"White privilege, or white skin privilege, is the societal privilege that benefits white people over non-white people in some societies, particularly if they are otherwise under the same social, political, or economic circumstances."
The social construction of whiteness and its role in perpetuating systemic racism, including the concept of white privilege.
White Privilege: The unearned advantages and benefits that white people receive in society, simply because of their race.
Systemic Racism: The institutional and societal systems that uphold and perpetuate racism, often in subtle ways that are not immediately obvious.
Racial Identity: The ways in which people identify and understand their own race, and how it affects their experiences in society.
Intersectionality: The concept that various social identities (such as race, gender, sexuality, etc.) intersect and interact with each other in complex ways.
Colorblindness: The assumption that race should be ignored or that everyone is the same, often ignoring the ways in which systemic racism operates in society.
Whiteness Studies: The examination of the history and social construction of whiteness, often focusing on the ways in which it has been used to maintain power and privilege.
Microaggressions: Subtle forms of discrimination or hostility that often go unnoticed or are dismissed as insignificant.
Allyship: The process of learning about and supporting marginalized communities, often involving self-education, active listening, and advocacy.
Cultural Appropriation: The act of taking elements of a culture without understanding or respecting the significance or context of those elements.
Decolonization: The process of dismantling the influence of colonialism and imperialism, often through reclaiming and valuing indigenous knowledge, languages, and cultural practices.
Hegemonic Whiteness: This refers to the dominant and normative image of White people in society. It is characterized by defining what is "normal" and "right" in society.
Legal Whiteness: This refers to the power of Whiteness in the legal system. It is characterized by the ways in which the legal system prioritizes and legitimizes White people and their experiences.
Institutional Whiteness: This refers to the ways in which White people control and maintain institutions such as schools, hospitals, and government agencies. It is characterized by the ways in which these institutions reproduce and maintain White privilege.
Colorblind Whiteness: This refers to a belief that race does not matter, and that everyone is equal. It is characterized by the refusal to acknowledge the ways in which Whiteness and racism operate in society.
Intentional Whiteness: This refers to the active participation of White people in maintaining White supremacy. It is characterized by the ways in which White people actively seek to maintain their power and privilege.
Linguistic Whiteness: This refers to the ways in which language is used to reinforce Whiteness in society. It is characterized by the ways in which language is used to exclude those who are not White.
Cultural Whiteness: This refers to the ways in which White culture is privileged and normalized in society. It is characterized by the ways in which White culture is celebrated and promoted, while other cultures are marginalized and excluded.
Racial Whiteness: This refers to the ways in which race is constructed and defined in society. It is characterized by the ways in which White people are positioned as the "norm" against which all other races are measured.
Cognitive Whiteness: This refers to the ways in which White people think and process information. It is characterized by the ways in which White people prioritize their own experiences and perspectives over those of others.
"With roots in European colonialism and imperialism, and the Atlantic slave trade, white privilege has developed in circumstances that have broadly sought to protect white racial privileges, various national citizenships, and other rights or special benefits."
"In the study of white privilege and its broader field of whiteness studies, both pioneered in the United States, academic perspectives such as critical race theory use the concept to analyze how racism and racialized societies affect the lives of white or white-skinned people."
"American academic Peggy McIntosh described the advantages that whites in Western societies enjoy and non-whites do not experience as 'an invisible package of unearned assets'."
"White privilege denotes both obvious and less obvious passive advantages that white people may not recognize they have, which distinguishes it from overt bias or prejudice."
"These include cultural affirmations of one's own worth; presumed greater social status; and freedom to move, buy, work, play, and speak freely. The effects can be seen in professional, educational, and personal contexts."
"The concept of white privilege also implies the right to assume the universality of one's own experiences, marking others as different or exceptional while perceiving oneself as normal."
"Some scholars say that the term uses the concept of 'whiteness' as a substitute for class or other social privilege or as a distraction from deeper underlying problems of inequality."
"They note the problem of acknowledging the diversity of people of color and ethnicity within these groups."
"As an academic concept that was only recently brought into the mainstream, the concept of white privilege is frequently misinterpreted by non-academics; some academics, having studied white privilege undisturbed for decades, have been surprised by the recent opposition from right-wing critics since approximately 2014."
"...the concept of white privilege was rapidly brought into the mainstream spotlight through social media campaigns such as Black Lives Matter."
"Some commentators have observed that the 'academic-sounding concept of white privilege' sometimes elicits defensiveness and misunderstanding among white people."
"They...suggest that the notion of whiteness cannot be inclusive of all white people."
"They note the problem of acknowledging the diversity of people of color and ethnicity within these groups."
"Some scholars say that the term uses the concept of 'whiteness' as a substitute for class or other social privilege or as a distraction from deeper underlying problems of inequality."
"...some academics, having studied white privilege undisturbed for decades, have been surprised by the recent opposition from right-wing critics since approximately 2014."
"In the study of white privilege and its broader field of whiteness studies, both pioneered in the United States, academic perspectives such as critical race theory use the concept to analyze how racism and racialized societies affect the lives of white or white-skinned people."
"They note the problem of acknowledging the diversity of people of color and ethnicity within these groups."
"...the concept of white privilege was rapidly brought into the mainstream spotlight through social media campaigns such as Black Lives Matter."
"...some academics, having studied white privilege undisturbed for decades, have been surprised by the recent opposition from right-wing critics since approximately 2014."