1) Choose three examples from either the White Privilege Checklist, the Male Privilege Checklist, and the Black Male Privilege Checklist, or the Heterosexual Checklist (Katz) that made you think about your own privilege in a new way and tell us why (1 paragraph)
2) Now make your own checklist (5 items) and explain why these are privileges using the week’s readings and lecture. Explain key facets of the systems of oppression (gender, racial, heterosexist) that exist to reinforce these privileges in your life (2 paragraphs).
3) Go to your section’s wallwisher link for “Gender Microaggressions” (on E-learning). Post an example of a gender microaggression. Then post the message that this microaggression sends (this is a required posting and will count toward full credit for this learning module!)
White Privileges
ReplyDelete1. I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to "the person in charge" I will be facing a person of my race.
-I honestly don't think that is true anymore. I know back before I was born and even before that, people of my race were always in charge. But these days I have gone into many places and asked to speak to a manager and it is not always a person of my race that is in charge.
2. I can easily buy posters, postcards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys, and children's magazines featuring people of my race.
-Now that this is put to my attention, I sort of agree with this. As far as cards go, I do feel like they are mostly people of my race on them. But I recently noticed in Rite Aid they have a section of African-American cards. I thought that was very interesting. And toys I think have a mixture of races now, especially Barbie dolls. They use to all be white but now that have made Barbies in all different races.
3. If my day, week, or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it has racial overtones.
-I can honestly say that if I ever have a bad day or bad week, it is never because of my race. It has never crossed my mind when I know of someone else of my race is having a bad day, that is because they are white. That has never been a factor for me or my friends. And I will say that I have heard probably only once in my life, someone of another race say that they were bad or upset about something that had to do with their race.
My Checklist
1. Because I am white, I will be able to find a job
2. Because I am white, I will most likely never have a racial slure made against me
3. Because I am white, I will most likely be hired over someone of a different race
4. Because I am white, I am always considered an American
5. Because I am white, I will always be able to feel comfortable in society
I don't think all of these things are true and I have never really thought about the privileges that whites have. It is just a privilege I was born with and I didn't realize how important it is to me now. But I do think society has changed a lot of things that have to do with race. America is the Melting Pot so there are many different races that live in our country. These races have moved up in society and and becoming more equal. The fact that we have an Afircan-American president says a lot about their race and how far they have come.
1. “9. If I choose not to have children, my masculinity will not be called into question.” This privilege was something that I had not thought about before reading the male checklist. I would say it would be a non-privilege for women, and while I want to have kids, I can imagine how hard it would be to be a woman and decide not to have kids. You will constantly be harassed with “When are you going to have kids,” “Why haven’t you had kids yet.” Etc. “ 26. My wardrobe and grooming are very cheap and consume little time.” Again, this privilege is one that is a disadvantage for women. We are thought to need makeup, expensive clothes, trips to nail salons, hair salons, tanning salons, and the list goes on and on. Men are very lucky that they are not put on as high a pedestal as women. “3. If I am never promoted, it’s not just because of my sex.” This privilege is a disadvantage for me in one sense, but is also a privilege in another. Because I am female, I will worry that I am not promoted because of my sex, but because I am white, I will never have to worry about not getting promoted because of my race.
ReplyDelete2. Female Privilege Checklist
a. The Ability to muder my husband, and get away with it. I can make him out to be the bad guy, and will more than likely get a lighter sentence.
b. I have the opportunity to know what it is like to give birth to a child. I have the privilege of having a motherly bond with my children.
c. I can spend large amounts of time with my girl friends, and not be accused of being homosexual.
d. I can cry in public without being accused of being homosexual.
e. The privilege of being trusted easier than men, because of my “innocence.”
These privileges are both good and bad. The ability of women to get away with murder is not something that women should be proud of. But the fact that women can bear children is something that women should be proud of. I think it is sad that men cannot cry in public or hang out with their friends without being called “gay.”
White Privileges
ReplyDelete1. I am never asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.
- Though I have never had to speak in front of hundreds of people to address a situation, I feel like this privilege has changed, especially where I'm from. Texas is filled with people of all different races, especially Hispanics. Hispanic population has increased a ton and I wouldn't be surprised if almost have of Texas's population is Mexican. So basically if I ever have to speak for my race, I would maybe need to be specific than U.S. residents.
2. I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to 'the person in charge' I will be facing a person of my race.
- Again, there are so many different racial groups throughout the United States that I guess it depends on the area. Usually, I will end up talking with the manager, who is usually my race. But times are changing and I think that other races will have a bigger opportunity to be store managers too.
3. If a traaffic cop pulls me over, or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure that I haven't been singled out because of my race.
