Whiteness Case Studies

The Matter of Whiteness 1 Running head: White Privilege The Matter of Whiteness Spacemantj The Matter of Whiteness Richard Dyer said “racial imagery is central to the organization of the modern world” because he felt most decisions that represent the practices of the world are based on white man’s ideologies and images in western culture. White people remain a large category that has not been examined in contrast to the many studies of images on African Americans

Captain Ahab’s eulogy of whiteness shows that the word “white” implies more than a chromatic description. “White” is an untenable perfection that has haunted the American psyche since colonial times. The idea of “white spiritual superiority” can only be enforced by a terrorist politico-legal system, based on brutalizing the non-whites and creating a national fantasy. A national fantasy defined by Lauren Berlant as the means “to designate how national culture becomes local through the images, narratives

experience of whiteness, something coveted. The experience of whiteness is discussed thoroughly by Sara Ahmed (2007), in her article entitled, “A phenomenology of whiteness”. Ahmed considers whether the experience of whiteness should be revealed as an actual thing that “takes up space, orientates bodies, functions as a habit and serves as the background to social action” (p.149). She references Fine, Weis, Powell and Wong’s view of whiteness as an “essential something” (p.149). If whiteness is real then

Push: Paradigm Complexities 1 INTRODUCTION In Sapphire’s (1997) novel Push, she emphasizes an overall theme of surviving and overcoming adversities like identity, mental disability, and self-image. The dynamics of the book focuses on Clarice Precious Jones, a maltreated and obese, African American teenager who struggles with the repercussions of being physically, sexually, and psychologically abused by her parents— mainly, getting impregnated by her father. Precious and her first child by her father

have been advantaged in any way over others, or they simply believe that all are equal, and are ignorant to the fact that inequalities exist. This is not the case,

Correspondences through Work in Women’s Studies,” help Morrison and McIntosh, as well as readers, to understand the polar yet interdependent nature of African American and white status in America. Toni Morrison specifically delves deep into the role “Africanism” plays in American literature in her piece, “Playing in the Dark,” while in “White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to see Correspondences through Work in Women’s Studies,” Peggy McIntosh strives to understand her

They also shelter it by keeping it a secret from their own so they never see it as an advantage. Shannon Sullivan wrote the book “Revealing Whiteness: The Unconscious Habits of Racial Privilege”. She does agree with McIntosh that whites do in fact receive these hidden privileges. In her book she wrote “Blithely wrapped up in a white world, white people often do not see their own ignorance and

the Sue text, I feel that minority groups understand what it means to be “White” much better than the majority of White people do. I believe this is because they have to deal with what it means to not be White on a daily basis, in a culture where whiteness equates to power and privilege. White privilege unfortunately works like that- Whites are unaware of its oppressive force, as it does not affect us- because we created it. If I am honest, I have realized that I was unaware of many aspects of my own

Through the reading of Beyond Heroes and Holidays: A Practical Guide to K-12 Anti-Racist, Multicultural Education and Staff Development and A Good Time for the Truth: Race in Minnesota I have not only learned about the experiences of others, but have also gained a deeper understanding of my own racial and cultural identity and how that relates to other identities around me. In learning this information, I feel that I will not only be able to understand and relate better to my future students, but

Staples does not change race, he just shows whiteness in order to avoid being stereotyped, but this causes him to associate avoidance of stereotype threat with whiteness and that in turn emphasizes his difference and strengthens the threat. Steele argues that Staples can show knowledge of white culture by whistling Vivaldi. So, when Staples is walking during