White Skin Privilege

White Skin Privilege

Are you racist or simply privileged? Racism, everyone HATES that word. But what is racism? Prejudice or discrimination directed against someone of a different race is what Wikipedia defines as racism. Privilege is a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to one person or group of people.

In this blog post I will discuss the many ways in which white people are privileged but can be seen as racist  if you don’t acknowledge your privilege and reach out to make things better. A privilege that can lead to racism is in school seeing and learning that white people made the world what it is today. Now we know that’s not true, but you wouldn’t know what African Americans contributed to American society unless you looked it up yourself or, by word of mouth.  Remember this is my opinion and your opinion is always welcome. Just hit that comment button and you’re all set.

White-skin privilege is something I see almost every day. It’s present when I go to the store, and I never find shampoo for my coarse hair, but see millions of shampoo bottles for straight hair. I also see it when I’m in the train station and I see African -Americans or Hispanics being harassed more than Caucasian people. I remember one day I was with my mother buying food and repairmen who were African- American were fixing a door. A white police officer walked by and asked what they were doing and of course they said fixing the door, and the police officer said, “I thought you guys were breaking in.”

Now tell me, would that have happened if those guys were white? No, I don’t think so. What that police officer did was wrong and, you guessed it, racist.

Okay, so I found this really good explanation on the privileges of white people in this excerpt from White Anti-Racist Activism: A Personal Roadmap by Jennifer R. Holladay, M.S. (Crandall, Dostie & Douglass Books, Inc., 2000).

          

White people receive all kinds of perks as a function of their skin privilege. Consider the following:

White Privilege: The Perks

- When I cut my finger and go to my school or office’s first aid kit, the flesh-colored

band-aid generally matches my skin tone. 2

-When I run to the store to buy pantyhose at the last minute, the ‘nude’ color generally appears nude on my legs.

- When I buy hair care products in a grocery store or drugstore, my shampoos and conditioners are in the aisle and section labeled ‘hair care’ and not in a separate  section for ‘ethnic products.’

White Privilege: The Advantages

- My skin color does not work against me in terms of how people perceive my financial responsibility, style of dress, public speaking skills, or job performance.

- People do not assume that I got where I am professionally because of my race (or because of affirmative action programs)

- Store security personnel or law enforcement officers do not harass me, pull me over or follow me because of my race.

White Privilege: The World View

-When I am told about our national heritage or “civilization,” I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.

-Related, the schools that I attend or have attended use standard textbooks, which widely reflect people of my color and their contributions to the world.

- When I look at the national currency or see photographs of monuments on the

National Mall in Washington, D.C., I see people of my race widely represented and celebrated.

These are really interesting, right? So anyway these might be the privileges of white people but does it make them racist? No and yes. NO because you can’t help what you’re born with and YES because if you  have these privileges you should be helpful to people who are less fortunate than you.. Uhh!!!! The world would be so much better if everyone was one color…. Leave comments; this could be a really awesome discussion.

White Skin Privilege

FGM (Female Genital Mutilation)

“Ouch!!! Vagina cut,”! When you’re shaving your vulva and you get a cut, it’s the worst feeling in the world, right? What if I were to tell you that girls ranging from 5-16 are forced to have their vulvas cut?That’s horrible, right? Female genital mutilation (FGM), also known as female genital cutting and female circumcision, is defined by the

World Health Organization (WHO) as "all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia,” according to Wikipedia.

    Just thinking about a knife or a pair of scissors  going anywhere near my vagina gives me chills, but this is an epidemic that we as women have to fight. Some young girls are not as lucky as we are.  FGM is  practiced in 28 countries in western, eastern, and northeastern Africa, in parts of the Middle East, and within some immigrant communities in Europe, North America and Australasia.  FGM is recognized internationally as a violation of the human rights of girls and women.

    In some cultures FGM is considered a right of passage for girls.  FGM is often considered a necessary part of raising a girl properly and a way to prepare her for adulthood and marriage. FGM is related to cultural ideals of femininity and modesty, which include the notion that girls are “clean” and "beautiful" after removal of body parts that are considered  "unclean.”

Female genital mutilation is classified into four major types according to WHO:

• Clitoridectomy: partial or total removal of the clitoris

• Excision: partial or total removal of the clitoris and the labia minora, with or without excision of the labia majora (the labia are "the lips" that surround the vagina).
• Infibulation: narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal. The seal is formed by cutting and repositioning the inner, or outer, labia, with or without removal of the clitoris.
• Other: all other harmful procedures to the female genitalia for non-medical purposes, e.g. pricking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterizing the genital area.

FGM is believed to reduce a woman's desire to have sex.  When  the vaginal opening is cut the fear of the pain of opening it, and the fear that this will be found out, is expected to discourage women from premarital sexual intercose.

FGM has a negative effect on girls’ bodies. It causes infertility, premature births, deaths, and the need for corrective surgeries in the future.  For example, the FGM procedure that seals or narrows a vaginal opening needs to be cut open later for sexual intercourse and childbirth.

         I’m really angry and just upset that this  is happening, but my anger won’t stop this. But you know what will?  Spreading the word: Not everyone might know about FGM but they will if you tell them.  

Until next week, my amazing followers.