4-A-3+Group+B

=Home > Activity 4-A-3: White Privilege > Group B=

Instructions:

 * 1) Click the **Edit** tab in the upper-right corner.
 * 2) Use the Summary area below to collaborate with your group to create your summary of the connections between white privilege, the colorblind perspective, and social dominance theory.
 * 3) Press **Save** on the Editor bar.

You don't need to sign your work or indicate which sections you contributed; your facilitator can see your contributions in the history of the page. Your group summary should demonstrate your collaboration rather than being a collection of unconnected individual ideas. When your group decides that the summary is finished, have one group member remove "(Draft)" below so your facilitator will know that it is ready for review.
 * Note:**

Summary
Christina and Jillianne, Here are ones that stood out to me. 2. If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area, which I can afford and in which I would want to live. 5. I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented. 18. I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to “the person in charge,” I will be facing a person of my race. 20. I can easily buy posters, post-cards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys, and children’s magazines featuring people of my race. 26 I can choose blemish cover or bandages in “flesh” color and have them more or less match my skin.

I picked these five because many of them affect my daughter and her future. We try to surround our children will toys and books that have people of color, so that it will become the norm to her. These items are not always easy to find. The bandage one was new to me. I had not thought of that before, and wondered when/if Amaya would notice. Number 2, affected me because we are looking at moving in the next year or two. Our city has highly rated schools and a very low crime rate. We are looking at moving closer to the city to be near more diversity...but I wonder how many families would love to move to our city of Fishers, but can't afford to. Reading the entire list made me realize how much I take for granted because of the White dominance in society.

Kim, I can pretty much relate to all of these as well! As a white female, I'm pretty obvious.

When you identify # 2 I immediately pictured the area I'd "want" to move to is one with a reputable school for my girls. In the city of Chicago, this could be a diverse region at face value, but when I really think about it, the reality is that the majority of the faces are white ones. The other thing that stands out are the facts that 1. noone would bat an eye if my family moved into the neighboorhood, 2. we're not considered a risky bet to a bank and would most likely not have a very hard time getting a loan, and 3. a landlord wouldn't likely have any reservations about renting to us. Friends of mine who don't "look" like me superficially might be a much better fit, but have a very different experience.

Numbers 5 & 20, play again to the fact that I'm a white female and of the "visual" majority. Media has been (and still is) flooded with white faces. The challenge could be finding a white face that may be different from what media deems to be the successful, attractive "norm"...but that's another discussion!

Numbers 18 & 26 are more of the same in my opinion. If I was asking to speak to a "person in charge", especially in a face-to-face situation, I'd be willing to bet someone wouldn't hesitate to put me in contact with this person, but also that they'd look a lot like me. I'd agree with # 26 too. This links back to #'s 5 & 20 with the cosmetic industry playing along with the media. I see this one, but don't really wear make-up (ever...much to the dismay of my mother) so it doesn't affect me as much as I imagine it could. Either way, matching my skin tone would not be a problem.

Christina

Kim and Christina,

These are the ones that stood out to me. 1. I can if I wish arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time. 9. I can go into a music shop and count on finding the music of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods which fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser’s shop and find someone who can cut my hair. 15. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group. 22. I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having coworkers on the job suspect that I got it because of race. 26. I can choose blemish cover or bandages in “flesh” color and have them more or less match my skin.

I choose these ones because I am a single white female that chooses to do things because I want to not because I have any obligations. When I am going out with my friends I can choose to be in the company of people of my race. I can always find a hairdresser to cut my hair no matter what salon I go into, my cultural foods are always available at my supermarket. I have never been asked to speak for people of my race and I dont think I will ever have to do that. The job that I recently took at Target wasn't based on my race, it was because I knew someone who worked at the store. It opened my eyes to the last one number 26, you dont realize that flesh colored bandages are all one color, most makeup lines dont come in wide ranges of skin tones other than caucasian. While working at Victoria's Secret I realized that the neutral colored bras are mainly for caucasian or light skinned females they dont come in a wide range of skin colors for every woman. I have never had a problem matching my skin tone.

