unpacking the invisible knapsack summary

UNPACKING THE INVISIBLE KNAPSACK SUMMARY SKIN

This must also be recognised of the term African-American which is used in the ensuing discussion… In the ensuing discussion, the following disclaimer is made: race and racial terms are understood as social constructs rather than biological facts, and the terms will be used purely as they are understood contextually. Third, the intersection of race with other factors, including definitions of race, poverty, and gender will be discussed. Second, the contribution of Critical Race Theory (CRT) will be assessed. The suggestions of McIntosh (1997) and Ignatiev (1997) for active resistance to whiteness will be scrutinised. First, a discussion will be made of McIntosh’s (1997) analogy in understanding whiteness. Are the privileges gained by being ‘white’ and ‘male’ simply the cumulative effect of the assets of either category, or does being a non-white male involve a qualitatively different type of maleness? To examine these issues the following structure will be adopted. The questions posed by McIntosh’s (1997) analogy focus on whether we can consider the interactions between all prejudice in solely terms of maintaining white privileges, or whether other factors arise. ‘The cumulative effect of these unseen privileges for whites sustains the current racial group disparity’ (Mallett & Swim, p.58). White privileges can combine with other foundations with the effect of a different set of advantages and disadvantages be they represented through as social, economic, gender or sexuality. However, difficulties occur in this analogy when white privilege intersects with other forms (Smith, 2007). Similarly, the ‘one drop’ rule that was used to define African Americans in rules regarding segregation in the early Twentieth Century suggested that any individual with one African-American ancestor should be considered as non-white (Khanna, 2011).

UNPACKING THE INVISIBLE KNAPSACK SUMMARY SKIN

However, the experience of the white Irish in early twentieth-century USA suggests that ‘whiteness’ holds connotations beyond skin colour alone (Guteri, 2009). It is frequently assumed in social terms that whiteness is immutable. The analogy put forward by McIntosh (1997) has a number of advantages. Kanye West meets with Donald Trump at Trump Tower, December 2016. A discussion on the relative advantages and disadvantages of this analogy in advancing our understanding of Whiteness Peggy McIntosh (1997: 291) describes White privilege as ‘an invisible package of unearned assets’. Similarly in the UK, as with the USA, despite a significant proportion of individuals self-defining as Mixed Race whilst partaking in respective census measures, the media in each country has continued to define ‘people of colour’ as black. Lindsley, Medium, Peggy McIntoshĬomments Off on Definition of race can vary from country to country, and the use of the ‘one drop rule’ – as defined in law – is particular only to the USA. A discussion on the relative advantages and disadvantages of this analogy in advancing our understanding of Whiteness,” Medium, January 8, 2017. Lindsley, “ Peggy McIntosh (1997: 291) describes White privilege as ‘an invisible package of unearned assets’. This renders patterns of discrimination more complex and multilayered than might otherwise be considered. This varied definition of race can thus undermine the fuller understanding of the intersectionality between race: in the USA, not even all non-white groups are discriminated against equally.

Miscegenation promotes assimilation with all other racial groups, but for African-Americans it disadvantages the white element for other racial groups it advantages the non-white element (Soudien, 2010). As Davis (2001, p.6) points out, ‘many of the nation’s black leaders have been of predominantly white ancestry.’ Definition of race can vary from country to country, and the use of the ‘one drop rule’ – as defined in law – is particular only to the USA. A difficulty with this definition is the fact that race can also be affected in both directions. ‘A black is any person with any known African black ancestry’ (Davis, 2001, p.5). This can include the arguments surrounding the ‘ one drop rule.’ This has its origin in the racial segregation laws in the USA that defines the extent to which any person can be considered African-American relates to their having just one African-American ancestor. The definition of race has come under scrutiny by a number of researchers (Case, 2012 Soudien, 2010 Rose & Paisley, 2012).

Unpacking the invisible knapsack summary