White Privilege : Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack

In the essay, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh, the author questions and discusses white privilege and how it is an invisible package of earned assets. She also talks about how white privilege affects her daily life and compares it to forms of oppression.

In “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” Peggy McIntosh starts her essay off by taking a classic feminist idea. She talks about how women often address the ways in which men hold power over them because of certain advantages they are born with, but men are often uncomfortable doing the same. She then broadens this truth and relates it to how white people hold a privilege over people of different races, and it is also something that white people have a problem acknowledging. She explains that white people, and the non pressed race, have been trained and educated in a way that makes it hard for them to see the ways in which the world is made easier for them. She acknowledges the fact that, in order to dismantle the systems of

The article White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack written by Peggy McIntosh discusses the power that systemic white privilege, unearned privileges given to people with white skin, holds over the society as a whole (McIntosh, 1988). The author takes an interesting stance is suggesting that those who are the most damaged by this are the oppressors, not those who are oppressed and that the society itself is damaged (McIntosh, 1988). McIntosh then goes on to show this through her explanation of men in the school system contrasted by women in the school system. The author draws parallels between male privilege and white privilege to show not only the similarities between them, but also the extent to which our society is in fact “damaged” (McIntosh, 1988). She uses daily life experiences to bring about the question “ […] whether we will choose to use unearned advantage to weaken invisible privilege system and whether we will use any of our arbitrarily awarded power to try to reconstruct power systems on a broader base” (McIntosh, 1988)

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.

In “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh, the message that the author is trying to get across is that white men have privilege they have the freedom to do more than women without being coitized or judged by society. Women, and men of color are often judged as a race, an action of an individual of a different ethnicity or race whether it be positive or negative is reflected onto others of the same ethnicity. Individuals of color are constantly faced with racism and discrimination. This article connects to gender and women’s study, because we strive for equality. Only with equality can the society be fair, without privilege everyone would have the same opportunities and resources available. Women and men will be

White Privilege is a thesis about positive racial discrimination. In exploring this thesis and in the effort of joining this decades old conversation, I think it worthwhile to fully engage Peggy McIntosh's thesis. White Privilege contains a comprehensive list of privileges that I will now check my privilege by.

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.

The idea of racism has evolved and has become less prevalent throughout the last century. Schools and public areas are unsegregated, voting rights, racial slurs being considered as unacceptable behavior etc. American sociologist and race theorist, Howard Winant states that’s “The ensuing approaches increased recognition of racial injustice and inequality, but did not overcome the discriminatory processes” (Winant,2000)Although the United states has come a long way to try to end racism, one cannot ignore the fact that it still exists. It is something that may seem invisible in society, but everybody knows that it still thrives and that it’s racial attitudes affect the way our society functions. One of these invisible forms of

Racism seems to be a common topic this century, almost letting us know, it’s not

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

The sad reality is White privilege is very prevalent in the United States and has been for the past hundreds of years not to say that there has not been improvement. This is a very touchy subject where emotions runs deep many people who do not see it as an issue do not believe that White privilege exists. I do not think it is always done purposely the way society is set up many do not realize what they are doing or some may not even care. When watching the video about the resume experience it was sad to hear the same resume with different names the jobs called back the less ethnic name and how it was estimated that it would take five weeks longer for the person to find a job that was not white. Additionally saying a person who has an ethnic

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.

I as a minority will forever see them the same because we have been trying for so long to get what is concerned white privilege. We want for once have white people want what we have, as much as what we want that they have. However, white privilege individuals may disagree on what I am saying, due to the fact that white individuals believe we get extra scholarships offers and government help offers. This in result creates a conflict that white individuals will never comprehend. What white people do not know is that white individuals in fact get more of these offers given to them than what a minority individual receives. This was a discussion in the course that for a second made me happy that minorities were at least being offer something

White privilege has decreased over the past couple years due to further understanding of racial differences. However, I believe it does still exist within our society. Many times it goes unnoticed by whites because they have the upper hand in the situation. One privilege I have noticed I have as a white member of society is credibility in educational situations.

Although some individuals may wish or even naively claim that we live in a post-racial society, the reality in twenty first century America is that individual and institutional racism continues to take a horrible toll on young people of color, who are at greater risk of race-based violence, unjust criminalization, as well as economic, political and educational discrimination. The powerful advantages that come from being born white are immeasurable and painfully real. It is critical that white individuals recognize the depth of their privilege, but doing nothing more than that can appear self-congratulatory, and as an attempt to exempt them from responsibility. An example of one writer’s over-simplification of white privilege can be found