Summary of White Privilege: Unpacking the invisible knapsack.

In this short manifesto by Peggy McIntosh she identifies what she states as the daily effects of being white and the privileges that brings in America. She lists at 50 identified effects that occur in everyday life, such as ‘ I can go shopping alone most of the time , pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed’ (McIntosh,WhitePrivilage:Unpackingtheinvisableknapsack,(1988) As you read through this manifesto you get the impression that the effects are more like observations of how people from different ethnic backgrounds are treated and stereotyped in a prominently white society. And this is shown through these observations ‘Whether I use checks , credit cards, cash, I can count on my skin colour not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.’ McIntosh,WhitePrivilage:Unpackingtheinvisableknapsack,(1988)  McIntosh also refers to the political race divide ’ I can speak in public to a powerful male group without putting my race on trial’ and ‘I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies and behaviour without being seen as a cultural outsider.’ McIntosh,WhitePrivilage:Unpackingtheinvisableknapsack,(1988)  This demonstrates that it is not just in the UK where there is a lack of diversity within the publicly elected political parties.

But also she addresses the divide in popular culture ‘ I can easily buy posters , postcards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys and children’s magazines featuring people of my race’. McIntosh,WhitePrivilage:Unpackingtheinvisableknapsack,(1988) .