Obtaining the Whiteness

We watched Sobaz Benjamin's Film, Race is a Four Letter Word, in class this term. I thought it was so odd that as a child he used skin bleaching cremes to make his skin appear lighter. I had no idea this existed in the slightest but it makes sense given white people tan to be darker. I started to google skin whitening creams and was shocked at what I found.

Who's Life Has More Value?

I'd like to look closely at two situations that have happened in Canada. One features a white RCMP officer who died in the line of duty in Ontario. The other situation features several aboriginal women missing from the down east area in Vancouver. Robert Picton has murdered 61 women in this area but was only sentenced for murdering 27 women.

A Different Take on White Privilege

This video outlines some peoples experiences with their first encounters with white privilege. There is a scene when a black woman is dancing and there is another woman speaking. She talks about how when she walks past black people she smiles to let them know it's okay and she is accepting of them. She describes it as a "warm, cuddling, puppies and babies smile". She says she is guilty, sorry and nervous.

Summary of Whiteness

I found this article online written by Audrey Thompson called Summary of Whiteness Theory. I think this article's approach to the idea of whiteness so interesting. It talks about how whiteness is a normalised category and a social construction. Whiteness is therefore invisible and "blackness" or "brownness" is an ideology.

My View on White Privilege & Obtaining Honorary Whiteness

Peggy McIntosh wrote an article on white privilege outlining everyday situations we as people encounter. I feel some of her list of daily effects of white privilege is some what outdated for today's society and that things have changed since this was first written. Number 37 on her list of daily effects states " I can be pretty sure of finding people who would be willing to talk with me and advise me about my next steps, professionally."I feel this doesn't apply anymore, well through my life experiences. At the high school I attended it was very culturally diverse. There was a support worker for every race that attended our school so students could feel comfortable having someone of the same ethic background help guide them in all aspects of life. Kind of funny that race plays such a big part that we have to take the time to think about situations like this.

Honorary Whiteness - An Analytical Review

Honorary Whiteness

Whiteness is often viewed as a privilege, almost an assumed privilege. This is a discourse our society is under. White, is powerful and the race and of all races. One would argue that the minorities are trying to obtain this `honorary whiteness`. This article outlines the struggles of individuals and countries on their journey on obtaining honorary whiteness. These individuals are from different parts of the world and all have a struggle with their racial identity. Robert Miles, Michel Foucault and John Locke`s theories are demonstrated in this article.

The first individual mentioned in this article is Anin Young, a Chinese man who immigrated to Hawaii in 1872. He was a servant on a rice plantation to business owners and property owners. He had two wives and ten children, he referred to his marriage as a ``blessed marriage` (Valdez Young, 2009). During his life span he had many business accomplishments. He died in 1931 and these accomplishments were clearly outlined in his obituary. The article states ``his face was a white one` (Valdez Young, 2009). Due to his many business accomplishments and embracement of all business