White Privilege

All of the readings for class today had the common theme of race, and its affects in the feminist movement. Audre Lorde and the Combahee River Collection both placed a strong emphasis on lesbian, black feminists; where as Peggy McIntosh focused more on the advantages white people receive in every day life. Lorde declared that the differences of women is our main strength and the key ingredient to change. The River Collection discussed the inequality black women face and some of the steps they have taken to fixing this inequality. Lastly, McIntosh discovered that though whites may not see their racial advantages, they are present in every day life.

Though I found the other two articles very interesting, the article I could relate to the most was Peggy McIntosh’s article. I found that since I am a white female, I had an easier time relating her writing to my own life. My highschool always focused on diversity and racism and constantly promoted diversity and equality between races. I went to a small, all girls liberal highschool that was located in the city and had a diverse range of races represented in each grade. My school also had once a week assemblies, with at least half discussing the topic of racism, and offered courses focused on racism; so I considered myself quite the expert on the subject once I had graduated. I thought that I could recognize white privilege and try to avoid it. However, after reading McIntosh’s article I feel that while I could recognize some white privilege, I did not see some of the points McIntosh brings up. For example, number 20- “I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race”. I had not considered this before reading the article. But, while I found some of her points to be true,I think that some are just inevitable based on a persons surroundings. For example, these set of questions could apply to the majority of white students at Colgate, but could also apply to students in inner city Boston schools where the majority is a mix between African Americans, Latinas, etc. Number 10- (“I can be pretty sure of having my voice heard in a group I which I am the only member of my race”) I think can be applicable to any racial group depending on where a person is living.

So while I found some points of McIntosh’s article to be eye opening and relevant to my life, I also found flaws with some of her statements. I think that her article is worth reading and can be very helpful in raising awareness about racism and its daily impact on our lives; but also should be read with a critical eye. The reader has to take into account that some of these statements are inevitable due to surroundings.