White Privilege and Male Privilege

White Privilege and Male Privilege

Peggy McIntosh is the associate director of the Wellesley College center for research on women. She is an American feminist anti racist activist best known for her influential article " White Privelege and Male Privelge: A personal account of coming to see correspondences through work in women studies. Peggy McIntosh was amazed or in shock how males and white are treated differently in society to make them feel they have advances. She viewed white privilege as a secret code handbook guide for white people to remain unaware of what actually goes on in the world. The way people are treated depends on the gender, race and sexuality. "As a white person I realized I had been taught about racism as something that puts others at a disadvantage, but had been taught not to see one of its corollary aspects, white privilege, which puts me at an advantage."(Peggy McIntosh ,95).

What is meant by white priveledge ? Peggy McIntosh wrote an article based on her daily observations of experiences due to certain circumstances. Most whites receive the special right or immunity from liability and unearned benefits by membership of a social priviledged class. " I have come to see white priviledge as an invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was "meant" to remain oblivious. White priveledge is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, assurances, tools, maps, guides, codebooks, passports, visas, clothes, compass, emergency gear, and blank checks" (Peggy, McIntosh 95).

Elizabeth Minninch her colleague pointed out. Peggy school follows the same pattern. "whites are taught to think of their lives as neautral, normative, and average and also ideal so that when we work to benefit others, this is seen as wok that will allow "them" to be more like us" (Peggy, McIntosh 97). At this point Peggy McIntosh has an epiphany the color of her skin gave her a pass through life and that could destroy equality. McIntosh school didn't teach her about slavery she was taught white is the higher social structure class to motivate African americans. The daily effects of White Privledge was most striking to me was