McIntosh suggests that those who benefit from white privilege's unearned advantages use this power to benefit others by trying to change the system. Like Lorde points out in here article, silence immobilizes us all, and what we will regret most at the end of our days is not the things we said, but the things we chose not to say. So, in relating these two articles, it's important for those who benefit from white privilege not to just accept these benefits without a second thought, but rather speak out and try to change things because these advantages are very much unearned and entirely unfair. On a similar note, those who do not get the relish in these unearned benefits, in other words people of color, need to speak out as well in an attempt to reconstruct the system that keeps affording undeserving people the power and conferring them all the benefits. It's a matter of transforming the silence that has plagued society for so long (in both white people and people of color) into language, and using language to raise awareness that undeserved advantages do exists as a result of skin color, and to ultimately redistribute power in the hierarchal system that currently exists.
Finally, in relation to Miles' article in Listen Up, the previous two articles really connected to this one in that the women of On the Rag did not recognize the differences between each other. White women thought their strife was the same as the black girls, and the black girls felt they faced the same issues as the Asian women, etc. None of the women completed any critical self-analysis in order to understand how each individual participated in the system oppression on a daily basis. To this, McIntosh would suggest that the women of color probably recognized the unearned advantages of white privilege, whereas the white women didn't even realize that there was an issue of white privilege within their group. Moreover, Lorde would say that these women had stayed silent on various issues surrounding femininity for quite sometime and had become paralyzed by their silence. Once it came time for them to open up, they realized that the issues that they cared about weren't necessarily the ones that everyone else cared about or where affected by, and thereby took issue with their fellow women.
In summation, these articles really provoked some critical self-analysis of my own. Am I more aware of the unearned benefits conferred to me as a result of being white after reading these articles? Yes. Do I think it's fair? No. Is there anything I can do to change it? Yes, I think so. It's now a matter of me either taking the "path of least resistance" and continuing to participate in the system, or trying to change the system by denying such benefits -- I can begin to reconstruct the system at the individual level.
On a side note, I thought it was really cool how Miles mentioned Lorde and Echols, two authors that we have studied in class.
Dear Plender,
ReplyDeleteYour post was so thorough, it is hard to come up with something of substance to say. I suppose it would be easy to rephrase what you have so elequently put, but i'll leave your post to stand on its own.
I particularly liked the Miles article. I felt it refreshing, light and honest compared to the recent readings we have examined. Instead of preaching or ranting, it simply delivered a bittersweet story with many hidden messages. My favourite quote from the reading "We were not aware of the need for induvidual self-analysis or for the recognition of our own role in oppressing or silencing others." This quote made me wonder if what I do in everyday life, or my lack of realization of certain oppressing/silencing behavior could potentially be causing damage to whatever group I happen to be involved with. more specifically the team I am currently on.
I also liked Mcintosh's article because it opened my eyes to all the differences I have not noticed in everyday life before. Coming from a rural area where the population is all white, I think perhaps I did not realize that such a difference between races and treatment of races existed.
While other readings were very powerful on their own, I have to agree that they tie altogether and deliver important messages to help or inspire the young women of today to become a strong, healthy group. In order for this to happen, self analysis, acceptance of race/sexuality, and the realization and elimination of gender differences must be on everyones mind.
I think Lisa's comment about transforming the silence into language and using language to raise awareness about the differences that exist within our society is what I really took away from the articles. Lorde explains that differences exist everywhere in our society and while most people have been socialized to tolerate differences, or simply ignore them, Lorde tells us we must use differences as a strength rather than hide behind them. The problem with our society, as McIntosh points out is that in the patriarchal system we live in, some differences are empowered and privileged while other differences are subordinated and suppressed. For those who possess the qualities which are assigned a certain privilege, including being white or being a man, they have been programmed to ignore their privilege or to a certain degree be modest about their unearned power. However as McIntosh articulates, we must identify these unearned positions of power and actively respond in order to bring about any change. For example, a white feminist may criticize the patriarchal system we live in for giving men an unfair advantage over women by nature of the system. This feminist might try to educate other people about the disadvantage state of women and call for action. However, if this same white feminist is partaking in or benefiting from the unearned privileges as a white person, how must black women perceive her if she is a part of society which puts black people at a disadvantage?
ReplyDeleteI think this concept touches on Miles's article about why the women of "The Rag" had so many problems eventually leading to the dissolution of the group. As Lisa said, while all the women were initially united through their dissatisfaction and feelings of inferiority as a woman, as time went on and new differences began to surface between women with regard to race and ethnicity, new problems with different impacts emerged that separated and divided them. Thus here lies the problem with our society -- certain qualities are celebrated and privileged while other differences are devalued and suppressed and this does not only apply to race and gender but also class, sexual orientation, religion and other factors. I think the point the three writers are trying to make is that we must first acknowledge these differences and not ignore them or hide behind them. While it may be easier to ignore the fact that as a white woman I have more privileges than a black woman in our society, I need to begin to dismiss these privileges and as Lisa said no simply take the path of least resistance. Only once we acknowledge all the types of differences within our society and understand the way in which society empowers some differences and subordinates others, can we really begin to make a change.
As Lisa already said, the three pieces we read were all in someway connected. I especially liked Audre Lorde’s reading because I thought that her piece in particular was the unifying factor. When Lorde writes, “Without community there is no liberation, only the most vulnerable and temporary armistice between an individual and her oppression,” I think she captures the essence of both Miles’s piece and McIntosh’s. Although McIntosh focuses more on the notion of white privilege and the reluctance to admit certain privileges, she presents the idea of a community that Lorde mentioned. McIntosh questions if we as a society “will use any of our arbitrarily awarded power to try to reconstruct power systems on a broader base.”
ReplyDeleteLorde’s ideas of survival, to not only recognize our differences but work together to understand them, is also highlighted throughout Mile’s piece. It’s a shame that The Rag did not become overly successful because it sounded like the women involved in the journal and the right idea in mind. If only the women had taken the time to try and understand their differences, as Miles states, perhaps the outcome of the journal would have ended quite differently.
I also thought it was sad to read that Lorde considered herself against everything because she is a Black lesbian feminist. It was interesting when she wrote that in this country, “racism, sexism, and homophobia are inseparable.” I never fully realized that until now, and I think in terms of categorizing differences, Lorde is right. I think we discussed in class how to be white, heterosexual, and male is considered the “norm” and I think Lorde’s statement hits that same idea.
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteFantastic posts. To echo Brittany, Lisa's lead post was beautifully written and terrifically thorough. The rest of you, however, managed to write equally compelling and interesting posts that complimented hers very well. Excellent thoughts about the ways in which these articles all connected and inflected one another!