Hi Jillie,

In the interest of playing devil's advocate for a minute, I'd agree with all of these too. I myself am an incredibly independent white female who, to an extent, has always prided myself on the fact that I'm independent and won't easily be swayed by what others think, decide, or push me to believe. I believe all people, regardless of race, gender, religion, orientation, etc. have the right to be involved, have opportunities, etc. etc. HOWEVER, I think this is partially because I am white. I can only empathize so much with a person of color's experience because so many of the things from this list have been handed to me and expected to be the "norm" for me.

When you mentioned # 1 did you consider that possibly one of the reason's you can arrange to be in the company of people of your race most of the time is because you live / hangout in an area that is predominantly of your race? (again, playing Devil's advocate here) I guess to add on to that, when I read 1 I also percieved it to imply that not only could I arrange to hang out, but we could pretty much go anywhere and noone would bat an eye. Number 9 falls into the same trend. If you live in a very "white" area, then the culture surrounding that area will play to the "norm"; foods, choices, and as the daughter of a hairdresser it is a very different experience cutting a white person's hair vs an African American person's hair for example. If you don't know what you're doing in either event, you can cause some pretty significant damage. If you're of the non-white culture going into a salon that primarily services "white" people, you'd better be sure they know what they're doing before you let them near your hair.

You might find your response to # 15 changes when you take a job in Saudi. Right now, that might not be the case, but depending on where you are, you might be in the cultural minority and people that are native to the area might only have you as a representation of a white, female American i.e. they might play into the belief that you represent and are the norm for all of us. In this instance your beliefs, ideas, traits now become the beliefs, ideas, traits of **all** white, female Americans.

As for # 22, I agree, knowing someone in any industry is incredibly helpful in finding a job, but I think in this instance (the survey and statements) it's meant to have you think about all of the jobs around and evaluate the spread of cultures that they employee. I'm kind of with you on this one. I'd like to believe that I was the best person for the job in this instance and that I came with more experience and was a better fit than the other people that applied for the position too. In my building we have teachers and staff of all shapes, sizes, religions, orientation, gender, and nationality...literally. I'm lucky in that my district values diversity and the need to play to our student's strengths. I'm also lucky in that they're pretty liberal and often let the teachers play to their strengths and are completely open to the idea of trying new things and are not interested in having a population of people who play to one side or the other, or hire to fit quotas.

Christina


 * Summary**

Peggy McIntosh's article about the recognition of white's unearned privileges reflects the methodologies of the Social Dominace Theory in many ways. In her article she states, "I began to count the ways in which I enjoy unearned skin privilege and have been conditioned into oblivion about its existence." This connects to Howard's statement about the Social Dominance Theory saying "through our lack of awareness,we can become mere pawns of dominance." All three of us have experienced this lack of awareness before reading the list of privileges in the article. The ones that stood out to each of us reflect every day situations and routines. Howard also connects to the idea of social dominance causing "privileges to flow to certain groups whether or not those privileges are earned." After reading Peggy McIntosh's article, the punishments or inequities that fall upon other groups become evident to us.

McIntosh's article is linked to the idea of colorblindness in many ways too. The quote listed above that notes being "conditioned into oblivion" is directly in-line with the colorblind perspective in the idea of "Race as invisible: 'If I notice someone's race, I might be perceived as racist.'" Often Whites find it Taboo to discuss race and shy away from such conversations for fear of offending someone. The reality is that not acknowledging race differences come with consequences. Not talking about race means you don't know about other people's experiences; not knowing means we're stuck in the same cycle with priviledges that exist primarily to the benefit of Whites, preferential treatment and the feeling of righteousness continue to exist and grow, Whites are unable to make informed judgements about racial issues and continue to talk about issues as if they have a clue when reality is a long way off.

Finally, it is not enough for whites to merely recognize their situation of "arbitrarily-awarded power." The article encourages whites to "question whether we will choose to use unearned advantage to weaken hidden systems of advantage and whether we will use any of our arbitrarily-awarded power to reconstruct power systems on a broader base." So, what will we do to create a world in which people are not disadvantaged based on race? How will we use the opportunities afforded us as the privileged class to bring about greater social justice?