Analysis Of White Privilege Unpacking The Invisible Knapsack

The article “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” was written to inform the reader about white privilege and male privilege. It states that men necessarily do not realize that they hold an advantage over women just as though whites do not always realize they are more privileged than blacks. The author Peggy McIntosh thoroughly describes that just by being born with white skin, you automatically are at an advantage over someone who was not born white. She also explains that men do in fact recognize women’s status in the world and will do certain things to improve it. However, they are unwilling to do anything to lessen their own privilege. The article provides a list in which all statements are conditions in which whites hold …show more content…
In today’s society I feel like there is less male privilege compared to previous times. Women are now able to pursue careers that previously were denied to them, such as politics. Although they are able to pursue such careers, there is still a vast difference in female and male salaries. Concerning white privilege, I both agree and disagree with some points McIntosh made throughout the article. Personally I have never thought of myself as an unfairly advantaged person or as an oppressor. I have always viewed racism as people of other color being discriminated against. Most people view privilege as being a favored state, meaning that by birth or luck a person is at an advantage to another. McIntosh states that privilege can also be viewed as a state of dominance because of one’s race or sex. I disagree that privilege should be viewed as dominance because individuals who are privileged do not necessarily set out to intentionally control others. McIntosh discusses what can be done to bring an end to white and male privilege. In order for this to happen, men and the white race will have to discover how they need to lessen their advantage in order for everyone to be equal. The majority of white people do not see ‘whiteness’ as a race which is part of the reason white privilege continues to exist. In today’s society, race and sex are not the only “advantaging …show more content…
Some of the conditions she lists I personally would not have included. One of those would be number two that states, “I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to mistrust my kind or me.” I wouldn’t include this because I feel as though all the other conditions refer to someone being in a privileged state while this one simply tells how she can avoid certain people and doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with being privileged. Another condition I feel that does not demonstrate a state of privilege would be number 14, “I could arrange to protect our young children most of the time from people who might not like them”.
In conclusion, white and male privilege are still prevalent in our present day society. In order for this to change, we must start making more people aware that these privileges exist. We must also stop viewing racism as an act of discrimination but also as certain groups being privileged over others. It was interesting to read her point of view because it was conflicting to the societal norm for