The Issues of the White Privilege Term and the Ways to Study it

White privilege is a system of benefits, advantages, and opportunities experienced by White persons in the society simply because of their skin color. In my article, the authors presents the results of a descriptive, exploratory study of White privilege in battered women’s shelters. Based on a qualitative analysis, the authors show how White privilege is intricately connected to executive directors’ claims of color blindness, the ordering of women of color, and viewing White as the norm.

The second article is based on, if Canada is peaceful and safe for Aboriginal women? Aboriginal women in Canada frequently experience challenges and discrimination that are not necessarily shared by non-Aboriginal women, nor are by Aboriginal men.

Aboriginal women have been described as facing discrimination as a woman, and further for being Aboriginal.

The report basically gives more detailed information about the hidden privileges of being Caucasian of the white privilege. The author explains how many whites are oblivious to these hidden tools and benefits that get them to the top because they are raised and molded not to see them.

“I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group” Peggy McIntosh As McIntosh continues on in her essay she later states,” As a white person, McIntosh realized that there have been taught about racism as something that puts others at a disadvantage, but had been taught not to see one of its corollary aspects, white privilege, which puts me at an advantage.

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“These denials,” Mclntosh continues in the famous essay, “protect male privilege from being fully acknowledged, lessened, or ended,” and blind us to the “advantages that men gain from women’s disadvantages. It was only a short step to connect the issue to race.

Then McIntosh continues on to say, “I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege. These statements opened my mind up to many thoughts about the way that society treats others in comparison to the way that white people are treated. Even though society has come a long way it still has a longer way to go.

There are so many things that minorities will never have the opportunity to fully experience or understand because of not being white, and white people are not stereotyped like other races. The list of Daily effects of White privilege that McIntosh describe are perfect examples. Here are a few of her points: I believe that the purpose for her writing this, was to bring out in the open the issues of oppression with regards to the dominant race and their “unearned privileges” that they are so oblivious to.

McIntosh compared this situation to how men are more privileged and advantaged, and women are at a more disadvantaged state. In comparison, she also stated that men do indeed admit to a woman’s disadvantage, yet a man will not agree to being more advantaged, because they too are oblivious to this fact.

The article of McIntosh represents the fact that many people who are apart of the dominant group don’t see their hidden opportunities that they have. Not only does this article represent a concept for just race it can go towards other groups like women.

Aboriginal women in Canada frequently experience challenges and discrimination that are not necessarily shared by non-Aboriginal women, nor are by Aboriginal men. Aboriginal women have been described as facing discriminated against as a woman, and further for being Aboriginal. Therefore looking closely at the article of is Canada Peaceful and safe for Aboriginal Women? At one point throughout the article, Anita Harper highlights what income each group receives yearly: aboriginal men and women, and non aboriginal women.

Anita Harper listed that the average income that a non- aboriginal woman receives is $19 350, an aboriginal man receives about $18 200, and an aboriginal woman receives a solid $13 300. Aboriginal women receive a significant amount less than non-aboriginal women (to be exact, non-aboriginal women receive $6 050 more than aboriginal women). Anita Harper also shares that aboriginal women in Manitoba, those individuals who live off the reserve, 42.7% of them live in poverty.

For women who are non-aboriginal and living in Manitoba, it is half of the percentage of the aboriginal women who live in poverty. Keeping in mind the statistics that Anita Harper provides us with earlier about the incomes, this is not such a huge shock. Harper also shares that in Vancouver, aboriginal women are “significantly overrepresented” in the sex trade. She progresses to say “reflects not only their poverty but also their marginalized and devalued status as Canadians.”

In conclusion both of the articles are based on race. Peggy McIntosh’s article “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” brings up the various advantages every white person gets without even realizing it. Basically she shows that racism is a part of everyday life and lists 26 situations in which white people have a privilege that is not easily thought of when one thinks about racism. One of the best examples in this article was the example given about “flesh colored” band-aids. Band-aids are something everyone uses from childhood.

Whenever a white person puts a band-aid they surely think nothing of how it blends into their skin tone perfectly. It has to be difficult for African Americans to put on a band-aid and wonder if they are a “normal” color. While the oppressiveness of White Privilege is done unconsciously. According to the article, many perhaps most of our white students in the United States think that racism doesn’t affect them because they are not people of color; they do not see “whiteness” as a racial identity.

Unfortunately, the white students in my African-American Studies class at NKU lead me to believe that they are very aware of white privilege and think it is ok to have “White Privilege.” Keeping in mind the statistics that Anita Harper provides the earlier about the incomes, this is not such a huge shock. Harper also shares that in Vancouver, aboriginal women are “significantly overrepresented” in the sex trade. She progresses to say that this “reflects not only their poverty but also their marginalized and devalued status as Canadians.”