Pop Culture dictionary
white privilege
[ wahyt priv-uh-lij ]
şÚÁĎÍř is white privilege?
White privilege refers to the belief that individuals perceived as white may experience unearned social advantages in certain societies, often without conscious awareness.
In this cultural moment, the concepts of “race” and “ethnicity” have never been more important—and complicated—to grasp. Learn why here.
Where does white privilege come from?
The term and concept of white privilege was popularized by Peggy McIntosh, an influential scholar and activist. In 1988, McIntosh wrote a called “White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences Through Work in Women’s Studies,” in which she likened white privilege to “an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, assurances, tools, maps, guides, codebooks, passports, visas, clothes, compass, emergency gear, and blank checks.”
McIntosh’s paper outlines a perspective on how race can influence everyday experiences, highlighting examples where individuals perceived as white might encounter fewer social barriers. For instance, she notes that these individuals may be more likely to find housing in areas they can afford without concern for discrimination, or shop without being suspected of wrongdoing. These examples are presented to illustrate how societal dynamics can vary based on race, often in ways that go unrecognized.
A year later, McIntosh wrote an essay titled “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” which was published in the Peace & Freedom magazine in the summer of 1989, and is often referred to as a white privilege primer for those looking to learn more about it.
In the years since, the term white privilege has come to be used to explain power structures and racial inequality inherent in American society that supports white supremacy by disproportionately benefiting white people while putting people of color at a disadvantage.
Interest in the term white privilege notably spiked in 2020 during protests against violence inflicted on Black people involving police. The protests helped create a global conversation on racism and discrimination; specifically, understanding and acknowledging white privilege was discussed as one important step in being anti-racist and ensuring equal civil rights.
WATCH: Do You Know If Intersectionality Affects You?
Examples of white privilege
Who uses white privilege?
The phrase “check your privilege” is often used to encourage individuals to reflect on the social advantages they may hold — such as those associated with race, gender, or class — and how these advantages might influence their experiences and perspectives, sometimes without their awareness. When white people are defensive and angry about evidence of white privilege, that’s referred to as white fragility. Formally defined, white fragility is “the tendency among members of the dominant white cultural group to have a defensive, wounded, angry, or dismissive response to evidence of racism.”
Some scholars argue the use of the term white privilege can make use of whiteness as a proxy for class and ignores other power structures and inherent privileges that come with a range of societal identities. Legal scholar Kimberlee Crenshaw is credited with coining the term intersectionality to address those multiple identities that affect how one is perceived and treated by the rest of the world. Other scholars argue such terms as white dominance are more effective terms.
I took some time off to think about white privilege then i realized how it was a great example of white privilege
— Diedrich Bader (@bader_diedrich)
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of white privilege like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of white privilege that will help our users expand their word mastery.