White and Male Privilege
Before I can begin to determine or examine whether or not their majority oppresses women or blacks, I must first come to a decision on what oppression is exactly. According to Webster's Dictionary, oppression is an unjust or excessive exercise of authority or power and also a sense of being weighed down in mind and body. These two aspects of oppression appease the face validity of the question, 'what is oppression', but in order to fully understand one must delve deeper into the concept. Frye, in her article "Oppression", stated that to be oppressed one is molded, immobilized, and reduced due to the amount of pressure that is exerted upon them from whatever forces are present. Oppression can not be mistaken for how a person feels but is rather a concept that includes feelings. Just because one suffers does not make them oppressed. When trying to decipher the concept of women being oppressed I came across an article "Wears Jumpsuit. Sensible Shoes. Uses Husbands Last Name." written by Tannen. In her article Tannen addresses the issue of being marked and unmarked. She states that women are marked and men are unmarked. She is referring to gender markers such as hairstyles that send messages that "reflect common association
Men have the advantage of not being marked. It is time for Americans to wake up and realize that the total disregard of women and races other than the white race needs to come to an end. A woman can't even fill out a form without giving a marker about herself. When all that you see is white people in every place that you travel, how is it not obvious that white people have some sort of advantage over other races? I guess they take it as being the norm. There are many ways in which white privilege is exercised. Another way is through the many disciplinary practices (Bartky) that women engage in everyday that allow them to be molded. Commercial ads both on television and in magazines cater to the white audience. (Tannen, p257) Markers can send intentional and unintentional messages. White privilege is an unconscious advantage to those who benefit from it. This explains why a woman is not received pleasantly if she is promoted to a position that is superior to a man. Therefore everything is catered to the elite. The privileges that whites partake of on an everyday basis are taken for granted.
Common topics in this essay:
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,
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example woman,
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name woman,
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tannen p257,
women races,
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