Argument Of Privilege

In the beginning of the year I entered this class with a very sheltered and ignorant view of current and past events. Through time and sociological evolution I have begun to see things in a different light. The development of my ability, to look at something or some kind of situation, lets me use the sociological terms in such a manner to relate them to micro and macro problems in society. This started with the assigned readings of the class; the aim was to decipher the messages the authors were presenting. The goal was then to dig deeper and use my experiences to help myself understand the concepts throughout the course. "The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be ignited." Plutarch (46-120 CE--common era) I was no longer

In the online article Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person by Gina Crosley-Corcoran she argues with Mcintosh's understanding of the way privilege is perceived in her perspective. Mcintosh states in her article that the white people of her race are granted privileges that people of others “color” are not guaranteed in this world. For example she believes that if you are white, you are likely to have a comfortable living with a great income and family. Therefore Gina responds to her statement in a argumentative manner to prove that her belief is not true by giving a brief summary of her child. As she grew up in world of poverty in her eyes she was limited to many things in life that Mcintosh says are guaranteed for white people.

Minorities are still fighting to be seen as equals and treated as human but people still think we have achieved equality today. It really is up to educators to teach children about white privilege and how it affects people. White privilege is something that white people benefit from just because of what they look like, but they have no control over it. This can range from having more opportunities for jobs to being more likely to have enough money to go to private school. I am focusing more on the idea that white people have these benefits and have the privilege to deny that such a divide exists. Being able to dismiss the idea of white privilege shows ignorance and can minimize the experiences of those who have suffered at the hands of white privilege.

White (male) privilege comprises of having more access to resources, having normative assumptions of self-worth, and escaping consequences like being discriminated against just on the basis of one’s race (Neville, Spanierman, & Lewis, 2012). There are seven core components of White (male) privilege (Neville, Spanierman, & Lewis, 2012). The first core component is that While (male) privilege differentially benefits Whites on the basis of social group membership, including class, gender, and sexual orientation. Further, differentially benefits Whites, means that Whites benefits vary based on their social membership group. An example

In this sense, I noticed how privileged I am because of my sexuality, socioeconomic status, and country of origin. I was raised in a European country where I had the same ethnicity as the majority. Coming from an upper-middle class family, I never suffered from poverty or the stigma associated with it. This means that I grew up in a nice house and in a nice neighborhood where my neighbors were also middle-class families. I could walk alone around my neighborhood without the concern that I could be assaulted or robbed. This means that I was part of a privileged group, but without being aware of it since, as a kid, my parents could afford healthy food, medical bills (such as dentists, dental brackets, or new glasses) but, also toys and clothes. Furthermore, I was able to participate in extracurricular activities or go to college without worrying about the financial cost. Moreover, I have not struggled with stereotypes or stigmas that come with lower socioeconomic statuses such as thinking that they are less educated. Thus, I was never questioned for being intelligent, honest, or hard-working. Overall, I never faced discrimination or racism and that makes me unaware of how it truly feels like. For that reason, I need to acknowledge my identity

Privilege affects everyone, regardless of if they are affected positively or negatively. Being the majority of majorities in America, white males bear an automatic stamp of privilege on their foreheads, although they would care very strongly not to admit it. On the surface, privilege does not seem like such a bad thing, but when you pay attention to the differentiation of struggles between white men and everyone else in America, you can see it is a very large issue. Whether it is in the classroom, in the workforce, in real estate, or even in your own home, white privilege is affecting you. White male privilege in America is counterproductive to the growth of equality in society today because it affects the quality of living and level of opportunity for the rest of the country’s inhabitants. Within all facets of life, you can find extreme examples of white privilege.

