Examples Of White Privilege In The Great Gatsby

Although some poor white men can rise above poverty, the truly disadvantaged individuals are poor people of color, as they must combat both racism and classism in order to succeed. Tom, Daisy’s husband, invites Nick to his apartment to spend the afternoon with him and his mistress. They are later joined by her sister Catherine, a feisty redhead, who has “a complexion powdered milky white” (Fitzgerald 30). Catherine’s decision to lighten her skin is directly influenced by Eurocentric beauty standards, which favors caucasian features, such as pale skin and high cheekbones, over ethnic ones, such as dark skin and wide nose. This is a nod to white supremacy, as whites are considered the dominant and superior race at the time. Since they shape and control society, a member of the white race automatically has advantages over non-whites, known as white privilege.
Tom does this when he, Nick, Gatsby, and Daisy go to New York to spend their afternoon. At the hotel, Gatsby and Tom start a heated argument over who deserves Daisy’s affections. After criticizing the deteriorating morals of the current times, he adds, “‘next they’ll throw everything overboard and have intermarriage between black and white...’” (Fitzgerald 130). Intermarriage between black and white results in the mingling and mixing of the two