Week 1 - Peggy McIntosh Reading - Discussion
Hi Everyone!
For your first Discussion response, please read "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack" by Peggy McIntosh.
Please comment with your reflection on Peggy McIntosh's list of white daily privileges. What would be on your own list of daily privileges?
Best,
The TIGed Professional Development Team
7 Replies
Although this is not the first time I’ve read this article, it still rings as truly to me as it did the first time I read it.
First of all, I’m not white. I’m Canadian-born Chinese, an identity which comes with its own unique privileges.
Also, I read about the white backpack in teacher’s college, at which time I generally thought of myself as “white” - though of course I would never have expressed it that way. Simply put, when I looked at the front page of a paper (or more likely when I was watching a TV show), I thought of myself as being represented on the screen; I culturally identified with “white” characters. So it was with trepidation and surprise that I read Peggy McIntosh’s article for the first time and realized that I was not packing a lot of the privileges that she mentioned. Affirmative action is a concern for me (though I admit that I thought it might be used to my advantage to get a job as the teaching market began to dwindle) and I was recently told that I hide my “accent” well. People do ask me what my opinion as an Asian is (representing not just my race but an entire continent that I have visited only twice in my adult life) and I have never learned about my culture in day school (there’s Chinese school for that).
On the other hand, having a clear cultural identity is definitely a part of my invisible backpack of privilege. I do have a strong sense of cultural background. My parents taught me (and yes this is racist) that Chinese people are hard-working and smart people. This may or may not have coinage in the real world of Toronto, but it has given me confidence to achieve my goals. So while I lost my identity as a “white person”, I did eventually find that I am proud of the interesting and longstanding traditions of my ancestors.
This post was edited on: 2013-03-09 at 11:46 PM by: tdsb-sma
As I white woman, I feel that I definitely have most of the privileges mentioned in the article. The only times that I sometimes feel at a disadvantage, though not often, is when the issue of religion comes up.
While I was reading the article, It reminded me of the times in my life when, as a traveller, I have been the minority. Being a white woman in countries such as India, Malaysia, and other areas in Asia that are less travelled, definitely let me experience a little bit of what life as a minority race is like. I was not at a disadvantage per se, as I was seen more as a novelty than a threat or oppressor, however, I went out of my way on a daily basis to hide some of my physical differences and to do everything I could to "blend in".
The sentiment in the article that has had the greatest impact on me is the idea of how when we (North Americans/Europeans) offer support to those less advantaged, the support is often an attempt to better their lives by making it more like ours as opposed to really gaining an understanding of their cultural needs.
To create a list of the ways in which you are privileged on a daily basis because of (insert identity construct here) is a super idea! There is no doubt that I benefit daily from systems that push me up at the expense of others. However, I do have a collection of qualifying thoughts and connections (as befits my self -identification as someone who likes to argue as well as my particular socioeconomic identity). Besides which, agreeing all the time is boring…
There were several examples on the list of 26 that made me think of my own experiences in different places around the world. #10, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 18 stuck out to me as being quite dependent on geographical location. I know the argument is somewhat moot as my experiences were in places that I did not identify as my home culture (plus, to begin with, I’m in a situation where I’m able to travel the world) but it blurs the lines a bit nonetheless. How does a person’s access to privilege change depending on context? Because those different contexts exist everywhere: public spaces, ethnic neighbourhoods, schools, family gatherings. Within Canadian society I am overrepresented but in my work environment, I am underrepresented to the point where my employer takes specific action to increase the number of employees of my gender. (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/hiring-should-favour-male-minority-teachers-toronto-school-board/article8797933/)
I also connected to # 21 on the list. I can’t deny that the fact that I identify as male played a role in my being hired but I don’t want my own achievements and strengths glossed over as much as anyone else wouldn’t. Of course, other parts of my hiring were, no doubt, dependent on other aspects of privilege that were unearned. Anyway, the idea of context is, I think, an important one. I also think that it highlights the importance of global education and developing the ability (or opportunity) to have experiences outside of your own everyday life.
I connected to #9 as well. The phrase “music of my own race” made me (cringe and) think of an open letter written by Philip Tagg. (http://tagg.org/articles/xpdfs/opeletus.pdf).
By extension, I wonder about what the “white” in “white privilege” means. There is obviously privilege that is systematically afforded to people based along many different criteria. These criteria are described as “interlocking” but I might just use the phrase ”interacting” to acknowledge the flexibility in those connections. Sometimes the criteria are connected, and other times they are not.
