Jennifer Cramblett White Privilege Essay Examples

White privilege is a form of embedded racism wherein “white” people are granted greater power, or access to resources as opposed to other races (Robbins et al. 2014: 99). White privilege is demonstrated in the case of Jennifer Cramblett, a white lesbian woman who decided to undergo artificial insemination. This resulted in a problematic situation as the sperm bank sent the wrong specimen to her (Mystal 2014). This was discovered well into her pregnancy, but she went ahead and delivered the baby. Two years after the baby girl was born, Cramblett decided to sue the sperm bank even after they gave her a refund because she was forced to make changes to accommodate her black child (Mystal 2014). In the article, an unknowingly white-privileged women,

When living their daily lives, white people do not have to take in consideration the actions they take. For example, schools attended by black students are being insufficiently funded, as compared to schools with a large white attendance (Blanchett 2006: 25). This relates to Crambletts situation because in her case, she has to endure the same situations a black mother would go through daily. However, Cramblett experiences stress and anxiety when thinking of sending her child to a poorly funded school where white people disrespect her child (Mystal 2014). She claims that this is not just, and will negatively affect the development of her child. Furthermore she claims that she is not supposed to be going through these hardships because she is white. Therefore, she displays an example of white people who are in some way more privileged as compared to other racial groups. Despite being white, Cramblett has to experience what non-white people go through, and worry about the aspects of life she would have never thought of before having this baby. For instance, in order to maintain white supremacy, the educational curriculum in America is designed in a way to fit the needs of white people and is not the best fit for African American students (Blanchett 2006: 26). This goes to show that even in the school system, non-white people are inferior and their needs are not attended to.

This includes their mere ability to carry out their daily actions, picking where they live or standing up for their beliefs. For example, white people live in areas that are well kept and away from older industrial cores in California (Pulido 2000: 12). This shows that white people are favoured and have that ability to make a decision of where to live, as a component of their privilege. However, if non-white person had tried to take advantage of a similar opportunity, they would be judged for the choices they make. Cramblett, because of her race, has the ability to speak for herself unlike many of those in a non-white society. Due to the colour of her skin, she is allowed to express herself and display her ethical experiences to the world without judgement. Furthermore, she becomes a nationwide celebrity in the news, and gains attention due to her being white and having white privilege. Additionally, while moving homes, white people do not have to be concerned about being judged by different communities, because they are looked upon as a neutral race (Robbins et al 2014: 99). In the case of non-white people, many of them will reduce a neighbourhood’s status, property levels and the general comfort level of white people (Pulido 2000: 16). This demonstrates that white people are privileged and have the advantage of not being judged by others within a community.