- So I don't file my own taxes so the IRS part doesn't really apply to me. I have been pulled over plenty of times but have never gotten a ticket-knock on wood. I definitely was not pulled over because the cop noticed my race, but because I was honestly speeding or ran a stop sign. I guess it helps to be young and blonde too, but I have never been pulled over because of my race.
My Checklist:
Because I am white, I'm known as being an American.
Because I am female, it's okay to cry in public.
Because I am white, I won't be questioned about anything.
Because I am female, I'm innocent.
Because I am white, I'm accepted anywhere.
There are many advantages and privileges to being a white female. I never realized how important these privileges were until we discussed it in class. Racial discrimination has dominated our society for many many years, but honestly I feel that things will be different soon. Like @Meg Warren said, we now have a black president for the first time ever and it shows that African Americans are just as strong/independent/capable as everyone else.
White Privilege Checklist
ReplyDelete1) I can chose blemish cover or bandages in "flesh" color and have them more or less match my skin.
Until class on Wednesday I never thought about being privileged when I buy or use a band aid. As small as buying or using a band aid is, that is something white people do not think about having a privilege for. When I go to buy makeup there is usually a much larger selection of shades of whites than there are darker colors.
2) I will feel welcomed and "normal" in the usual walks of public life, institutional and social.
I also did not consider this as a privilege. Being a little white blonde female people most likely are not scared of me. People do not turn in a different direction when I am walking by or clutch onto their belongings as I pass. They also don’t not get on an elevator because I am in it.
3) I can be late to a meeting without having the lateness reflect on my race.
I do not think that this is a white privilege or a privilege at all. Being late to a meeting or to anything does not have anything to do with race, or it shouldn’t have to do with race in my opinion. Race should not be an excuse for being late, and people should not blame someone for being late no matter what color they are.
My Checklist
1. Because I am female, I can be scared of almost anything and not be called a coward.
2. Because I am female, all my friends and I can go to the bathroom together without being accused of being gay.
3. Because I am female, I can use PMS as an excuse for being bitchy, depressed, or just being moody.
4. Because I am female, I don’t have to hold the door for anyone.
5. Because I am female, I can ask for help.
I think that men feel like they have this expectation to live up to. They feel like they have to be manly and strong, and most guys I know (including my dad and boyfriend) don’t ask for directions or for help, they want to prove that they can do it on their own. I never really thought about how much I ask for help but I never feel bad about myself for asking. I do think this is a female privilege. I also think that my friends and I can all go to the bathroom together (which most girls do) without worrying about what people think of them. Females can openly be scared of the dark or be scared of spiders and feel that the man should protect them.
Black Male Privilege Checklist
ReplyDelete1. I do not have to worry about the daily hassles of having my hair conforming to any standard image of beauty the way black women do. -- This is not necessarily the truth for African American men today. Most men need as much daily grooming as an AA female would such as: haircuts, shaving
2. I have the privilege of believing that a woman cannot raise a son to be a man. --I would have never thought of this as being a black male privilege due to the fact that quite often in the African American community--as well as any other-- single mothers are the ones that raise children in households.
3. I know that the further I go in education the more success I will have with women. --In a few ways, this privilege can be very manipulative. For one, some women do not care how far in success a man has come, as long as he is bringing home the bacon. For two, a even if a man continues to further his education does not necessarily mean that he will have much success with women; maybe looks, personality to go along with the education factor.
My Checklist:
1. Because I am female, my chances of getting into trouble with authority is lowered to a male's chances with trouble.
2. Because I am female, I will be waited on faster in public facilities.
3. Because I am female, I do not have to pay for the date.
4. Because I am female, I can ask my friend if my underwear are showing.
5. Because I am female, I am not judged for manicures and pedicures in a nail salon.
Some of these privileges apply to me, and some of these privileges are unrealistic. For instance, my third privilege on my checklist is not necessarily true for me. I feel that even though the male is usually the one to pay for dates, a female can pitch in every blue moon. Things don't always have to be as "traditional" as they have been in the past in society.
@Kate, I agree that men feel as though they have to live up to the expectations listed in your privileges. They have to show that whole "macho man" type ego, just because it's the "traditional" thing in our society today.
ReplyDelete@Samantha Adams: I totally agree that some instances such as the privilege of women getting away with murder to be very unrealistic and unfair.
@ Kate- The whole flesh color bandage privilege shocked me. I guess as a black person I just never really gave it that much thought. I just thought it was the chosen color for bandages.
ReplyDelete@ Meg- They do have a whole section of cards for black people now. What about the other ethnicities? Others are still being left out so everything can't be changing that much.
ReplyDelete@ Victoria- Yes that is very true! Black men are very high maintenance. Black men keep up with themselves just as much as black women, if not more.
ReplyDelete1.)As a child, chances are I was encouraged to be more active and outgoing than my sisters.
