Analysis Of Richard Dyer's 'The Matter Of Whiteness'

In this society whiteness is considered to be the norm, and everyone else second. Throughout history the white race has been put before any other group of people. In a article titled “ The matter of whiteness ” by Richard Dyer he states, “As long as race is something only applied to non white people, as long as white people are not racially seen and named, they / we function as a human norm” (p.10). For example, whites consider themselves as humans and see people of color as raced humans. One other problem with the invisibility of whiteness is that whites tend to cater to other whites. Dyer explains, “ White people speak about nothing but white people its just that we coach it in terms of people in general ” (p.11). Furthermore, whiteness …show more content…
Whiteness is exposed as perfect, clean and purest of its kind. For instance, Dyer states, “ The media, politics, education are still in the hands of white people, still speak for whites while calming and sometimes sincerely aiming to speak for humanity” (p.11). The reason why whiteness is invisible because the same people in power are white and create obstacles that keep others away for equal opportunity’s. The white race has been the holders of the light in this world. In the article “Failing to see” by Harlon Dalton he states, “ White skin privilege is a birthright, a set of advantages one receives simply by being born with features that society values especially highly” (p.18). They control everything when is come down to creating man made problems, which tend to impact people of color the …show more content…
It’s important to study whiteness because its plays a major impact on how this world is operating and how it’s segregated. To study whiteness allows us to acknowledge the abuse of power the white race has created by racial hierarchy within society. In the article “Representations of Whiteness In Black Imagination” by Bell Hooks she explains, “A system of domination, imperialism, colonialism, and racism actively coerce black folks to internalize negative perceptions of blackness, to be self hating ” (p.19). The false history and lacks of knowledge about people of color can lead to self-hating when society makes people believe that being white is better. White people set the standard of humanity, which they are known to succeed, while others fail. To conclude, whiteness is seen as normal and that has been the problem on why something so obvious can go unseen. The bottom line is that in order to understand the structure of society it’s important to study whiteness and its upper hand on everyone