White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack
White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack
Peggy McIntosh’s piece “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” describes the privileges white people gets without realizing their advantage over others. Peggy talks about racism being a part of everyday life even though we ignore it. Her main idea was to inform the readers that whites are taught to ignore the fact that they enjoy social privileges that people of color do not because we live in a society of white dominance. Her examples include privileges relating to education, careers, entertainment, child care, confrontations, physical appearance, and public life. One of the examples that really made me think was the “flesh colored” Band-Aid example. Band-Aids are something everyone use and nude was the primary color which made me feel “they” considered normal. I thought nothing of why it didn’t blend into my skin tone perfectly when I was a child. It’s such a small thing but the way the world generalizes can be hurtful. She also provides a distinction between earned power and conferred privilege. The distinction was clear; conferred privilege is only available to certain groups while everyone has an equal shot at earned power. McIntosh points out that whites enjoy conferred privilege but refuse to acknowledge it. In addition, she states that due to the idea that America was founded on a system of earned power, and due to the fact that whites have conferred privilege, other groups in this country are not free. Peggy thinks that in order to change that, whites need to acknowledge their unearned power and be willing to give it up so other minority groups can enjoy the same freedom. Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behavior, and activities that the society considers appropriate for men and women. The roles and behaviors give rise to gender inequalities. For instance, the ideology that men are more interested in performing physically tough activities while women perform tasks like
Peggy McIntosh’s piece “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” describes the privileges white people gets without realizing their advantage over others. Peggy talks about racism being a part of everyday life even though we ignore it. Her main idea was to inform the readers that whites are taught to ignore the fact that they enjoy social privileges that people of color do not because we live in a society of white dominance. Her examples include privileges relating to education, careers, entertainment, child care, confrontations, physical appearance, and public life. One of the examples that really made me think was the “flesh colored” Band-Aid example. Band-Aids are something everyone use and nude was the primary color which made me feel “they” considered normal. I thought nothing of why it didn’t blend into my skin tone perfectly when I was a child. It’s such a small thing but the way the world generalizes can be hurtful. She also provides a distinction between earned power and conferred privilege. The distinction was clear; conferred privilege is only available to certain groups while everyone has an equal shot at earned power. McIntosh points out that whites enjoy conferred privilege but refuse to acknowledge it. In addition, she states that due to the idea that America was founded on a system of earned power, and due to the fact that whites have conferred privilege, other groups in this country are not free. Peggy thinks that in order to change that, whites need to acknowledge their unearned power and be willing to give it up so other minority groups can enjoy the same freedom. Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behavior, and activities that the society considers appropriate for men and women. The roles and behaviors give rise to gender inequalities. For instance, the ideology that men are more interested in performing physically tough activities while women perform tasks like