not only on White hegemony over separate racialized groups, but also on manipulating racial outsiders to fight against one another, to compete with each other for white approval, and to seek the rewards and privileges of whiteness for themselves at the expense of other racialized populations.”7
Another defining aspect of Whiteness is the lack of awareness of race, of power, and of privilege; “to be an American and to be white is to be told a million different ways that the world is your oyster; it is to believe, because so many outward signs suggest it, that you can do anything and be anything your heart desires.”8 The constant and consistent valuing of Whiteness leads most Whites to understand this treatment as “normal,” and they are therefore unaware that their racial status is according them benefits. Yet the relationship between Whiteness and privilege is of a constitutive nature; “without racial privilege there is no whiteness, and without whiteness, there is no racial privilege. Being white means to be advantaged relative to people of color, and pretty much only that.”9 Thus, there are direct reinforcing links between “White,” “Whiteness,” and “White privilege.” White is the term used to identify a group of people who share phenotypical features understood as “White,” Whiteness refers to the power given to Whites, and White privilege denotes the benefits that Whites receive because they are White.
Facets of White Privilege
Given that much of White privilege scholarship relies on an autobiographical, self-reflective approach, the theory has not been neatly constructed into components. However, there are clear themes in how Amico, McIntosh, Rothenberg, and Wise systematically analyze White privilege, or, as Rothenberg says, there is “a kind of anatomy of privilege in all its complexity.”10 There are five main experiences that characterize White privilege: (1) opportunities received, (2) lack of authority enforcement, (3) a White ethnocentric curriculum, (4) racial segregation, and (5) a pattern of laws throughout time that benefit Whites. It should be noted, however, that though these five experiences help outline the theory of White privilege, they do not encapsulate all the varied and nuanced ways in which Whites experience their racial privilege.
Opportunities Received
A hallmark of White privilege is the “invisible” opportunities that Whites receive; these can be small, micro daily interactions or larger life-course markers that make it easier to move from one stage of life to another. For example, Wise reflects on how theater activities in school gave him a much-needed outlet in life, but his consistent assignment to key roles had more to do with the use of White roles rather than his acting ability.11 Rothenberg describes how her family’s White network got her into private school and away from more poorly performing public schools. Her father’s network also aided her acceptance into the University of Chicago, and her parents helped buy her house by providing the down payment. Without the White networks, a perception of worthiness, and her family’s wealth, Rothenberg would have gone without these educational and housing opportunities that affected her entire life course.12 Whites receive privilege via the opportunities open to them through their networks, wealth, and other resources, as well as their perceived worth. This assignment of value and respect to Whiteness connects to the second main area of privilege: lack of authority enforcement.
Lack of Authority Enforcement
White privilege theory notes how Whites are presumed to be innocent, or if they are found to be deviant, the penalty is either insignificant or nonexistent. Wise recounts numerous times when he did not get into trouble, even though he was clearly violating the law: drinking and doing drugs as a teenager and, even more severe, his fake identification business that helped him and his underage friends drink at bars.13 In another instance, a police officer chose to help Wise break into his car when he had locked himself out of it. Rather than the officer assuming Wise was illegally trying to break into a car, his Whiteness accorded him virtue; “for whites, innocence was presumed until proven otherwise, while for blacks, the presumption of guilt was the default position.”14 Lack of authority enforcement is also a common theme among a list of privileges that McIntosh delineates: She can shop without being followed around; she can be sure her children’s teachers will tolerate them; she can be sure that if she is pulled over by a cop, it is not because of her race; and she can be late to a meeting without the tardiness reflecting on her race. McIntosh notes that several privileges allow her “to escape penalties or dangers that others suffer.”15
White Ethnocentric Curriculum
White privilege also shapes what is considered knowledge or even epistemology. In an analysis of the major disciplines, such as history, philosophy, and science, the curriculum is Eurocentric, in that it focuses on the contributions and knowledge production of Whites. For example, Rothenberg had the following realization when she began teaching philosophy:
Implicit in my syllabus was the notion that wisdom was the special attribute of one race, one sex, and one class, and thus one particular way of thinking about the world and framing questions was the only model for intelligence and rationality. That this way of defining knowledge and framing questions made the experience and wisdom of most of the world’s people either invisible or irrelevant never occurred to me.16
She eventually came to realize that “we have privileged the distorted perspective of an infinitesimal fraction of the world’s population.”17 Amico, too, as a professor of philosophy, came to realize that philosophy was primarily a White discipline that ignored the contributions of others and saw “the blind spots in [his] education that favor whiteness.”18 And McIntosh notes, “I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their race.”19 The White ethnocentric curriculum shows how Whites are taught from day one that White culture and knowledge are not only most significant but also correct.
Racial Segregation
White privilege is able to maintain itself through the residential and social isolation of Whites from people of color. Upon recognition of their White privilege, these scholars recognized that they had spent their lives largely in White spaces. It did not occur to them to question why people of color were absent in their neighborhoods, schools, clubs, jobs, and even the media. McIntosh notes such privilege in this way: “I can, if I wish, arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time” because Whites have created isolated spaces in any number of professional and social circles.20 Wise notes how he had Black friends in middle school, but by high school, racial segregation had taken hold, and his friendship circle became largely composed of Whites. Rothenberg, in retrospect, realizes that there were no Blacks in her school or in her parents’ segregated country club. As an adult, Rothenberg analyzes how “well-intentioned white liberals,” knowingly or not, reinforce this segregated color line, for even when they desire to move into a diverse neighborhood, they often choose to send their children to private schools instead of the local public school.21 By the time most White children get to college, they are not aware of how their racial segregation has become a norm, so, intentionally or not, they continue on with a life of White racial isolation.
Pattern of Laws
White privilege is not just a manifestation of contemporary culture; it is embedded in the structure and institutions of society. White privilege has been repeatedly enforced through policies and laws, beginning with plantation slavery and the genocide of the indigenous and continuing through today. Noting laws and policies such as the internment of Japanese people in the United States during World War II and the denial of citizenship to various communities of color throughout U.S. history, Rothenberg states that White skin privilege is part of the very
