Posted: Mon 28 Feb 2005 19:00 Post subject: Do Multiracials Benefit from 'White Privilege'?
This was posted on the net.
What do you guys think?
Liana
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As a person who is perceived by most people as "white" but identifies as a whiteblack woman, I have a particular sensitivity to the issue of white privilege. Although I have heard my share of racist comments and have experiences racism throughout my life because of my African American heritage, i find it necessary and important for me to also come to grips with the fact that I too benefit from white privilege. When my family and I go to a restaurant or store, I am the one that gets asked if I need help, whereas my sisters and brothers who have a darker complection get ignored. When I get accepted to elite programs or colleges, people don't assume that I got accepted based on affirmative action and not merit, whereas my friends who are darker-skinned have ignorant people telling them that they only got accepted becausgo to an ATM e the school needed to "diversify." I can drive my car in peace, whereas my black boyfriend is harassed by the police when he's driving or out at night.
As a member of a multiracial family, white privilege isn't some new concept to me (unfortunately some whites are only now starting to wake up to the fact that they are implicitly and explicitly benefitting from institutional racism in this country). However, I find that I do benefit from white privilege, whether I like it or not. In order to fight it I must continue to speak up when people do or say ignorant things, or try to set me apart and treat me "better" than those of a darker hue. I'm glad we've opened the discussion about white privilege and institutionalized racism....I find it's something that we don't talk about a lot in the multiracial community. What is our role in the struggle? What "communities" do we organize in? Does the way we identify ourselves deconstruct or promote white racist ideas? Will their ever be a "multiracial movement?" Some things to ponder......let me know what you think.
Posted: Mon 28 Feb 2005 19:13 Post subject: White privilege
I would ask the "whiteblack" woman why she appears to believe she's not good enough to be "white." Her Latina counterparts come from mixed families and have little trouble seeing "white" as a physical description (as opposed to a demi-god-like state).
Of course, white SOCIAL privileges exist even though there is now LEGAL equality. There are also some "black" privileges (such as the tacit "right" to say ridiculous things about "race" without being challenged).
If affirmative action presumes that "blacks" are incapable of competing (thereby reinforcing a stereotype), why does she support it? Black crime is a reality, and this reality taints blacks who are innocent. This stereotype is not going to end until the social degeneration in so many black communities is finally ended, no matter how man "whites" she thinks she can "cure" by cursing them out.
This is how I've lived my life since I "figured it all out" in my twenties. Well, okay, I am nowhere near having it all "figured out", but let me share what I have learned. I approach my life, my job, my husband, my family & friends and the entire world with the ABSOLUTE expectation that I can engage and communicate as a PERSON who is not defined and/or limited by my "title"(mulitracial). I walk into every situation EXPECTING to be respected, heard, and validated. I am not afraid to call people on it when they are being disrespectful (whether it is "racially-motivated" or not!) . I am often disappointed, but I no longer take it PERSONALLY(which I did for YEARS!). No, being multiracial absolutely DOES NOT give me any special advantages. Perhaps it gives me a clearer view of the misconceptions of race in this country, but I believe ANYONE of ANY ethnicity can learn the history of the ODR and bigotry if they care enough and pay attention! It is simply a part of what makes me---ME.
Posted: Tue 29 May 2007 16:37 Post subject: My Perspective on This
That is cool, SS!
I've tried to apply that positive attitude to my life but there always seems to be somebody who wants to define me on their terms...and expects me to share their perspective. People often don't see me. They see a white woman, or an ambiguous one, and they immediately want to know: "What is she?"
People have literally walked around saying that I'm Latina, Asian, black, etc. without knowing me! When I was younger I would sometimes claim to be Italian. I didn't want to be white but I knew I wasn't "black". I said that because I was sick of being treated like a freak by blacks, whites, and everyone I encountered. My dark hair, very fair skin, and aquiline looks resemble that of many Italian or Southern European women. However, there were often people who would seem very skeptical about this. It was often extremely dark-skinned blacks who felt I was denying my "blackness" and trying to "pass".
As if there were NO "pure white" Italian women who looked like me!
If I'm so often mistaken for Hispanic/Latina, wouldn't it make sense that a person of my appearance could reasonably seem to be Southern European? I do have Mediterranean ancestry, after all, on my mother's side. And I'm with A.D. Powell in the sense that many Hispanics have no problem with identifying themselves as "white people" in this country despite the fact that many have African blood, but when somebody like myself wishes to identify as multiracial, folks don't like it. If there is a term like "whiteblack woman", that would surely apply to a lot of so-called white women, wouldn't it? Particularly the ones who speak Ebonics or ghetto-like, date only black men, and feed into stereotypical African-American behavior. An AA "friend" I once had once said that no matter what, I would always be viewed as black therefore I might as well call myself black.
