Masculinity In America

Superior Essays
Historically America has favored white males providing them social and economic privileges such as access to jobs, land owning, etc. which provided comfortable lifestyles regardless of their education and so forth. It has not been until recently that people of color and white women were being included into this loop due to recent political and social change. The article “(In)Secure Times: Constructing White Working- Class Masculinities in the Late 20th Century” by Michelle Fine, Lois Weis, Judi Addelston, and Julia Marusza Hall, the authors describe the studies which they had conducted in order to understand the “personal identities” white poor and working-class males have produced, specifically in the United States, during the late 1980s …show more content…
According to the authors, their purpose was to investigate bordered constructions of whiteness that young white men created. They conducted in depth interviews with young poor and working class people, some of whom are firefighters, of varying racial background, in Buffalo, New York, and New Jersey. They found that these white male form ideas about African Americans, although they try not to sound racist about it. They believe that minorities who may not be doing so well is because they are not working and abuse the welfare system. They also expressed opinions on affirmative actions. An example the authors provide about how white males believe minorities “are not working” is an interview with a man named Larry. Larry stated “we 're all equal, and I feel that what I 've done, I 've worked for myself to get to where I 'm at. If they(African-Americans and Hispanics) would just really try instead of just kind of hanging out on the street corners”. Larry assumes that minorities are not working while him and his racial group are doing all of the hard work. When they are speaking of welfare these white men believe that minorities exploit the welfare system by not working and receiving money from the government. However, some of these white men receive welfare themselves and say it is difficult process to obtain government assistance but when they need help it is something to fall back on. This is contradicting to their belief that only minorities use the welfare system. When discussing affirmative action they feel as if it is unfair and that they are becoming the “new minorities”. They believe that people who are qualified for the job are being put back because of the minority quota that needs to be

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    In her article, Peggy McIntosh, puts light on the unacknowledged phenomena known as “white privilege”. She carries out an analogy between male privilege and white privilege. Males in the society unconsciously deny the fact that they are overprivileged at the expense of women. Even if they might accept the fact that women are disadvantaged, they would never support the idea of lessening their own status in the society. Similarly, white people enjoy their unearned privilege as they are in a state of forgetfulness regarding its existence.…

    • 298 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In White Like Me, Tim Wise explains from a personal experience of the ways in which racial privilege shapes the lives of most African Americans and white American, openly racist or not. The book shows the broadness and deepness of the abnormality within institutions such as, education, employment, housing, healthcare, and criminal justice. By determining the importance of racial privilege and its cost, Wise provides an amazing that will inspire anyone in understanding the way that race shapes the experiences of people in the United…

    • 86 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    White individuals, she asserts, might believe people of color live under a disadvantage in our society, but do not see themselves as privileged because of their whiteness. The author lists twenty-six ways she sees white people as having privileges that people of color do not enjoy. These differences range from white individuals able to shop without being followed or harassed, to people of color struggling to be accepted as “qualified” in their job if the position is an affirmative action one. She allows the word “privilege” is misleading, since when confronted with the term, most white people think of “privilege” as something like a favored state conferred by birth or luck. Ms .McIntosh…

    • 661 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In the selected article, Campbell describes his reflection on times in his life where he was met with challenges due to his race. These challenges directly attacked his perceived way of life based off of assumptions as opposed to facts and evidence. As a white male, Campbell argues that he has had no racial privilege and more so that privilege is not attached to race but many other attributes. Campbell refuses to acknowledge “white privilege” and prefers to address emotional stereotypes that are taken as fact. By applying reason over emotion the reader is able to see that “white privilege” is accordingly just a privilege and not inherent of race.…

    • 441 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Character Analysis 42

    • 1570 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The author continues by talking about how minorities really don’t have the same abilities as whites to control, order, or alter their own life chances. She explains in this theory that because of differences in community or culture, whites often are born with much better “chances” than those of color. In An American Dilemma (Myrdal. 1995.), Gunnar Myrdal talks about how there is something called the “White man’s Problem” (p. lxxxiii). Myrdal continues and says that the “negro problem” isn’t a problem from the blacks themselves, rather it is a problem from the whites because “practically all the economic, social, and political power is held by the whites” (p.lxxxiii). He ends by saying “The Negro’s entire life, and, consequently also his opinions on the Negro problem, are in the main, to be considered as secondary reactions to more primary pressures from the side of the dominant white majority” (p.lxxxiii).…

    • 1570 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Tim Wise’s book “White Like Me Reflections on Race from a Privileged son” (2011), Wise tackles the controversial topic of white privilege and how racial identity and whiteness here in America shape the overall lives of white Americans and adversely affect people of color. He entwines stories from his own life experiences from birth to present to make it both an easy read and relatable. Wise explains exactly what white privilege means and how this privilege is systematically embedded into American society and because of this, racism and racial disparities are rampant. He writes this book, not for those people of color, as they already know and understand the effects that whiteness (or lack thereof) has on their lives; but he writes for his…