Although white privilege, even privilege in mass, affects everyone in this country, white people choose to leave the topic unacknowledged and rely on their white innocence, or ignorance rather, to exhaustively ignore that there is issue. Privilege is defined in the Advanced English Dictionary as a special advantage or immunity or benefit not enjoyed by all. Maleness by itself is an indicator of privilege and power. When you have both whiteness and maleness in your genes, you are set for life in here in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Privilege applies to certain people who benefit more than other people in the same social, political or economic spaces (Henderson, L., week 1, 2014). Somebody might be privileged only because that person is wealthier or more powerful compared to the others. Privilege is an advantage enjoyed only by a person beyond the advantages of most. “Privilege is expressed as an advantage based on status or rank that is used to maintain status quo” (Collins, J., et al., 2011). Privilege can applies to different concept, such as male privilege, white privilege and heterosexual privilege, all of which have implications for education. Although it is still taboo, with evolution, we have come far and we are now starting to accept equality between men and women, white and black and starting to acknowledge heterosexual.

Recognizing and addressing racism is the beginning of working toward equity. Making the invisible visible and giving a voice to the invisible sufferers. According to Margaret Walker (2007), “The moral authority of subordinated people as narrators of the social and political… [lending] moral worthiness of accounts from the perspectives of the marginalized and assumes the plurality of stories” (as cited in Jungkunz

Last week I attended the American Psychological Association Convention in Toronto, Canada. During a session, a White male talked that how is beginning to see and understand privilege, particularly white privilege. The discussion continued with other comments about privilege and all from those who were the recipients of white privilege. According to the dictionary, privilege is a right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit, advantage, or favor (marriam-webster, n.d.). Those that are privileged fall under different categories. One area that people often glaze over, as well, is heterosexism, which is when heterosexuals discriminate or show prejudice toward

Many whites today don’t see these things as s privilege because they hear stories of their great ancestors who worked hard for everything they had, not realizing that a person of color who worked just as hard or harder didn’t have the same capability of achieving “The American Dream.” Our ancestors had an undeniable road paved with privileges for being white and oppression for being of color. It’s easy today to ignore that we (white people) got to where we are based on privileges for the color of our skin, but if you think about it, it’s like running a race where one group starts at the halfway point. Those that start at the

There are a multitude of ways we can address the inequality occurring as we live. To begin, those who are privileged need to acknowledge that they are and how it effects targeted groups such as diverse races. Subsequently, privileged individuals must actively listen to their targeted peers and empathize towards their struggles. By listening, we can foster the steps of development towards combating various forms of

Right on the first page in chapter six it discusses the privilege groups discomfort about discussing privilege. Yes, it is true for so many and for those who don’t feel discomfort, I call you brave and open minded. But, it is a hard thing to discuss especially with a non-privileged group of individuals. I, for one also feel discomfort and defensive sometimes in those situations, and that could be from a number of different reasons. Whether it is because I feel guilty, ashamed, judged, etc. For this I will talk about race, for those who are white, we are born this way, we didn’t choose to be white and there’s nothing you can do about it. You were born into the privileged group here in America. But, it is something that we need to accept and admit to, we are the privileged group but, we don’t because of this nasty stigma about race. Race has turned into this sharp word that scares people when it is mentioned. We, as educators need to change the stigma of that word. We need to make it so people of privilege and non privilege can discuss privilege and race with out discomfort or being offended. In this class, our race discussion had brought up white privilege and at first it was not comfortable but, as you admit to it, the easier it is to discuss.

The book, Privilege, Power, and Difference brought awareness to where I stand as a Latina female in the United States. Growing up, I did not like to focus on the differences I experienced or saw others experience. These differences made me feel angry, scared, nervous, confused, and hopeless. Instead of focusing on the unfairness I was a part of I decided to look at it as a challenge, I would prove to myself that I could do whatever I set my mind to. I took every opportunity handed to me and tried to make the best of it, to make myself proud and my family proud. At least that is what I thought at the time, but now that I have had time to reflect on my desire to succeed I know that part of that desire comes from proving to the dominant culture that minorities can succeed.

There is no short cut to get ready the existence of privilege, its practice by human being and it can only be solve by mankind. Often topics of discussions are racism, sexism, hetaerism, and gender discriminations. Many people have fought and die for equality in workforce and social living. People have normalized privilege, in our society we don’t like to get involved situations that we fear it will have implications to us even when we know that it’s wrong doing, however; until folks are ignoring when they witness discriminations of any type due to fearing or ramifications they are actually participating and being part of the privilege bubble.