White Privilege Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack Analysis

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

In “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” Peggy McIntosh argues that racism can be found imbedded into the culture of society; conferring and denying certain privileges on some rather than all. This is a dangerous cultivation; endowing a strong expectation that white privileges are naturally deserving. Furthermore, making the cornerstone of McIntosh’s main argument; that white privilege is just a less aggressive synonym for dominance. When you receive privileges for looking a certain type of way, the recipient becomes immune; often not being able to acknowledge their advantages. As a result, this creates a cultural divide, between racial groups.

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

The article “The Great White Way” by Debra J. Dickerson attempts to show her readers that “Race is an arbitrary system for establishing hierarchy and privilege” (68) in America. In her article, Dickerson questions how “whiteness” leads America in our culture and society and how all the other races are defined in America. She also explains how history has divided whites from non-whites in America. The intended audience that Dickerson’s essay gravitated towards are political or liberal Americans. In her article “The Great White Way”. Debra J. Dickerson powerfully argues that race is an overall way to establish social classes and who and what get special privileges because of their certain race or skin color. Dickerson argues that “Race is

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

The election of Barack Obama as the 56th president of the United States raised many hopes that the “Black struggles” was finally over. For conservatives, Obama victory reassured their beliefs that there was no longer such thing as racism and that every American had equal rights and opportunity to pursue the American dream. While many people have come to believe that all races have equal rights in America, Tim Wise argues in his documentary “White Like Me” that not only does racism and unconscious racial bias still exist, but that also White Americans are unable to simply relate to the variety of forms racism and inequality Blacks experience. This is mainly because of the privileges they get as the “default.” While Wise explores the variety forms of racism and inequality today such as unconscious racism, Black poverty, unemployment, inadequate education system, and prison system, the articles by the New York Times Editorial Board, the Human Rights Watch (HRW), and Adam Liptak further explore some the disparities in the criminal justice system. Ana Swanson points out in her article, “The Stubborn Persistence of Black-White Inequality, 50 Years after Selma” that while the “U.S. has made big strides towards equal rights,” significant gaps still remains between the two races. With the Supreme Court striking down a “portion of the Voting Rights Act that stopped discriminatory voting laws from going into effect in areas of the country with histories of disenfranchisement,” civil

In Peggy McIntosh’s, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” she introduces the topic of privilege from the point of view of a women in a world designed to favor men. She sees that men acknowledge the fact that women are disadvantaged but are unable to admit that they themselves have higher power. This denial of power is what creates the gap between men and women and is a clear stepping stone to her primary point of white privilege. The problem does not lie in the existence of white privilege but more so in the validation that is given to it. To be oblivious to this privilege is what gives it power to aid the white population, while simultaneously crippling other minority groups. She goes on to state that realizing there is hierarchy is the first step to systematically taking it down. This however has to start by finding where the problem originates.

As a result of this individualistic ideology and confirmed by media, whites enjoy the comfort of not dealing with the “social burden of race.” Until whites can face the reality and openly discuss the imbalance between opportunities that whites and black have in American society, the injustice of segregated privileges will continue without any prevail.

According to “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh; she feels that there are various advantages every white person gets, without even realizing it.

I feel Peggy McIntosh offers compelling points in her article, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”. White people in our society tend to take for granted and not even realize how easily they can live their lives without the discrimination that others endure. They don’t live in fear of being a victim of racism because they are not used to that kind of treatment themselves. Being white is viewed as the norm in our society, while it is also normal to treat anyone who is non-white differently. People in our American society are quick to stereotype any race that is not white. Anybody who is non-white must continuously have their guards up for racism and are often labeled social unacceptable when they do not deserve to be.

My initial reaction to this article was that of agreement. McIntosh describes white privilege vividly as the idea of an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions and more. In other words, a white person in the United States has on his or her back an invisible weightless knapsack granting favored status, acceptance, and more. It was interesting seeing a white woman’s perspective on the topic of privilege. As I was reading I was reflecting on moments in my life where I have whiteness white privilege and how it worked against me. I’ve seen white privilege illustrated at various time throughout my life. My personal favorite part of this article was the list of daily effects of White privilege that the author complied. It was interesting yet not relatable. To me, this list was eye opening. I understood the point she was trying to make with it. I cannot

What I gained from the reading “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by McIntosh is that racism is not merely putting one group at a disadvantage, but simultaneously putting another group at an advantage. I learned that when you are a part of a privileged group, the privileges you receive are often unnoticeable. You do not view these things as privileges, and you do not realize how much easier they have made your life. Whether discussing racism, sexism, or any other -ism, removing the disadvantages from one group is not all that needs to be done. The unearned advantages given to other groups need to be taken away.

By associating the potential existence of racism with consumption, a form of rationalization is that we now live in society that does not recognize and reward race, but merit. In turn, whites do not inherently realize the privileges that they are born with. Peggy McIntosh actually used the terms unearned entitlement and unearned advantage to describe disproportionate lead that whites have over blacks (McIntosh, 103). The fact of the matter is that most white people are in denial that they have been born with unearned entitlements that minorities do not have and according to McIntosh this is because they have been taught not to recognize it. As much as white people have been taught not to recognize that they have been given white privilege, blacks and minorities recognize that they do. Although many believe that the playing field is now level, is apparent that there is an uphill struggle for people of color. But how should one first recognize this struggle?

White privilege has been identified as the unspoken and often unseen advantages that white people benefit from in various aspects of everyday life, based on nothing more than the colour of their skin (Robbins et al. 2014:98). White privilege creates a social hierarchy in American society, in which white is normative, and at the top of the hierarchy, and anything else is deviant (Gallagher 2003:25). This paper will demonstrate how white privilege serves as a visual barrier for white people, through which they are blind to the everyday struggles of people of colour. Most people who live with white privilege remain blind to the ways in which their privilege both helps them, and harms others. The experience of Jennifer Cramblett and Amanda Zinkon,

From the point of initial contact between whites and blacks in the United States, whites have acted as gatekeepers by regulating the degree to which blacks have been allowed or denied access to resources and institutions. The means by which whites have defended their dominant position, however, has changed dramatically over time (Bobo, Kluegel & Smith 1997). Overt racism based on “scientific” classification of blacks as inherently inferior to whites has ceded to covert forms of racism in contemporary America; as the resources over which whites have sought to maintain control have changed, so too have the arenas in which such control has been contested (Bobo, Kluegel & Smith 1997). Mechanisms maintaining race-based inequality have gone