    • 1614 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    After reading each article, oppression, privileged, and mens overall contributions to both oppression and privilege, are all themes and topics commonly discussed. McIntosh's article focused on white and male privileged and the unwavering fact that men and those of white complexion are, in most instances, completely oblivious to the privilege handed to them from birth. She also reflects on her experiences and recognizes the instances where her privilege has put her in front of her fellow co-workers, peers, and acquaintances. Frye on the other hand, not only does a terrific job of defining oppression, but speaks of womens oppression in particular. She confronts the issues of men and the common courtesies that may be undermining the female population, for example, the common practice of opening a door for a woman.…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Welfare has always been a major point in today’s politics; every election the debate is brought forth once more and again when the Federal budget comes to the floor. It is assumed by many in the population that the program is for the lazy and encourages the poor to not find work or continues to have dependents to increase the amount of benefits they can receive. Many argue that it is the “right” of the individual to receive aid from the government when they cannot support their family. Others agree help is warranted but there must be limits set to avoid fraud or the program becomes not an aid but a way of life. Over the course of our nation’s history welfare reform has taken on many new faces and gone through many struggles.…

    • 1418 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    White Privilege in America The United States of America is a nation built “by the (white) people for the (white) people” during a time in history when the vast majority of American citizen were white. The very foundations of American society and government are structured specifically to accommodate that, supplying advantages to whites over minorities. This systematic racism deep-rooted in the core of this country hindered the progress of colored people, harbored white superiority and created white privilege. Since its establishment in 1776, America has always been viewed as a predominantly white country.…

    • 1408 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    White Privilege Essay

    • 1874 Words
    • 8 Pages

    In her comparison, she argues that men would not admit that they are more privileged than women, even when they would conclude that women are more disadvantaged than them. Although everyone has certain individual skills and talents, I believe white privilege exists. In this essay, I’m going to examine several ideas that I believe argue in favor of my belief that White Privilege exist. The ideas that I’m going to indicate is the early beginnings of African American, redlining and zoning laws, the need for affirmative action, mass incarceration, and police…

    • 1874 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It is complicated to recount my experiences as an African-American woman without acknowledging the presence of white-privilege. The construction of white privilege is dynamic, but the term is defined as societal privileges, specifically in western societies, that benefit people identified as white, beyond what is commonly experienced by non-white people under the same social, political, or economic circumstances (SITE). Contemporarily, whiteness in any aspect has come- and continuous to come- with a vast array of benefits and advantages not shared by many people of color, specifically African- Americans. While writing this paper, I recounted the times I have experienced the power and the impact of white-privilege, but one specific instance…

    • 175 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Racial Wealth Gap Essay

    • 1209 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Closing the racial wealth gap is something that is important to many individuals, and according to Patrick McCarthy and Sara Johnson (2016) writing an article that points out the effects of the gap and how to fix the gap seems like a simple way to guide those in need. Both McCarthy and Johnson noted that many of the individuals that are suffering are individuals of color that do not having savings to fall back on. They are also living under federal government restrictions that are increasing the odds of not achieving the American dream of owning a home. However, for many Whites not having savings or federal restrictions are unknown, which gives Whites an advantage over individuals of color with having their American dream.…

    • 1209 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In this paper I will discuss the differences among white people who have experienced white privilege by analyzing “white privilege to a broke white” and comparing it to other articles that deal with…

    • 1794 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In her essay, titled "White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences through Work in Women's Studies," Peggy McIntosh discusses her observations about the ‘invisible' privileges that white people take for granted on a regular basis. As a result of this, the author coins the term ‘white privilege,' which she compares to a "weightless knapsack" containing advantages and benefits that white people enjoy without realizing that they are the only ones who experience them. To validate her argument that white privilege exists and to show the various scenarios in which people of color are often mistreated and discriminated against, the author compiles a list of 46 situations and conditions that illustrate that…

    • 983 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The Importance Of White Privilege In Society

    • 1560 Words
    • 7 Pages
    • 3 Works Cited

    White privilege exists in almost every function of daily life from education, housing, finances, and even healthcare. Education, no child left behind, a right for all American youth, none of these things advertise that the best educators are saved for the white students. Mortgage lenders request that the “race” box be checked, only to discriminate, offering higher interest rates to minorities, and approving loans only in “minority” neighborhoods, usually those with lower property values consisting of low quality education, high crime and poor environmental awareness. In these lower class neighborhoods, quality healthcare is unavailable or severely inconvenient, while the white neighborhoods enjoy highly educated doctors, hospitals and clinics at every corner. Somewhere in our cultural unconscious lies the image of the brutal, animalistic, sexual savage.…

    • 1560 Words
    • 7 Pages
    • 3 Works Cited
    Great Essays