White Privilege In American Society

In American society today we are taught to see social constructs such as gender, sexuality, race, and class as something that puts people at a disadvantage; in doing this, we often fail to recognize the areas in which we are privileged. It is important to understand that we are all privileged in certain ways. Simply being able-bodied in an ableist society or thin in a fat-shaming society grants members of those groups privilege. In this regard, white privilege is the privilege a person gets by being a white person in a white-dominant society. It does not have to do with any one individual, what they do or who they are, only the fact that they are white. It means that a person considered white might receive privileged access to opportunities …show more content…
Although, arguably the most significant element of understanding white privilege is “becoming aware [that] privilege should not be viewed as a burden or source of guilt, but rather, an opportunity to learn and be responsible so that we may work toward a just and more inclusive world.” …show more content…
When the subject of white privilege is brought up the seemingly reflexive reaction of white individuals tends to be defensive or even the denial of its existence, followed by the words, “I’m not privileged. I’ve had to work for everything in my life!” There are many who feel that the term white privilege is an attack on their accomplishments and diminishes their hard work. In the United States especially, we strongly believe in the culturally ingrained values of meritocracy—the belief that you can achieve anything if you work hard enough. The idea of meritocracy places the responsibility of success, or lack of success, solely on an individual rather than on the systems in place that might contribute to an individual’s success. Commonly, many use this idea of meritocracy as a way to deny the existence of white privilege by claiming—as Americans—we all have equal rights and equal opportunity to succeed. This idea is flawed however, since one of the main concepts of white privilege is, not that people of color don’t have equal rights, but that a person of color may have to work so much harder for the same opportunity that someone white may have gained access to more readily. This subtle, yet pervasive system of white privilege contributes to the maintenance of existing racial