In my Multicultural Perspectives on Women class, we read an article about white privilege. In it, the author listed various aspects of her privilege as a white person. Many of them were things I was already aware of that privilege me because of my race, but some were things I had never even thought about. Since reading this article, I've started thinking of more and more aspects of my white privilege, and I've set a goal of being more aware of and more able to acknowledge my privilege.
Before we start, here's your friendly reminder that white privilege doesn't mean that white people don't struggle or don't face hardships. It just means that these struggles aren't caused or exacerbated by the color of our skin.
1. Clothes, shoes, and makeup in the color "nude" come close to matching my skin color.
2. Band-Aids come close to matching my skin tone.
3. I've never had to "wait till next season" to see someone on TV who looks like me.
4. I've never been the only person of my race in a room.
5. I've never been looked at to explain the experience or history of my entire race.
6. I don't need to register for a "multicultural" class to learn about people and read writings by people of my race.
7. I don't need to register for a "multicultural" class to have a professor of my race.
8. My tattoos and piercings have never caused me to be labeled as deviant, trashy, etc.
9. My achievements have never been taken as a testament or credit to my race.
10. I can walk into any salon and find someone who knows how to and is willing to cut my hair.
11. I can walk into any convenience store and find too many options for shampoo for my hair type.
