White Privilege Research Paper

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

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

White privilege is a unique form of racism given its fascinating characteristic of not involving hostility. Therefore, it cannot be directly blamed on someone (Pludo, 2015). The lack of blame does not cause any discomfort on the white persons enjoying the privileges.

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 privilege is the societal privileges that specifically benefit white people. White privilege is why white people can get pulled over by the police and escape a ticket with just a smile and apology. White privilege is also why whites are in charge of a company and they see a black person, they bypass the application. Whites carry a certain privilege not available to people of color. Marilyn Frye describes how whiteness is a form social and political power.

The ability to walk outside with all worries to the wind, feeling protected by the law, and working hard to get the positions one wants in the workplace, is all attributed to the concept of white privilege. In addition to this, white privilege means one never has to immediately fear being stopped by local authorities. As a Caucasian in any part of the world, thoughts such as, “Please don’t beat me. Please don 't shoot me as I move slowly for my wallet”, never enter one’s mind.

What is privilege? What does it mean? Is privilege inherited or is it earned? As an American resident of color I’ve learned that privilege in this country is something that is innate and inherited. The privilege that I speak of is that of White privilege.

Privilege is simplified as basically an individual have can have something that others normally cannot. Unfortunately having a privilege can easily be overlooked and taken advantage of. White privilege, which is privileges associated with favoring only whites, has been around for a long time. White privilege is often associated with racism, due to whites being superior to other races in the past. Some Americans even tried to make up some false scientific proof that white American males were superior to other races by looking at skulls. “White American male skulls were measured as the base for the superior race, with all other men of color's skulls being measured to demonstrate the inferior races.” (Module 2, Pg 1) In the development of America, whites definitely had a lot more freedom than other races. Asians would work on plantations, and blacks were seen as slaves, a white slave was very rare or sometimes even unheard of. One example of whites having a privilege over other races is the freedom to have an education. In the past whites were just wealthier since they had been in America longer, so the new generation was able to go to school. A lot of institutions were, “White Only” so other races could not receive an education. Whites also had more private restrooms, facilities, water fountains, and more than the colored civilians. The second example would be the natural assumption that whites are smarter than other races. Whites have the privilege or advantage of getting jobs or into higher schools, because of the natural instinct that whites are always intelligent. Jason Richwine, who has a PhD in Public Policy, believes that whites will always have a higher IQ than hispanics. “No one knows whether Hispanics will ever reach IQ parity with whites, but the prediction that new Hispanic immigrants will have low-IQ children and grandchildren is difficult to argue against.” ( Module 2, Pg 6)

In White Like Me, Tim Wise educates viewers about white privilege. He argues that this racial issue is still largely a problem in America today. According to Wise, the reason that racial inequality still persists is because we failed to realize in the past that white privilege existed. Because of this, our nation was in turn “created for” white

This week’s readings, podcast, and videos were very interesting to learn about white privilege. The term white privilege means the systematic advantages of being white (Tatum Racism: Can We Talk?). The topic white privilege is an exceptionally difficult to discuss for the reason that many white people don’t feel influential or identify they have privileges compared to other individuals in society may not feel differently about white privilege. For example in the article White Privilege Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack Peggy McIntosh, a white feminist scholar identified of society privileges that she received simply because she is White (Tatum Racism: Can We Talk? p 8). Therefore when each individual learns about his or her own privileges there

As an individual with an eclectic variety of European descent, I have experienced white privilege. White privilege, prevalent in Western countries like the United States, is a societal structure that puts those who are non-white at a political and sometimes economic disadvantage. Many who do not face these negative experiences are not made aware of the effects white privilege has on their life, unfortunately. Having grown up in Los Angeles, I naively thought I was well versed in racial injustice. It wasn't until I met my partner, and made a deep connection with an individual whose life is negatively affected by the same privilege that benefits me that I began to understand. By sharing their experiences as a non-white citizen of this country,

According to McIntosh, 1988; White Privilege is defined as an expression of power and social dominance of white European Americans over racial and ethnic minorities through the attainment of unearned immunities and benefits. These benefits are individual experiences, institutional benefits, and using things representative to the culture and being able to disregard culture contributions of other groups by racial and ethnic. According to McIntosh 1988; racial privileges are like having “invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, assurances, tools, maps, guides, codebooks, emergency gear, and blank checks (p.77). Racial privileges are benefits that are not earned based but received because someone is white. Having benefits that are unearned

After reading the article by McIntosh I was in complete agreement. I feel it is uncommon for the privileged group to recognize their own privilege. I know I have had conversations with my peers about white privilege and those conversations have not lead to the agreement that there is white privilege. I think you really need to do as the author did and list things that you would otherwise take for granted, find what is in our knapsacks. I find that I am always checking myself when it comes to my interactions with others. Did I act a certain way due to the race of the people I am around? From the article by Bronson, it is discussed how children differentiate on their own. Our brains are wired to find the similarities and relate to those. It makes

Every single person grows up experiencing different situations. One of the few experiences that most white people never experience is discrimination. As a disabled white male, I was literally refused service at a restaurant many years ago in SC. I've experienced other examples as well. That said, I have no idea how anyone else that has ever been discriminated would

To begin, I would like to examine the privilege that I inherited when I was born to a white mother and father. It is important, as a white person, to end the silence that so many white people engage in daily, regarding their privilege. It is not common to hear people speaking about the privilege they experience. This may be due to guilt. It may also be because most people wouldn’t want to willingly admit that all they were able to achieve, the stability they feel in their lives, and the pride they feel for the success that they created for themselves, in large part is due to how people in society perceive them as members of a privileged group. This isn’t to say that those who have achieved success have not earned it, but it must be said that skin color has made certain things easier for white people, and that it may have played a large role in their ability to achieve their potential. Of course I worked hard to be where I am today, but I