Unpacking privilege - unmasking everyday racism

21 January 2015

By Kieran O’Reilly

Many of us accept that certain groups of people are excluded, marginalised, and disadvantaged due to their ethnicity - but how many of us are willing to take a further step and accept that we might enjoy advantages or privileges because of our ethnicity? We do not actively seek these advantages, but we do enjoy them. We are not conscious of these advantages until we actively articulate them, write them down, and reflect on them. They are invisible and remain invisible to most of us most of the time.

This blog entry is a consideration of privilege in my life, and in the context of the converse situation of Roma, who do not enjoy that privilege. This is not an apology for my ethnic identity. It is recognition that my ethnicity, or more specifically, my ethnicity as others perceive it, gives me advantage. I enjoy privilege. That privilege remains invisible until I articulate it, write it down, and acknowledge it.

It has been some time since I read Peggy McIntosh’s papers on white privilege, often referred to as White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack (the full title of the original paper is White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of coming to see Correspondences Through Work in Women’s Studies). This blog piece is a reflection on that groundbreaking work, but in a different context. 

McIntosh writes about white privilege in the United States, specifically relating it to the experience of people of colour. “A ‘white’ skin in the United States opens many doors for whites whether or not we approve of the way dominance has been conferred on us.” To illustrate this, she sets out a list of advantages that white people enjoy in the United States – advantages which others do not enjoy automatically. A vivid example – “5. I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.”

This is the great eye-opener in McIntosh’s list – she articulates these advantages, or some of them. She calls them out for what they are. It gives the reader a fresh perspective on questions of ethnicity and race. She provides an opportunity and also forces people who have never been victims of racism and cannot understand what it is like to face racism on a daily basis to reflect on the way that ethnicity or race has a direct impact on our lives, sometimes in the most mundane, unexpected, and unnoticed ways.

’46. I can choose blemish cover or bandages in “flesh” colour and have them more or less match my skin.’

McIntosh underlines the fact that many white people in the United States do not see whiteness as a racial identity, and think that racism does not affect them. She also argues that obliviousness about white advantage is maintained “so as to maintain the myth of meritocracy, the myth that democratic choice is equally available to all.” The reality of white privilege negates that meritocracy.

McIntosh even acknowledges her own privilege, which makes is easier for her to broach this controversial subject. “Being white, I am given considerable power to escape many kinds of danger or penalty as well as to choose which risks I want to take.”

While McIntosh named her privilege ‘white privilege’ I do not know exactly what to call my privilege, and I do not try to name it. I consider my privilege, which I enjoy by virtue of the way others perceive me.

I have lived and worked in Ireland, Russia and France, and I have travelled extensively in Central and Eastern Europe. In most of the areas I have been in Europe, Roma are a visible and present minority. I am informed that I do not “look like I could be perceived as being Roma” (this is not established through any particularly robust means, but by a quick poll of my colleagues and friends, both Roma and non-Roma). I believe that when I am in Ireland, I am not perceived as a Traveller (based on similar non-scientific polling). 

Perception, and what it is based on, is in itself hugely problematic. However, I mention it because my appearance allows me not to stand out. I can blend in and allow my ethnicity to become or remain ‘invisible’ – of course it is never ‘invisible’ but it is unnoticed, it is not remarked on, it does not command particular or extra attention. I then receive the invisible privileges that I did not actively seek but which I enjoy.  (There is a small irony of course in the fact that I am an outsider in the city where I live and in the places where I frequently visit, but I still enjoy privilege).

These advantages are specific to me, and to my situation. They are broad and general statements, which are broadly and generally true. This list is personal. If you enjoy privilege, your privilege may be different. It will also be affected by your economic situation, nationality, sex, gender identity, and many other factors.

1. I can expect to travel in the city without being stopped by police (in fact, I have never been stopped by police in the city where I now live, Budapest).

2. I can also cross borders knowing that I will not be stopped and questioned.

3. I can speak loudly or be noisy in public without having my behaviour attributed to my race.

4. I know that I will not hear politicians insulting my ethnicity, claiming that criminality or laziness or unsocial behaviour are intrinsic elements of my ethnicity, or calling for me to be segregated or removed from society. This will not happen to me when I watch the news on TV or read a newspaper.

5. If I have to deal with police I can be confident I will generally be treated with respect.

6. I know that I will be treated fairly by medical professionals and will receive good medical care. If I explain my illness to medical staff I know they will listen to me and will not be dismissive.

7. I can be sure that people will not pull their bags closer to their bodies when I sit near them on the bus or train.

8. I can shop in comfort, without being followed by staff because of my ethnicity.

9. When an Irish person commits a crime I will not have to answer for that person. I will not feel culpable or be made to feel culpable because of our common ethnicity. I will not be asked to apologise for all Irish people.

10. I know that I will not be turned away from a shop, hotel, restaurant or other business because of my race (even if I can’t afford anything which they sell).

11. I can take care of my nieces and nephews and know that nobody will call the police because my nieces and nephews do not look like me. I will not have to explain to anyone why my nephew has blond curly hair and brown eyes, and I do not.

12. I do not need to worry that the children in my family will receive sub-standard education because of their identity.

13. If I describe my ethnic origins I know that people’s attitudes to me won’t change greatly. For example, people will not expect me to be good at music and dancing (and little else).

14. People do not assume I have a large family because of my ethnicity (in fact I have 7 siblings).

15. People do not assume I grew up in poverty or struggled in accessing higher education. If I am successful professionally I am not treated as an ‘exception’ or a ‘positive example’.

16. I can comfortably apply for a job and know that if I am rejected my race or perceptions of my race have not been considered.

17. If I need to apply for social assistance I will not be made to feel that this is somehow an ethnic trait.

18. If I apply for social housing I can be confident that my ethnicity will not be a factor in the success of my application.

19. I can easily rent a flat, provided I can afford the deposit.

20. I can live comfortably in any area of the city, knowing that my ethnicity will not cause my neighbours to distrust me or view me with suspicion.

21. I know that the children in my family receive information about their cultural and historical background in school.

22. I regularly see positive representations of my culture and background in media and in popular culture. I do not see crude stereotypes which are insulting and demeaning.

23. I see people who ‘look like me’ in advertising: that is, I feel ‘represented’ (although admittedly the people I see are generally better-looking).

So what is the point of identifying these privileges? McIntosh listed conditions which she had once taken for granted as being universally available. They are not. My privileges are not universally available. My colleagues and friends are regularly stopped by the police, who check their documents and question them. My colleagues and friends know that someone may not sit beside them on the bus, may follow them in a shop, or may turn them down for a job because of perceptions about ethnicity.

Discrimination based on ethnicity or race, or perceptions of identity, can lead to both disadvantage, and to privilege: disadvantage for those discriminated against, and on the flip side, privilege for those who can enjoy life without that discrimination. I believe it is essential to articulate this privilege and make it visible. For those of us who enjoy privilege, accepting discrimination without challenging or questioning it makes us complicit in the myth that merit alone decides our futures, and in the myth that we are all treated equally and given equal chances in life. 

Post Script: We have set up the ERRC blog to be an interactive forum for debate and discussion and I would welcome your comments or criticisms on this article. Do you see privilege as a useful way of looking at ethnicity and/or discrimination? Would you like to share other examples of privilege? Do you think a discussion of privilege can bring some positive change, and if so, how?