- When am I "white"?
- Who is the "whitest" person in the United States and why?
- What would I put in a white cultural center and why?
- When did I first understand that "whiteness" existed in the world?
- What attitudes toward whiteness exist in the text we are studying?
- What is the difference between a category and an identity?
- Who profits from the continuing existence of "blackness" in the United States?
- What will happen if I consider "whiteness" a racial category?
- How does everyday language privilege whiteness and make color less attractive? What are some common examples of this?
- How does literature perpetuate the same system as suggested in #9?
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Questions About Whiteness
Here are the questions we started discussing today:
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15 comments:
This is a comment about the difference between a category and an identity. I think a category, is a broader way to identify a person and is used when the specific nationality is unknown. White, black, and Asian are examples of categories. An identity is more specific about what race you actually are. I fall in the category of Asian but my identity is Hmong. Not a lot of people know that so they call me an Asian girl. I guess this is the same way when I call someone white or black because I don't know their specific nationality.
Although this is being sent on Ms. Peifer's computer, this is really Andre's comment:
I think that a category is more what someone calls you where as an identity is what you call yourself or even how you feel about yourself. It is much harder to find an identity than it is to be categorized. It seems that people are much more willing to categorize someone than they are to find out someones identity. André
I am very interested in what you think about the following questions and how "whiteness" frames our perceptions of literature and our our perceptions of literature shape our view of "whiteness."
When did I first understand that "whiteness" existed in the world?
What attitudes toward whiteness exist in the text we are studying?
How does everyday language privilege whiteness and make color less attractive? What are some common examples of this?
How does literature perpetuate the same system as suggested in #9?
For me, when I think of "whiteness" I think of an attitude of entitlement. I might confuse "Americanisms" with "whiteness". Although we all live in a world where being European American is the "norm," being European American isn't enough to establish "whiteness," but being outside the norm is the antithesis of whiteness. European definitely doesn't equate to "whiteness" to me. So, what is "whiteness" and how does that frame our perception of literature?
How does everyday language privilege whiteness and make color less attractive? What are some common examples of this?
i think that language privileges whiteness becuase the correct language is the "white" language which is seen as being educated therefore more important and worthwhile.
I think it makes color less attractive because often this language is based upon slang and isnt necessarily grammatically correct, like the dialogue in "Their Eyes" which may be seen as less respectable and tasetless. I dont agree with this because there are many different ways to communicate and i dont think its fair to narrow communication to one correct form.
Going back to what Kao and Andre were talking about, I believe that when we talk about categories of people it brings on stereotypes and makes us generalize people into one category. Whereas identies seem more individual and personalized. I see identities as, as Andre said, how we see ourselves or how other people who know us see us but categories seem to be more general.
Answering the question of when did I first understand that whiteness existed in this world. Personally I first understood that whiteness existed when I went to school in grade school. Once I went to school I saw other people who were different from me. Back then I was little,I didn't think about being different much, but being in a surrounding were I was the most different looking kid made me realize I wasn't white or of the same race. Going back to the reading about whiteness written by Hurston which we got in class last week. I believe with what she said when she said that she didn't notice about being a person of color until she was forced to realize it in an environment where she's the most different looking person. I agree with what she said because I notice that I'm different when I hang out with lots of people who are of a different background.
I have to say i first understood that "whiteness" exists when i was little and would play with the neighbor girl across the street who was black. It turned out she only had black Barbies because her mom wouldn't let her have the white one. It made me feel kind of awkward because it made me think her mom didn't like white people, and there for didn't approve of me.
Her mom was actually fine with me, she just didn't want her daughter idolizing a white woman.
Attitudes toward whiteness in the book, are attitudes i still witness a lot today. Mainly i think of an attitude of all white people being privileged. A moment when this was most apparent was when it was only the white corpses that got caskets.
Having read the article handed out in class, i think McNaron made a good point when she stated that there is competition between white and blacks. Jazmin's mom didn't want her to have to experience that competition, so she only allowed her to play with the black Barbie.
Even if White and Blacks aren't necessarily competing on an economic level today like they were right after slavery, i think a competition still exists between economic classes. Who's more worthy? Those who have lived with privilege all there life and are more intellectual, or those who have made it through hardship and are probably a bit more "street-smart".
I think it's in this way that "whiteness" benefits society still, because it being there provides those classes with a sense of well-being, just in different ways. And that it's that sense of well-being that keep the people in those classes pretty stationary.
I would have to say that first became "white" my freshmen year. I lived in a small town with a population of about 600. It was uncomfortable because I came from a very diverse environment. So to fit in I guess I sort of turned "white." I'd change the way I talked and acted at school but when I got back home I became that stay home asian kid on the block who never came out.
I think that category is the base and an identity are the stems of a category. There are many things that we categorized just to make things easier to notice or recognize. For example we categorize cars, theres the maker, Ford, GMC, Toyota, etc. Then theres FORD Mustang, TOYOTA Camry. I feel like the same goes with a lot things not just material things , but with people, animals, and plants.
It was hard for me to really figure out who profits from the continuing existence of "blackness" in the US, because all I could think about was the African Americans. I don't think African Americans profit from the continuing existence because they don't make it apparent, to me. I'm exposed to a lot of African Americans in school who are proud to be black and I pick out their characteristics, but I don't see discussions about the "black" issue if its not about slavery or the civil rights movement. I see other races discuss about topics on the African American issue and its a different kind of topic. I think people of other races profit from the existence "blackness."
I think using the term whiteness to describe the status of people is very stereotypical and shouldn't be used. Although many whites are well off, many more aren't and are in difficult economic situations. As well I think the terms white and black should be used only for their purpose, a description of one's appearance.
Back to Kao, Andre, and Emily's comments:
I believe that identity is who you establish yourself as, as an individual. A category is who people think you will be before they meet you. A category is very similar to a stereotype, it is how other people believe you will act, and what your other personality and physical characteristics are like.
When did I first understand that "whiteness" existed in the world?
My answer for that question would have to be as soon as I started attending J.J. Hill Montessori. The school was extremely diverse, and with many other people with different origins I realized that I looked different from some others. When attending Elementary I also realized that people tended to spend more time with people from their own cultures/subcultures than people with different ethnic backgrounds.
Annie said: "Even if White and Blacks aren't necessarily competing on an economic level today like they were right after slavery, i think a competition still exists between economic classes. Who's more worthy? Those who have lived with privilege all there life and are more intellectual, or those who have made it through hardship and are probably a bit more "street-smart"."
I think that one of the issues we face today is the association of race with economic class or with culture. There is this paradigm that suggests that people with black skin must act a certain way, do certain things, etc.-- i.e. be "street-smart". I was talking to one of my friends who is biracial recently, and he has grown up in what would be considered a "white" environment, although he identifies strongly as black. He doesn't identify with all of the things which "black" culture is supposed to encompass, however. Basically, I think that we will be better off when we can dissociate skin color and behavior/status, when we don't "act" or "feel" white but just look white because we are... or don't "act" and "feel" black. There is no such thing as ACTING or FEELING a color, just acting and feeling a culture that is identified with that color. People feel that they need to belong to the mindset to which people who look like them belong, which is why people get accused of being Oreos or whatever. I think this is a huge problem we need to overcome!
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