Manglitz, E. (2003). Challenging white privilege in adult education: a critical review of the literature. Adult Education Quarterly, 53(2), 119-134.
  6. ^ Jensen, R. (1998-07-19). "White people need to acknowledge benefits of unearned privilege". Baltimore Sun.
  7. ^ Stossel, John (2006-11-05). "Does White Privilege Exist in America? Scholars Debate Whether Society Overlooks Minorities". ABC News (20/20). {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

References

  • Allen, Theodore. The Invention of the White Race: Racial Oppression and Social Control (Verso, 1994) ISBN 0-86091-660-X.
  • Berger, Maurice. "White Lies: Race and the Myths of Whiteness" (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1999) ISBN 0-374-52715-6
  • Ignatiev, Noel. How the Irish Became White (Routledge, 1996). ISBN 0-415-91825-1.
  • Jackson, C. (2006). White Anti-Racism: Living the Legacy. Retrieved October 31, 2006 from http://www.tolerance.org/teach/activities/activity.jsp?ar=718.
  • Lipsitz, George. The Possessive Investment in Whiteness: How White People Profit from Identity Politics (Temple University Press, 2006). ISBN 1-56639-635-2.
  • McIntosh, P. (1989). "White privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack." Peace and Freedom, July/August issue, 10-12.
  • Roediger, David R. The Wages of Whiteness: Race and the Making of the American Working Class (Verso, 1999) ISBN 0-86091-550-6.
  • Rothenberg, Paula S., ed. White Privilege: Essential Readings on the Other Side of Racism (Worth, 2004) ISBN 0-7167-8733-4.
  • Updegrave, W.L. (1989). Race and money. Money, December 1989,152-72.

Further reading

  • Black Skin, White Masks by Franz Fanon
  • White Like Me by Tim Wise
  • White by Richard Dyer
  • Brown, C.S. (2002). Refusing Racism: White allies and the struggle of civil right. New York: Teachers College Press.
  • Levine-Rasky, C. (2000). Framing whiteness: working through the tensions in introducing whiteness to educators. Race Ethnicity and Education, 3(3), 271-292.
  • Roediger, D.R. (2005). Working toward whiteness: How America’s immigrants became white. The strange journey from Ellis Island to the suburbs. New York: Basic Books.
  • Solomona, R.P., Portelli, J.P., Daniel, B-J. & Campbell, A. (2005). The discourse of denial: how white teacher candidates construct race, racism and ‘white privilege’. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8(2), 147-169.

External links

White's Self-Interest]

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