Imagine a white blank page. If you look at this page you see nothing. There is no meaning to it. The only thing you notice about it is that it is white. Considering the color white has no meaning why is it so different when talking about the color of a human being? When a human being is white it can apply many meanings. When referring to whiteness in human beings some people may say it means certain privileges for those human beings, others say it a perspective in which people see themselves and others, and some say it is just a culture. (Martin & Nakayma, 2012, p.194). Regardless of the definitions that are given, whiteness has a meaning and is portrayed in many different aspects of daily life.
Three posts I really found intriguing on the Stuff White People Like website were #133 The World Cup, #124 Hating People Who Wear Ed Hardy, and #120 Taking A Year Off. The topic of the world cup explains that white people enjoy the world cup because it gives them a chance to act European and a chance to get drunk. This post goes on to say that this is the only sporting event that white women look forward to because it gives them a chance to see European men. This relates to whiteness in the fact that I have often seen people try and find a reason to drink and celebrate. But who doesn’t love a good themed party or to celebrate a good time. You could go so far to say that finding an excuse to party is just a cultural practice of white people. The world cup is just another excuse. However, this post is a major stereotype of white women because there are many women who either enjoy watching other sports or if they don’t enjoy watching sports, they don’t enjoy the world cup either. The Hating People Who Wear Ed Hardy post discusses how common hatred of the same thing can cause people to decide what kind of person someone is. In this case it is talking about the common hatred of people who wear the Ed Hardy brand. This relates to whiteness because it is a view point on how white people see other white people. They assume that all people wearing the Ed Hardy brand act and live a similar lifestyle. This shows that not only is there discrimination across different races but within certain races themselves. In post #120 Taking the Year Off, it discusses how often white people take a year off to relieve stress, travel, volunteer, but mostly to make themselves more interesting. This relates to whiteness because people look at it as a “privilege” of being a white person. This however is a stereotype because there is no way this is a privilege to all white people. This is only a privilege to people who are fortunate enough to have the time and money to do such things. This is regardless of their race.
Below is kind of a humorous video showing how the clothes we wear can cause stereotypes.
The concept of whiteness is kind of ironic to me. Many people view whiteness as being a privilege. However, as we see in the example about scholarships in the text book that being white can have benefits and downfalls just like any other race. The view that whiteness is a privilege is an outdated view and just like all things in life it will take time to change the view of people and for people to accept the idea that all human beings really are created equal.
References:
Martin, J.N., & Nakayama, T.K. (2012). Intercultural communication in contexts (6th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.
Regarding the last point on white privledge, I agree with. I believe people don't take account on other aspects of how people become rich. For example, my parents when they were my age, were poor and had to work their way to become upper-middle class. It wasn't because they were white and given oppurtunities, its because they went to school, got a job, and settled finances until they got to the point where they are today.
ReplyDeleteI love your introduction to this. I've never understood why the only time color, especially white, really plays a major role in something is when it is the color of someone's skin. I found this assignment very interesting seeing the different ways people form stereotypes. I enjoyed watching your video about the clothing people wear. It is funny and sadly sometimes even a little bit true. People are so quick to judge anyone they see.
ReplyDeleteGreat start with the blog assignment. Moving forward think about how you can bring in more visuals to enhance your points. Also think about how you can engage more with question #3 on the blog prompt, which asks you to connect the specific application to the bigger picture regarding intercultural comm in the world around us.
ReplyDeleteI think the point about the discussion of scholarships is to stress that their is a perception that whiteness no longer enjoys privilege in the US with the increase in diverse groups, but this is merely a perception. This highlights the subtle ways that racism and stereotyping is embedded in our communication.