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Revision as of 16:34, 28 May 2005 view sourceKaibabsquirrel (talk | contribs)1,640 edits stating that this is a neologism is not POV, it's a statement of fact.← Previous edit Revision as of 18:05, 28 May 2005 view source Kaibabsquirrel (talk | contribs)1,640 editsNo edit summaryNext edit →
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It explains such phenomena as white boxer, ], receiving an very large amount of money for his ] fight with ] ], even though he was an untested contender. Examples from popular music include ], credited with popularizing "black music" with white audiences, as well as ]'s popularity as a rap singer. It is also put forward by scholars as an explanation for why social groups have used racism as a form of social control and oppression: namely, to benefit themselves at the expense of others. It is also used by some historians to explain the historical trajectory from exclusion to acceptance of Irish and Jewish Americans. It explains such phenomena as white boxer, ], receiving an very large amount of money for his ] fight with ] ], even though he was an untested contender. Examples from popular music include ], credited with popularizing "black music" with white audiences, as well as ]'s popularity as a rap singer. It is also put forward by scholars as an explanation for why social groups have used racism as a form of social control and oppression: namely, to benefit themselves at the expense of others. It is also used by some historians to explain the historical trajectory from exclusion to acceptance of Irish and Jewish Americans.


Parallels are often drawn between white privilege, ] and ]. Advocates of white privilege theory may be sympathetic to ] and other forms of ] and ]. Parallels are often drawn between white privilege, ] and ]. Advocates of white privilege theory may be sympathetic to ] and other forms of ] and ]. However, some advocates of the white privilege theory make the claim that white privilege is the only significant form of oppression in society and, in fact, ], ], ], ], and other issues are all but irrelevant because white gays and lesbians, white women, the white working class, white homeless people etc. all allegedly have a built-in advantage of "whiteness" and thus cannot truly be considered members of any oppressed group. At the most extreme, this view manifests itself in calls to "abolish the white race."


Critics of the concept of white privilege from the ] sometimes point out that the white skin privilege analysis undermines or ignores the ] and economic nature of racism (i.e., that racism ultimately hurts every person, including whites), and that it runs the risk of branding all white people regardless of economic stature (including, presumably, ]) or social or cultural history as "beneficiaries" of ]. Other critics claim not only that there is no such social relation as described by white privilege, but the very idea itself is nonsensical or absurd. The existence of a white under class is often cited as proof that there are no benefits necessarily accruing to white people as such. Critics of the concept of white privilege from the ] sometimes point out that the white skin privilege analysis undermines or ignores the ] and economic nature of racism (i.e., that racism ultimately hurts every person, including whites), and that it runs the risk of branding all white people regardless of economic stature (including, presumably, ]) or social or cultural history as "beneficiaries" of ]. Other critics claim not only that there is no such social relation as described by white privilege, but the very idea itself is nonsensical or absurd. The existence of a white under class is often cited as proof that there are no benefits necessarily accruing to white people as such.

Revision as of 18:05, 28 May 2005

White privilege, or White Skin Privilege, is neologism used as a term of analysis -- employed by, among others, historians, legal scholars, philosophers, opponents of the Eugenics Movement and sociologists of racism -- that denotes a particular kind of alleged social relation, one which typically involves a right, advantage, exemption or immunity granted to or enjoyed by white persons beyond the common advantage of nonwhites. In the view of those using the term, it is the primary benefit of racism expressed as preferential treatment within a society. As racism is usually understood to be punitive towards people of color, white privilege is claimed to be the pattern of social benefits accruing to members of the socially privileged and oppressing group, at the expense of members of the socially disprivileged and oppressed group.

It explains such phenomena as white boxer, Gerry Cooney, receiving an very large amount of money for his 1982 fight with African American Larry Holmes, even though he was an untested contender. Examples from popular music include Elvis Presley, credited with popularizing "black music" with white audiences, as well as Eminem's popularity as a rap singer. It is also put forward by scholars as an explanation for why social groups have used racism as a form of social control and oppression: namely, to benefit themselves at the expense of others. It is also used by some historians to explain the historical trajectory from exclusion to acceptance of Irish and Jewish Americans.

Parallels are often drawn between white privilege, male privilege and heterosexual privilege. Advocates of white privilege theory may be sympathetic to black nationalism and other forms of ethnic nationalism and identity politics. However, some advocates of the white privilege theory make the claim that white privilege is the only significant form of oppression in society and, in fact, homophobia, sexism, labor, homelessness, and other issues are all but irrelevant because white gays and lesbians, white women, the white working class, white homeless people etc. all allegedly have a built-in advantage of "whiteness" and thus cannot truly be considered members of any oppressed group. At the most extreme, this view manifests itself in calls to "abolish the white race."

Critics of the concept of white privilege from the political left sometimes point out that the white skin privilege analysis undermines or ignores the class and economic nature of racism (i.e., that racism ultimately hurts every person, including whites), and that it runs the risk of branding all white people regardless of economic stature (including, presumably, working-class whites) or social or cultural history as "beneficiaries" of racism. Other critics claim not only that there is no such social relation as described by white privilege, but the very idea itself is nonsensical or absurd. The existence of a white under class is often cited as proof that there are no benefits necessarily accruing to white people as such.

Proponents of this concept maintain that white people are unaware of how their racial privilege operates on a daily basis. Thus they may consider themselves anti-racist but are not pro-actively conscious of what proponents of the concept claim are their own unfair advantages. Because it has a tendency to be invisible to the very people that profit from it, many argue that white privilege is a particularly insidious (and, to those who benefit from it, effective) form of social control to dismantle.

Whiteness studies is an emerging field of academic inquiry that emerges from the desire to address white privilege and to understand and dismantle it.

References

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