I tried to explain to her that it wasn't that simple but she's one of those individuals who won't listen to other perspectives on any situation. I believe she assumed that I was trying to be white, or in A.D.'s words, a "special kind of black". The fact is that if we lined up side by side in front of many different people, they would identify her positively as black because of her appearance and obviously black cultural identification. I would not be viewed as black by anyone because my appearance, life experiences, and self-identification is so different from hers. Not better or worse but definitely different. She was offended by this...as many people seem to be. It is unsettling to them when I refuse to accept their definitions of who and what I am, so they make insinuations and accusations.
Posted: Sun 07 Oct 2007 15:48 Post subject: Re: Do Multiracials Benefit from 'White Privilege'?
Liana wrote:
This was posted on the net.
What do you guys think?
Liana
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As a person who is perceived by most people as "white" but identifies as a whiteblack woman, I have a particular sensitivity to the issue of white privilege. Although I have heard my share of racist comments and have experiences racism throughout my life because of my African American heritage, i find it necessary and important for me to also come to grips with the fact that I too benefit from white privilege. When my family and I go to a restaurant or store, I am the one that gets asked if I need help, whereas my sisters and brothers who have a darker complection get ignored. When I get accepted to elite programs or colleges, people don't assume that I got accepted based on affirmative action and not merit, whereas my friends who are darker-skinned have ignorant people telling them that they only got accepted becausgo to an ATM e the school needed to "diversify." I can drive my car in peace, whereas my black boyfriend is harassed by the police when he's driving or out at night.
As a member of a multiracial family, white privilege isn't some new concept to me (unfortunately some whites are only now starting to wake up to the fact that they are implicitly and explicitly benefitting from institutional racism in this country). However, I find that I do benefit from white privilege, whether I like it or not. In order to fight it I must continue to speak up when people do or say ignorant things, or try to set me apart and treat me "better" than those of a darker hue. I'm glad we've opened the discussion about white privilege and institutionalized racism....I find it's something that we don't talk about a lot in the multiracial community. What is our role in the struggle? What "communities" do we organize in? Does the way we identify ourselves deconstruct or promote white racist ideas? Will their ever be a "multiracial movement?" Some things to ponder......let me know what you think.
On the topic of benefiting from "white privilege" I can definitely relate to what the woman Liana quoted was saying. Although when I look at myself I see a woman mixed with black and white, this is, apparently, not the case for many others. I am mostly mistaken for Puerto Rican, with Italian probably being my number two mistaken identity. I know that I have also been mistaken for white, Pakistani, Creole/black, and Hawaiian/Polynesian.
Having said all that, I too have experienced some of what that original author referred to. For example, years ago my black husband and I walked into a bank to open up a new bank account. We were doing so with my husband's paycheck and my husband was the one that signed the sheet in the waiting area. So, why did the white lady who helped us turn around and put ME as the primary on the bank account. Now, don't you find that odd? This was in Louisiana in a city that neighbors New Orleans, where we lived at the time.
Here is another example, one in which people can judge you by how you sound. My husband speaks perfect English (in non-professional settings I am the one who tends to speak somewhat ghetto-ish, not him) and he even sometimes uses big words that are not a part of my vocabulary. But, he has one of those wonderful, deep voices that 99.9% of the time belongs to a black man. (I thought Vin Diesel was Italian until he opened his mouth and talked, if you see what I'm saying.) Well, over time my husband and I realized that when we tried to deal with things over the phone with various companies that I would get a completely different type of treatment than him. Unfortunately for me, this means that I get to be the lucky sucker that has to make most of these types of calls now!
One more thing, we LOVE road trips and I, personally, LOVE going fast. Vroom, vroom!!! When my husband and I drive through various States, I speed more often than he does, when it's my turn to drive, and I speed more consistently than he does, AND I will dare to go WAY FASTER than he will. Then, why is it that I have not received ANY speeding tickets in our whole 13 years of marriage, yet he has gotten one like every third time we go on a long-distance road trip!?!?
Perhaps, some may say that all of these occurrences are simply pro-female, anti-male biases. Who knows? Could be. But, it seems awfully suspicious considering I am pale and he is brown, don't you think?
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The fact is that if we lined up side by side in front of many different people, they would identify her positively as black because of her appearance and obviously black cultural identification. I would not be viewed as black by anyone because my appearance, life experiences, and self-identification is so different from hers. Not better or worse but definitely different. She was offended by this...as many people seem to be. It is unsettling to them when I refuse to accept their definitions of who and what I am, so they make insinuations and accusations.
When my husband and I drive through various States, I speed more often than he does, when it's my turn to drive, and I speed more consistently than he does, AND I will dare to go WAY FASTER than he will. Then, why is it that I have not received ANY speeding tickets in our whole 13 years of marriage, yet he has gotten one like every third time we go on a long-distance road trip!?!?