Maybe there is more complexity to how privilege is granted, exercised, created, and sustained than indicated. McIntosh says at the beginning that she was taught to see racism in “individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group.” I agree with the general premise, of course, but do systems exist outside of (a culmination of) individual acts? Maybe the goal should be to render them visible so that individuals will avoid the actions that perpetuate those systems.
I can relate to the article and the list in it however it does not fully reflect my experience in Toronto. As an immigrant woman (though visibly Caucasian) I would have to say that I can relate to some items on the list (1,5,6,7,15,17,18,19,21) but also have experiences which are “reserved” for people other than white, middle class males.
For the first few years in Canada I had no credit card as I had no credit history , my only option was to pay cash for everything. I was placed on a waiting list (and waited 6 months) to rent an apartment in an area where I wanted my child to go to school.
For years I struggled to find stable, long term employment and thought that many doors remained closed to me because of different cultural background, different education, and lack of Canadian work experience. I was even told that at one point that won’t be able to get a job teaching because I do not belong to the “old boys network” and I am an “invisible minority”.
Today, I would like to think that a lot has changed in the past 20 years both in the schools and the workplace.
I think, I am allowed a broader view of the topic at hand, which to me is – how prepared are we to teach the students standing before us who come from all corners of the world and bring their culture, traditions and history with them. How do I teach and prepare kids for success in today’s work environment which is becoming more and more a global work environment?
Today, with the benefit of having lived, worked and studied in both Europe and Canada and having benefited from essentially dual educational, life and work experiences I try to use those to enrich my daily teaching practice as much as possible.
As I read the article I found myself nodding my head in agreement, my own unearned power in the back of my mind. In a perfect world we would not face questions of affirmative action vs meritocracy. Roles of power would be handed to the most worthy candidates. But we are still correcting imbalances and injustices. Articles such as these help us to see that as we attempt to do so, we should also keep in mind that with the unearned power often comes the flawed belief that our own value systems are the only correct ones. We lose sight of the fact that there are other value systems that can equal our own, that can challenge them, that can surpass them. I like what tdsb-Isherman says, in a sort of warning to not see ourselves as making others' lives better in the attempt to support - "when we (North Americans/Europeans) offer support to those less advantaged, the support is often an attempt to better their lives by making it more like ours as opposed to really gaining an understanding of their cultural needs". Gaining understanding is what allows for self-reflection and growth, which can ultimately lead to challenging our beliefs, making changes and creating more common ground for all, as we learn to encourage others to do the same.
The article detailed the elements of privilege that those of us who are white AND of average to above average socio-economic standing enjoy in Canada.
Having lived and worked in Latin America I did experience the nuances of privilege and scrutiny that come with being a white 'North American' woman there. The subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) assumptions shed a different light on interactions in which I was involved. The interpersonal relationships were slightly different with a different set of preconceived notions. Some of those notions were not particularly beneficial, or kindly shared. Here in Canada the assumed positive contributions and traits of a white individual do benefit me each day, to be sure. However, I must say that personal attributes and actions are called upon to confirm these assumptions in order to uphold constructive interpersonal relationships and professional interactions.
I do find that skin-colour, or being white as we're talking about here, is not an absolute 'unearned power'. For those who are white and under-earning or poor the sense of marginalization is very real, daily and palpable. As I observe it in families whose children I have taught, it can in many ways be a unique marginalization in a society of otherwise accepted 'white power'. The subtle and obvious treatment of this group of society leaves them undermined without a voice, in a society in which clout is somewhat assumed.
Overall, though, the fact is that preconceived notions and assumptions of power of particular groups are founded on the assumed lack of power and degradation of others. We come to learn that privilege is both absolute in an instance, and relative across time and individuals.
Although this was my first reading of the McIntosh article, many of the subtle aspects of privilege which are thematically dominant in the article have been of great interest to me for a long time, as diverse perspectives reflect diverse realities. As a white male, much of my awareness of imposed barriers comes through direct experiences with family members (immigrant grandparents), friends, students, and colleagues of various sociocultural backgrounds; the importance of shared experience in creating an equitable and non-discriminatory social framework should certainly never be underestimated.
The article also encouraged me think more deeply about how the supportive leadership actions of those who are privileged must be much more deliberate in order to affect positive change on behalf of individuals and groups who are intentionally or passively disenfranchised. Given that many comforts I personally enjoy are derived in one way or another from forms of privilege, I know that making a greater contribution to social justice and helping to empower others will require me to step outside of my comfort zone on a daily basis. Increased awareness of, and leadership in, proactive solution development are among our greatest societal challenges.
Stephanie Ma
Mar 9, 2013 at 11:45 PM