On Whiteness and White Privilege

As I lamented to my sociology professor yesterday, I have a bad habit of thinking in terms of overly-broad, dissertation-length concepts, which is a bit premature at this stage in my academic career. And so, in keeping with my goal of paring down my interests into more focused topics, I'm setting out to once again blog about race, specifically about whiteness and the subtle privileges enjoyed by those with a light skin tone.

Historically, the dominant social group of the united states has been white. We all know about the genocide of the Native Americans and the enslavement of the Africans, however, many of us probably don’t know about the Chinese Exclusion Act, or the fact that many groups that are presently considered a part of the dominant white group have not always enjoyed that status. Irish, Italian, and Polish immigrants were all ostracized upon their initial arrival in this country. Only with time and assimilation have these groups been allowed to join the dominant white group, a feat which was made possible by the fact that their skin tone did not serve to set them apart from the dominant elite whites. Immigrants with more melanin were not so lucky; not only were they distinguishable by their unique culture (as were the white immigrants) but by their skin color as well.

Hopefully this brief foray into the assimilation of the so-called “white ethnic” groups into the dominant white majority in the United States will help me to make the point that white privilege exists. Peggy McIntosh described some effects of white privilege in her essay, Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack. In the essay, McIntosh proposes that the mere fact of being white confers upon an individual several unstated, subtle advantages and goes on to list almost fifty such privileges. Some highlights:
* Being able to arrange to be in the company of people of your own race most of the time.
* Being able to rent or buy housing in an area where you can afford to live and want to live, and that your neighbors will likely be neutral or pleasant toward you.
* Being shown pictures of people of your own color when learning about the history of ‘civilization.’
* Being able to perform well in a challenging situation without earning the title of ‘a credit to your race.’
* Rarely being asked to speak for all the people of your racial group.
* My personal shortcomings are rarely attributed to a stereotypical portrayal of my entire race.

[All of the above paraphrased from White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack by Peggy McIntosh, in “Race, Class, and Gender: An Anthology” edited by Margaret L. Anderson & Patricia Hill Collins, 6th Edition, published by Thomson Wadsworth, 2007]

In my own personal experience I can attest to the existence of white privilege, and I have challenged myself to attempt to find other evidence of it. 'Tis a challenge which will require much thought and even more writing. So help me out fellow bloggers, tell me what you think, and share your stories about privilege and discrimination that you have experienced first-hand.