"White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences Through Work in Women’s Studies“ And “The Declaration of Sentiments” By: Brett and Summer

Mcintosh “In proportion as my racial group was being made confident, comfortable, and oblivious, other groups were likely being made unconfident, uncomfortable, and alienated. Whiteness protected me from many kinds of hostility, distress, and violence, which I was being subtly trained to visit in turn upon people of color.” Think of some everyday situations where you are advantaged/disadvantaged by race or class. Then compare your list with McIntosh's.

Mcintosh “I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege. So I have begun in an untutored way to ask what it is like to have white privilege. I have come to see white privilege as an invisible package of unearned assets that I can count on cashing in each day, but about which I was "meant" to remain oblivious. White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools, and blank checks.” According to McIntosh, how are whites taught to think of themselves?

Mcintosh Finish this statement. White privilege is like… Are white men willing to admit they are over privileged? What does she say about whether or not men want to discuss the topic? If they don’t, why don’t they?

Declaration of Sentiments. “But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their duty to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of the women under this government, and such is now the necessity which constrains them to demand the equal station to which they are entitled. The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her” What document does the Declaration of Sentiments, especially its introduction, resemble?

Declaration of Sentiments “Now, in view of this entire disfranchisement of one-half the people of this country, their social and religious degradation--in view of the unjust laws above mentioned, and because women do feel themselves aggrieved, oppressed, and fraudulently deprived of their most sacred rights, we insist that they have immediate admission to all the rights and privileges which belong to them as citizens of the United States” Are the frustrations expressed in this document justified? In other words, did women have a right to be angry about their place in society during this time period? Why, or why not?

Declaration of Sentiments “But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their duty to throw off such government and to provide new guards for their future security.” How do you feel about throwing away a government because one is unhappy? Imagine we are not talking about women but a different group, would we respond in the same way? What problems could this create?

Declaration of Sentiments Do you feel that women are treated equally today? How do you feel women are judged as people today? Is it based on smarts? Looks? Something Else? What would happen if no one gained the courage to step up and make “women’s rights” an issue? How would our lives be different?

What do you think? Do you think there is such a thing as “White privilege?” In today’s society, are we all really created equally?

Clips White Privilege: 0&feature=related

References Mcintosh. "White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences Through Work in Women’s Studies.“ Human Experience: Who Am I?. Ed. Alice Burmeister and Kathy Lyon. 6 th ed. Littleton, MA: Tapestry, Print. “The Declaration of Sentiments.” Human Experience: Who Am I?. Ed. Alice Burmeister and Kathy Lyon. 6 th ed. Littleton, MA: Tapestry, Print. Declaration of Sentiments in a Ring of Fire. Online Video. YouTube. 17 Feb “White Privilege.” Online Video. YouTube.17 Feb