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Power Of Social Identities

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In our current world, power can be earned in many different ways. Power can be worked for, handed down, born into, or automatically given or taken based on societal beliefs. This unchangeable system introduces the topic of the power of social identities. One’s gender, sexuality, race, class, ability, and so on, allow or restrict their power in society. Identities and the power that is associated them are confusing because they involve many paradoxes (Weeks, 2007). Weeks (2007) explains, “Identities are troubling because they embody so many paradoxes: about what we have in common and what separates us; about our sense of self and our recognition of others; about conflicting belongings in a changing history and a complex modern world; and about …show more content…

Not only does identifying as white expand my access to privilege within my community, it expands my access state-wide, nationwide, and even globally. Within the communities I have lived in throughout my life, my race has never been the minority. A majority of my life has been lived blending in with the crowd and never having to worry about being the odd one out. For example, whether I was at school or my local coffee shop, if I asked for “the person in charge” I could confidently assume that a person of the same race would be approaching me (McIntosh, 2005). Not only have I felt this way within specific communities, but also throughout the state of California. Everywhere I have traveled within California, I have never felt that my presence would be questioned due to my race or that I would appear intimidating to others. Especially during the current political time, because I am white, I am viewed positively by the majority of my country. It is a tremendous privilege to be accepted by the majority of your own country, but it is an even more tremendous privilege to be accepted globally. Identifying as white grants me the ability to travel to almost any country without being labeled as suspicious or dangerous. Identifying as white has granted me and still grants me numerous privileges that I fail to notice on a day-to-day basis. It is as if I have been taught by my society to not recognize white privilege (McIntosh, 2005) and focus on those who are underprivileged due to their

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