Peggy Mcinntosh White Control Essay

Prior to beginning my readings on white racial identity, I did not pay much attention to my white race. If someone had asked me to describe my appearance I would have said short blond hair, blue eyes, average stature, etc. One of the last things I would have noted was the color of my skin. Growing up in overwhelmingly white communities, I never thought to use the color of my skin to differentiate myself from others. Over the course of this dialogue I have learned that my white racial identity is one of the most defining aspects of my appearance in this society. There is a certain level of privilege that I am afforded based solely on the color of my skin. According to Peggy McIntosh, “White privilege is like an invisible weightless

The readings White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, by Peggy McIntosh, White Women, Race Matters by Ruth Frankenberg and Representing Whiteness in the Black Imagination, by bell hooks, all cover the issue of whiteness from different perspectives. There are many aspects of whiteness; in this essay, I will argue that the two most important features are the absence of knowledge of the issue on the part of white people and stereotype consequences. A key point in racism is whiteness, and without understanding what whiteness means there can be no ending it. Once whites understand the problem of whiteness, they must accept the responsibility of creating it, and therefore finding a solution. Stereotypes are a second way to reinforce racism, with acknowledging the different stereotypes comes the power to dismantle them. Spatialization is a consequence of stereotyping, and therefore another issue of racism, which whites must accept. They have been unfairly privileged by and work to create equality.

Peddy McIntosh highlighted various unearned white privileges in her autobiographical article “White Privilege, Color and Crime: A Personal Account.” She illustrated the white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets that one white person could count on cashing in each day. White people have these privileges given to them by the society in which they live in. The same society taught them to be ignorant and unawareness of these privileges. This system of unearned privileges established by white individuals made people of color feel oppressed. In this system being white is a norm and dominant power. Caucasians, who benefit most from the white privilege system in the United States, are more likely to

Whiteness and racism comes from the oppression, colonization and systems of dominance over black people and their feelings. In this case, an intersectional feminist analysis matters because women who are able bodied, cis-gendered, privileged and white are only being considered whereas bell hooks argue that men, women and trans people who oppressed should be fought for. And Peggy McIntosh adds onto this but a white woman who addresses and recognizes her privilege to help other white individuals understand what they have and blacks do not.

According to the authors, what practice(s) create white privilege is viewed in their own unique perspective but, it all fits up under one category of a specific race having the advantage to have their freedom to do what they like. Based on McIntosh view that “whites in Western societies adore recompenses that non-whites do not practice, as "an undistinguishable package of unjustified assets” (Rothenberg, 2016). White freedom represents together evident and not as much of evident submissive rewards that white people may possibly not identify they require, which differentiates it from explicit favoritism or preconception. In fact, they have been accepted as the better social status in addition to freedom to move, buy, work, play, and speak freely. It

White privilege is an advantage in society that is unmerited. Though it is practiced in every day life (whether it’s subtle or not), the majority views it as “absurd” and “non-existent”. It is a taboo that creates feelings of guilt, hostility and anger, but it must be addressed and understood in order to be eradicated. It is necessary for white people to acknowledge their part in maintaining and benefiting from a society that has thrived on racial hierarchy and white supremacy for centuries. White privilege is essentially the flip side of racism; racism does not only disadvantage people of colour, but grants white people power and dominance in our so-called “post-racial” society (McKintosh, 1). In this essay, I will argue that positive and widespread representation and implied acceptance are the most important features of white privilege. Widespread representation is the most important feature of white privilege because we live in an age where the media not only reflects, but also controls our real worldviews and attitudes. The second most important feature of white privilege is adequate housing opportunities and implied acceptance and respect. It is necessary to eliminate this system that puts people in power based on their skin tone and these two aspects are crucial in order to reach that.

Peggy McIntosh’s “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack” addresses the issue of acknowledging whites’ unaware privileges, thus weakening the systems of advantage to reconstruct power systems in the society from 1989 to the present. For instance, men are unconscious about their privileges in a patriarchal society while women are oppressed in the society. White people are unaware of the privileges which they take for granted while non-white communities are discriminated against repeatedly. McIntosh identities her privileges from daily life, which she also relates the patterns of white privilege and assumptions that passed down.

This essay will address key aspects of white privilege and pick the two most important aspects with explanations signifying the reasons for their choosing. An explicit aspect of white privilege is the fact that it is an automatic add-on to anybody satisfying the definition of “whiteness”. Whiteness is defined by Frankenberg (1993) as a concept/identity historically, socially, politically, and culturally produced involving systems of domination (p. 40) thereby privileging anyone who satisfies this definition. Another notable aspect of white privilege is the fact that white people are taught not to recognize their privilege (McIntosh, 2002, p. 33). On a more subtle level, white privilege is an ongoing, institutionalized remnant of colonization. Another aspect of white privilege is its ability in creating dichotomies with PoC. For example, whiteness is associated with “innocence” and “goodness” while blackness is associated with “evil” and “badness” (hooks, 1992, p. 49).

