Essay Sample: What Is White Privilege, Really?

I often wonder what life would be like if everybody could just walk around and not be afraid of authority figures, not having store clerks follow you around the store, or something as simple as finding a hair salon that caters to your specific hair type. Unfortunately, these are not luxuries that everybody experiences. These are all examples of white privilege. White privilege is a societal privilege that benefits white people over non white people. It typically occurs in societies that have white political figures. I believe this topic is an issue in society and it needs to be addressed. I found three articles that demonstrate the importance of understanding how white privilege affects all people in society. I will be addressing more of an opinion on why I believe this is worth arguing, in the following paragraphs.

One main reason why I believe white privilege is an issue is because it reinforces stereotypes made against racial groups. Stereotyping means having a negative association with a racial group. Two famous examples are that Indigenous peoples are drunks or Black women are inherently angry, as portrayed in television often. It may be difficult for people to understand why reinforcement of these stereotypes is wrong. It may be perceived as “All whites have it easy”, which is completely false. Many whites still struggle with social issues such as poverty, addictions and homelessness, but maybe not as many as Indigenous peoples in Canada for instance. Stereotypes are passed on through influence, such as media portrayal and family. Parents typically implant the stereotypes in their children’s minds, since children usually assume their parents know everything. Another reason why white privilege is important to learn about is because stereotypes eventually lead to prejudice and discrimination. Prejudice and discrimination cannot occur without stereotypes. Stereotypes may cause prejudice and discrimination, and may be used to justify their feelings.

Stereotypes can be maintained through social categorization which classifies people into categories based on common attributes between certain racial groups. This helps give rise to stereotypes that can give us a quick summary of social groups. However, white privilege is a treatable issue with time and education. Students can be educated in a way they will understand. A solution could be to show useful TikTok videos such as Big Mamma’s “Check your Privilege” put a finger down challenge and students can play along, and this may help them understand a bit better. White privilege is definitely a societal problem and if it goes unrecognized, the chance for equality for non whites will diminish.