ReplyDelete-I have an older brother & my parents did put him in sports at an early to age I guess to see if he would like it and want to continue on. When I was younger I always went to his practices and games so I was always seeing boys playing sports. But as I got older and into highschool my thought definitely changed because most of my best friends were very active and played a lot of sports.
2.)If I choose not to have children, my masculinity will not be called into question.
--I've never really thought about this until I read the Male Privilege Checklist. I think this is true for men because they aren't ever really asked, "when are you going to have kids?" It seems to always be the woman that is asked this question. This is a disadvantage to women because they will automatically look like the selfish one if they aren't having kids.
3.)I can be somewhat sure that if I ask to see “the person in charge,” I will face a person of my own sex. The higher-up in the organization the person is, the surer I can be.
--I don't feel like this is necessarily true. I haven't never thought this before when asking to speak to someone like the manager. There are stores in my hometown that are managed by someone of a different race than me.
Checklist:
1.)Because I am female, I will never be thought of to get in trouble with the law.
2.)Because I am white, I can feel accepted almost all the time.
3.)Because I am white, I don't have to worry about being called racists names or harassed.
4.)Because I am female, It's okay to pamper yourself.
5.)because I am female, I am allowed to spend money on clothes and accessories etc.
1) One comment that really stuck out to me was the one about the bandage. We even went so far to talk about this in class. Because im white, I do not have to worry about the color of my band-aid's because there all white. I take this for granted because of the fact that I do not have to go looking for a different color bandage and its nice to just go to that oe store and get it. This is true for Africana American men and women.
ReplyDelete2)The privilege's that white women have:
-Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of my financial reliability.
-I can arrange to protect my children most of the time from people who might not like them
-Because I am white, I am considered an American.
-Because I am female I am innocent, and can look stupid.
-Because I am female, if my husband and I divorce, I will get the kids.
Some of these things are white privileges and white women privileges. Some of these are bad while they can also be good. This really are true and sad in some cases because thats how we are looked upon in our society.
3)To me, race has never been a huge deal in my life. No one has ever treated me or someone I know of a different race different. I also agree with how you do not get upset because of your race, or I never have.
Male Checklist:
ReplyDelete1.) If I’m a teen or adult, and if I can stay out of prison, my odds of being raped are so low as to be negligible.
- I personally don't think going to jail has anything to do with being raped and you can be raped and never been to jail. Even though the percent of women being rape to men is higher any male could be raped being any type of person. Another thing that I see wrong with this checklist is that it is implying that men can prevent being raped and women can't.
2.)If I buy a new car, chances are I’ll be offered a better price than a woman buying the same car.
- I don't feel like this is completely true because some women are very good at bargaining. I would think that a car dealership rather give a single mother or a good looking women a better price on a car than some man that can easily afford a car at regular price.
3.)If I’m careless with my driving it won’t be attributed to my sex.
- I think is far from true because I know many men and women who say males are worse drivers than women due to the fact they car more about speed and looking good than their actual driving skills. If I was a police officer and pulled over a man for speeding or went to an accident to see two men I would think should've known it was going to be a man. My mom has been driving for 36 years and my dad 37 my mom doesn't have one ticket for her driving my dad has 6 speeding tickets therefor mens careless driving is going to be contribute to their sex.
My Checklist:
1.)Because I am a women I'm more likely to be helped at a store.
2.)Because I am a women it's alright to be materialistic.
3.)Because I am white I'm less likely to be judge in a public place.
4.)Because I am a women it is less likely for when to get in trouble with the law.
5.)Because I am women I'm not expected to pay on a date.
These are just privileges I thought were kinda silly but can be applied to me and others in the world. I think its unrealistic to say women are less likely to get in trouble with the law than men and that whites are less likely to be judge in public. Though i may think these are silly these privileges do exist to some people around the U.S. Until reading this weeks readings I never really thought how my race or sex gave me unearned privileges.
@Kate- you're exactly right, race shouldn't be an excuse for being late. No matter what race you are, everyone should take equal punishments for being late to work or a meeting or whatever.
ReplyDelete1) I can easily buy posters, postcards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys, and children's magazines featuring people of my race.
ReplyDeleteNow that this has been drawn to my attention I do agree with this. It seems that most of these are of my race when you look through the store and see posters and especially postcards. However now you are able to see more of a diversity with things such as barbies and toy advertisements.
2)If I choose not to have children, my masculinity will not be called into question.
This is truer now that we are able to get our attention to this topic. I can’t remember the last time a man was asked or questioned on when he was planning on having kids. Especially single men. However, women are asked this a lot when they reach a certain age and not only just married women. It is socially acceptable for not married women to have a child however when was the last time we were to see a man with a child who wasn’t in a relationship or married? I do think that as women we have the expectation to become a mom one day however with men they do not lose masculinity if they choose not to.
