Section A02
Reading Reflection week 4
In response to: "White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondence Through Work in Women's studies" by Peggy McIntosh
There's no denying it, white and male privilege exist. As a person who is both white and male it is hard for me to come to terms with this fact. I honestly do feel the need as Peggy McIntosh describes in her article to defend myself against the idea that they exist. However, I will not deny the fact that it exists and is a huge problem.
All my life I've lived in an area where racial and gender issues weren't prevalent. Because of this I've never "really seen" White or male privilege specifically. I always treated everyone as people. So, needless to say, it was kind of shocking to me to learn about it all. And, to be honest it is a little annoying to me when people tell me I have white and male privilege. I've come to realize the fact however, that it isn't the idea behind it that bugged me, but rather the connotation that people had when they told me I had it. When people throughout my life tell me I have white and male privilege it doesn't come off as a factual statement but rather as an attack as if I've done something wrong when I've always treated everyone equally regardless of race or gender my whole life. In this sense, I have issue with the concept.
Let's turn this argument around for a second though, because white privilege and male privilege still exist. There are certain barriers that come with being either a woman or person of color that the white male doesn't have to deal with and this is horribly troubling as well. Neither perspective as I see it is innocent but it is definitely true that women and people of color definitely have more of a right to be angry. In all honesty, I just wish everyone could be seen as equals and none of it was an issue but until then we can only move forward one step at a time if more people recognize that White privilege and male privilege exist.
Questions:
I feel the need to take an extra paragraph to talk about the picture above. I believe that this picture is biased in a way. I believe that the answer to the no answer to "does it exist?" is entirely representative of white privilege, but I believe that the second question is very unfair to many white people. I mean sure nobody can TRULY understand what it is like to experience white privilege and the people that don't believe it exist are definitely oblivious or ignorant (depending on their views upon the subject) to an extent, but at the same time the question leaves me feeling trapped. I know that there are many White people out there that are like the stereotype that would fit that question exactly as it is but I feel like it isn't so fitting to everyone. It is like someone telling me I suck no matter what I do and to say "at least I tried" makes it seem like someone is telling me "You still suck, but just less so than others..... so congrats?...". Maybe I'm a little passionate about this because I am both White and Asian, but as a human being I've always treated everyone equally and when it comes to White privilege I would defend anyone on the short end of it until no end. So yeah, I don't understand it completely. In a way nobody really can understand it all truly. But, the picture above raise an important concert that White privilege does exist and it needs acknowledgment (especially by those who have it) so that we may progress as a society.
What steps can we take to raise acknowledgment for White and male power so that we may eradicate it?
No comments:
Post a Comment