Essay Example on White Male Privilege: Unearned Advantages & Dominance

Introduction

Discrimination and desegregation is still a cause of concern in most regions. For years, minority populations in the United States have complained that the dominant white communities receive social privileges. I am a white male, and from my experiences, I think that my race has some advantages and a few disadvantages that will be explained in the paper.

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Question 1

As a white male, I have experienced unearned advantage and conferred dominance. I have had the privilege of studying in schools dominated by white. Most of these schools offer the best education as opposed to schools frequented by people of color and minority populations. While at school, I gained favor with the teachers. Whenever I did not perform well, they hardly blamed it on gender, as it was the case with white females. Besides, they also never blamed it on race, as it was the case for the people of color. Instead, they offered to tutor me to help in improving my performance, which I believe is one of the privileges that I enjoyed for being a white male. Besides, I can move freely in many white backgrounds. In such areas, I seemingly have a connection or a good relationship with the police.

Consequently, I am a heterosexual white male, which has also earned me social privileges. Compulsory heterosexuality is viewed as an institution with most people expecting one to b heterosexual from birth. Extensive discrimination is accorded to gay persons in workplaces and other social settings. The fact that I am heterosexual has earned me respect from different policing bodies, and I experience minimal challenges when searching for employment or when seeking help from state and local governments. Hegemonic masculinity is prevalent in societies today since I was viewed as a real man when compared to openly gay persons.

However, being a white male has had some challenges. One of the difficulties is individualism, where society expected me to be self-reliant. As such, I was independent and on my own at the age of 17 when most females around the same period received care and assistance from their parents. Another disadvantage of being white was the fact that I can hardly move around regions dominated by people of color. The extent of discrimination based on race in America is high. On one occasion, I was shot oat twice by police when I was moving around a neighborhood dominated by black people.

I have functioned towards supporting these inequities by enjoying the privileges granted to me by the social systems without any complaint. Social networks support the injustices by giving opportunities to white males and discriminating against women and the people of color. If people, including the whites, speak out against such actions, the extent of disparities would be minimal. Thus, I have supported the desegregation practices by not speaking up but rather enjoying my accorded benefits.

Question 2

Western supremacy and whiteness were of international importance in the early 20th century. The power system that supported whiteness and western supremacy no longer exists. Anglo-conformity has helped to alleviate the beliefs of whiteness since people familiarized themselves with the English language. Most people in cultures that do not speak English as their first language are working towards understanding the language; hence has allowed for accessible communication and interaction. However, systemic racism remains a challenge in countries such as America evident from the few people from the minority populations in government and the wealth gap between the whites and the people of color. Regardless of the existing forms of discrimination, white blindness exists, considering that most of the whites are unaware or ignorant of the current discrimination against the people of color. For instance, as a white male, I enjoy the privileges I have, and I ignore whether my fellow age mates from the minority population would enjoy similar benefits. Moreover, whites are involved in exclusionary practices evident from the boundary maintenance inhibiting the whites from interacting with the people of color.

Although whiteness and western supremacy is not an issue in the present world, ethnocentrism is common. Individuals believe that Europe is a better country than others with the widespread belief that most of the technological developments and advancements stemmed from Europe. They fail to appreciate the efforts made by other countries in technological progress and their different improvements. Some of the examples of Eurocentric views are that non-European societies are comprised of cruel people who have no concern for life. The basis for their opinions is the prevalent female genital mutilation that existed in North Africa, the burning of widows in India, and the binding of feet in China. The general thought that non-European societies are unchanging is wrong and I believe that most of these areas have made progress towards positive advancements characterized by shunning of harmful cultural practices.

Also prevailing in the United States is Christian hegemony, where most Protestants especially try to impose their religious beliefs on other people and discriminate against those against their ideas. The authority and notions stem from the view of one truth, one way to God. Primarily, all these situations described show the real discrimination and desegregation existing in various systems and sections of the world.

Conclusion

White privilege has been an issue ignored by most whites, while the minority populations continue to struggle. More so, discrimination is imminent from different corners and sections in the world. Thus, this shows the need for improved policies to end discrimination based on race, gender, and religion.