Wise’s examination of the inconspicuous character of racism 2.0 dovetails fittingly with our course’s recurring theme of institutionalized racism. In class lectures we have defined institutionalized racism as the discriminatory practices that have become regularized and routinized by state agencies, organizations, industries, or anywhere else in society. Although such practices might not be intentionally racist, they end up being racist nevertheless as consequence of the systematized and unspoken biases that have become increasingly convoluted and entrenched within society over time. It also doesn’t help white people to recognize these discriminatory practices considering they have been unconsciously tailored to be consistent with white perspective and mentality. In her article, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack, Peggy McIntosh examines not only how white folks often consider themselves to be a normative figure within society, but also how they are carefully taught not to recognize the advantages they gain from the disadvantages that impair people of color. In the article, McIntosh acknowledges the reality of her own white privilege and expresses, “In my class and place, I did not see myself as a racist because I was taught to recognize racism only in individual acts of meanness by members of my group, never in invisible systems conferring unsought racial dominance on my group from birth” (McIntosh 4). In fact, even if white folks do not believe themselves to

According to Peggy McIntosh, an American feminist and anti-racism activist, whites are convinced that they carry an “invisible knapsack”, which allow them several privileges that African American or other ethnicities don’t have. In her article “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” McIntosh describe a long list of white privileges such as, ”When I go shopping, store detectives don’t follow me” and “…people of my race are positively presented on television or papers”. They believe that the fact of being whites automatically makes them less suspicious of wrongdoing (McIntosh, 152). The American philosopher John Berteaux, a specialist in social ethics and philosophy of race agree with McIntosh about the wrong believe that whites have about some privileges embedded in the race, “Most white people don’t question their race or it’s privileges; they simple take them for granted” (Rosenstand, 373). In other words, whites believe that the skin color is what makes a race better that the other, giving some people more rights that to the others.

As I read the required read "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" I noticed myself reflecting on it in a sense of sorrow. The sorrow I felt reading it was reflecting towards the realness in McIntosh words. In todays society it seems that "white privilege" is something that is assigned not entirely earned. As I say assigned I mean by the color of ones skin. I feel the article/journal I read illustrates that "white" receive and can say a lot of things that people of "color" can not. I got this impression when McIntosh stated things like "I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented." It seems that people think "whites" have a more advantage and get greater treatment

The social construction of race allows “whiteness” to be regarded as the default race or the normal race. This normalization is apparent when white people ask people of color the quintessential question of “where are you from”. An attitude of alienation and “otherness” is placed on minority groups because, quite frankly, being American means being white. Throughout Peggy McIntosh’s essay, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”, she discusses the unscathed and unacknowledged effects of white privilege that are rampant in America’s society today. A hierarchical structure revolving around meritocracy is practically entrenched into our society, and those who are at the apex of this structure are able to do a myriad of things at the

In “An Open Letter to the White Right, On the Occasion of Your Recent, Successful Temper Tantrum” the letter is written by a man named Timothy Jacob Wise and he discusses his views on the white right. The white right focuses on discussing privileges, people who are superior to other races, and those believe they should dominate society. Timothy demonstrates examples and his anti-view on the white right. The article does not focus on white people, but on people who believe a culture on the white right should be continued to this day.

Peggy McIntosh, chapter on “White Privilege, color, and crime,” encourages readers to think about the world in the framework of race, class, and gender on a “White privilege” perspective. McIntosh

In America today there are still many current issues regarding the oppression and attack on those in our society who are subordinate, or looked at as less than the dominate more popular groups. The categories these fall under are, gender inequality and racism. There are two clearly dominate groups when it comes to sexism and racism. Those being, a white dominated society, as Tatum said, “a way of acknowledging the ever-present power differential afforded Whites by the culture and institutions that make up the system of advantage and continue to reinforce notions of White superiority (128).” While there are always going to be prejudice in the world, the issue that continues today is the unequal disruption of power that the white race gains from being racially prejudice. They can create an advantage by using the lack of experiences or exposure those around them have creating prejudice, this is a “preconceived judgment or opinion, usually based on limited information” when you spread these ideas that is when a stereotype is created which can be not only hurtful but can also be dangerous (Tatum 125). Prejudices are not only limited to race, everyone has different opinions and judgments they individually make or a society makes for them, this can also be adapted to fit the sexism issue.