White Privilege

Understanding Privilege

How do scholars describe race privilege in U.S. society? First, they point out that society has a racial hierarchy, such that racial minorities are systematically disadvan-taged, while Whites are systematically advantaged. However, that racial hierarchy coexists with multiple other hierarchies, most significantly those based upon class, sex, sexual orientation, and age, to name but a few. Within all status hierarchies, there are dominant and subordinate groups, advantaged and disadvantaged groups. Thus, an impoverished White woman, hearing her existence described as “privileged,” may find that difficult to see. The disadvantages associated with her social class and her gender are much more obvious to her, and, indeed, privilege is somewhat relative. Researchers note that people can be oppressors within one status hierarchy, while in others they may be disadvantaged. And more than likely, most people are both at some time or another. White privilege is not always intentional, according to this research perspective; most White people do not think of themselves as being oppressive.

Second, scholars of White privilege note that White privilege shares some similarities with but is still different from White racism. With White privilege, White people are unconscious beneficiaries of this status hierarchy. White racism may refer not only to White people who are explicitly racist in their thoughts or behaviors but also to societal power relations and to an institutionalized system of privilege and oppression. In this view, privilege is part of that racist system, whether or not the beneficiaries acknowledge it to be so.

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