White Privilege by Peggy McIntosh: Week 5

White Privilege

By Peggy McIntosh

"Flawed Male Race" : Quotes

" I have often noticed men's unwillingness to grant that they are overprivileged, even though they may grant that women are disadvantaged. They may say they will work to women's status, in the society,the university, or the curriculum, but they can't or won't support the idea of lessening men's."

I find it discouraging that after all women have accomplished in the sense of having rights, such as earning the right to vote, holding a strong positions in politics and especially the ability to work outside the home if you desire to. Despite all of that we put seen as inferior to men simply because men are too pigheaded to give up some this privilege. The idea of sharing that we learn in school at a young age seems to wither away which can be found very sickening for many women including myself. For example women are paid $37,791 while men are paid $49,398 this pervious year stated by Catalyst.org, which researches the working world.  Men are paid $11607 dollars more. Why? Is it because they work more efficiently or are better at thinking at moments notice? Men and women are equally intelligent so men and women should be paid by how hard they work instead by their gender.

"As we in women's studies work to reveal male privilege and ask men to give up some of their power, so one who writes about having white privilege must ask, having described it, what will i do to lessen or end it?'

In some way this comment can be seen as stereotypical because not all men are like this. it is the name that men automatically acquire. In some cases, men are ignorant to the power they have. Men might only see "privilege" in the form of racism because it puts colored people at a disadvantage allowing white men an advantage over them. McIntosh hits home as she states that whites are taught not to see privilege in ways that they create the problem. Men are given a "backpack" according to McIntosh that has exceptions and rules that work to the benefit of the people with privilege. Our world is not meant to be free to only certain kinds of groups, it is meant to provide a voice for all who lives here. 

The world "privilege" seems to be very misleading. It means a grant to an individual under certain conditions. However the statement about privilege seems to continue the pattern of confusion. "Whites are taught to think of their lives as morally neutral, normative, and average, and also ideal, so that when we work to benefit others, this is seen as work that will allow them to be more like "us." 

Our future generations never know how to truly treat someone with respect, to be kind instead of changing these people to be more like someone else. Everyone is meant to be different, such as skin color or their language they speak for a reason. We do not come from the same background so what decides for us that we all should conform to this idea of normative and average. Normal can be seen in many ways because not everyone holds the same opinions as everyone else. Despite the diversity, the word privilege needs to be seen in the sole light it holds.