Think Piece McIntosh

McIntosh states that men refuse to admit to the glass ceiling, despite the fact that they know it exists.

“Men’s unwillingness to grant that they are over privileged, even though they may grant that women are disadvantaged…these denials protect male privilege from being fully acknowledged, lessened, or ended.”

Moreover, by not talking about it, it prevents the social problem from being fixed, which implies that men agree by not taking action to change it. Similarly, Delpit said change must be instigated from those with power.  McIntosh declares that men want to maintain high positions, an in turn introduced the idea of “unacknowledged privilege,” where white people do not admit to  the social power they have in society. Just as men do not see gender as an influence to their high rank, white people do not realize that simple daily activities for them can be strenuous for  the opposite culture.  McIntosh uses the term “oblivious” similar to Johnson, where she relays that those who are in power [white middle class] are unaware of the lack of privileges for colored people.

If a colored person made a list likes McIntosh, how would their responses differ? In #2 McIntosh relays that she has several options if she wanted to buy/rent a house. She implies that colored people do not easily find opportunities, even if they are financially stable because homeowners may be judgmental. This coincides with Delpit’s point about culture of power, where the majority [white middle class] creates the codes for society. Buying a home in a certain location might be difficult for a colored person if the majority of the neighborhood is white. Unfortunately, people judge others based on appearance and pre-determined generalizations. Thus, McIntosh’s point refers to the unacknowledged privilege, where whites do not have to be concerned with codes in society, since they are part of the culture that creates the code. (similar to Delpit).

While writing about her education, McIntosh refers to the culture of power.

“When we work to benefit others, this is seen as work that will allow “them” to be more like “us.”

“Them” refers to colored people whereas “us” refers to the dominant, white culture. It is as though whites want to assimilate rather than educate.

McIntosh makes the white class appear as opportunists, who only communicate with other cultures if they are gaining something in return.

“If I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of color, who constitute the worlds’ majority, without feeling g in my culture any penalty for such oblivion.”

 This is the problem: white culture does not reach out to other cultures if there is not a perk for them.

 While I agree that the underlying meaning of privilege is dominance, sometimes I disagree with McIntosh; specifically on #18 where she implies that specific races mostly hold leadership roles and #24, where she suspects unequal legal/medical help.

I sum up McIntosh’s ideas in this equation…unearned advantage=privilege=dominance