3) If a man were to go into a job interview competing with a woman, the man would have the upper hand.
If this were ten years ago, I would say yes this is true. However now I think that more things play into the role of granting a job. As for advertisement companies, who wouldn’t want a beautiful women showing off there company? Not only this, but my mother is a vice president and an owner of a company. She always says “im a women in a mans world”. Which is true. I do think that men do not have the upper hand it is just socially known for us to think that.
Because I am white, I will not have racial slurs made against me.
Because I am white, I will have better advantage on getting a job.
Because I am white, I will remain apart of the majority in the US
Because I am white, I will succeed in politics
Because I am white, I will have stereotypes hanging over my head.
These are five things that I strongly believe are possible because of the skin color you are, such as white. Although racial matters have improved within just the last couple years, it is something that will never fully be ridded of in this country. Just because I made these my five rules, does not mean that they are justifiable or reasonable, in fact I think its quit dumb that our politics allow you to further succeed as being apart of a white community however we see with our current President Obama that things have changed. This is still America. It is still a democracy. Although the racial slurs and discrimination is made throughout the society it is not what America is all about.
@Kate Rissannen, I agree with you when you say men have a certain expectation to live up to. When you really think about it, women have high expectations for men and count on them to be independent and protective without thinking much about it!
ReplyDelete@AnnetteFarrell I also agree with you as well. Things are changing all the time and now that we do have an African American president, it shows that anyone is capable of accomplishing anything that the set their mind to, no matter what this race or gender is!
@Payton i agree with your checklist, because we're white we never have to worry about being the first suspected for doing anything wrong, and because we are female we can spend money on ourselves and primping more, etc.
ReplyDelete@Kate the flesh color bandage privilege shocked me too, i never even thought about that
ReplyDelete@Kate... I also agree when you say men feel like they have a certain something to live up to and have expectations. They feel as if they have to be "manly"
ReplyDelete@ Samantha, I agree that racial descrimination will always be a HUGE part in our society and I think it will never change. Although Obama is a great example of that, and hopeful he will allow citizens to move forward and not just think about someones skin color and their inner self.
ReplyDelete@Taylor- I totally agree with all your reasonings about the checklist. It's funny that you say the comment about the male getting a cheaper price on a car because when I was reading that article I said the same exact thing about how I thought the woman would get a better deal. I also agree with you on the fact of driving. I feel like all men drive terrible. ha ha But seriously, my dad is the same exact way as yours is, he has probably had over 20 tickets or more in his life. While my mom has had maybe three at the max.
@Annette Farrell
ReplyDelete-I agree with you, times have definitely changed and when you are asking for the "person in charge" somewhere that does not always mean you are going to get a specific race or gender. It mainly depends on where you are, especially when it coomes to race, because it's different all around the U.S.
@Meg Warren, I disagree with your first statement because I think that there is a higher percentage of a person of white race being in charger rather than someone of the black race.
ReplyDelete@Kate Rissanen
ReplyDelete-That's so true, I also have never thought about the color of nude colored band aids until it was brought up in class the other day. It's one of those prime examples of privliges that we don't individually notice or realize. It's horrible for them to assume though that everyone that uses those band aid's is that light skinned.
@Samantha Candee
ReplyDelete- I agree with you that times have definitely changed and that more and more women are becoming more powerful, especially in the corporate world, than men ever expected us to be. But I have to disagree with your last statement that we are women living in a mans world because women have come so far. If you wouldve said this fifty years ago then i'd agree, but the progression and the strides women have made is unbelievable and I honestly believe we can do anything that a man can do just as good, if not better.
I believe that if a male and female were to go into an interview for the same job, the male would most likely have the greatest chance of getting the job. I say this because, from what I've seen throughout the previous years a male can get a job based on his common knowledge alone but as for a female, she has to have a degree or some sort of experience in whatever the job may be.
ReplyDeleteMy Checklist
Because I'm Black, I must be ignorant (stereotype)
Because I'm Black, I can't go to private schools
Because I'm Black, I have to work harder for what I want
Because I'm a Female, I can't get a job
Because I'm a Female, I can't play sports
My entire checklist applies to me (my life).
@Samantha Candee, I totally agree with your comment about the men getting Jobs over women.
ReplyDelete@Victoria Adams -- i agree that the expectations are sometimes unrealistic. I don't feel like guy should always pay for the meal on dates!
ReplyDelete@Samantha Candee -- I agree with you when you say that America is not about racial slurs and discrimination.
ReplyDelete@Taylor Mcneil -- I relate to the things you put on your checklist. I also did not realize we had these unearned privileges.