10 Things that make Stephanie angry: Thing #1

Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be blogging about 10 things that make me angry. Because, what better things do you have to do than read confessions of an angry feminist?


You may find this task pessimistic or depressing. But actually, I find it a therapeutic way for me to work through my anger and find positive steps I can take to channel my anger into something that makes the world a better place, or at least, my world a better place (I hope). These “things” that make me angry are in no particular order, but rather happen to be the things that are on my mind on a given day. If they were in ranked order, this one would likely top the list.

#1: White people who don’t acknowledge their white privilege

Acknowledging that your whiteness gives you privileges that people of color just don’t have in our culture just makes sense. You can try to tell me that as a white man, people look at you the same way they look at black men or latino men: as a threat. Or that as a white woman, you aren’t perceived to be any richer, smarter, or more respectable than women of color. But that’s bullshit. I won’t buy it, and neither do you.

The thing about privilege is, we didn’t ask for it. Owning the fact that you have white privilege does not make you the perpetrator of systemic racial injustices, in fact, it’s a step towards dismantling the system. If you DON’T admit that your white skin gives you many privileges, I’m inclined to think that you are either 100% oblivious to everything that happens in the world around you and not very bright, that you’re in denial, or worse – that you actually know that you have white privilege but are unwilling to admit it because admitting it might mean that you feel some sort of obligation to challenge racial injustices.

I’ll admit this might be harsh; those of raised in a society that perpetuates the myth of meritocracy have a hard time seeing that yea, often we get ahead or get held back based on things we can’t control, like our skin color. Perhaps many white people who can’t bring themselves to acknowledge their white privilege are just operating under the assumption that meritocracy is right or true or how our society actually operates. I think the thing that makes me most angry about this is that I haven’t yet figured out how to convince people who don’t think that white privilege is real that it is. I know that I’m in an easier place to do this than I would be if my skin were not white; I’d argue that my white privilege is at play right now while writing this post, because regardless of whether you agree with me, you probably at the very least don’t think I only believe this to be self-serving.

If you’re white, and you don’t think you have any sort of white privilege, just walk around with your eyes open for a day or two - then let's talk.