The Whiteness Questions Reading + Questions - Coursework Example

The Whiteness Question Part The of the article, The Whiteness Question, explores the issue of white identity in the American context. The white identity in this case is examined in the light of the relationship between white people and people of color. The emerging racial differential among the American people forms the basis upon which the author presents the underlying arguments about white identity. The author argues that the visibility of whiteness continues to persist among many whites today.

Race, gender, and the white-self are the key factors that influence whiteness over time. According to the arguments presented in the article, it seems that many whites do not fully understand the meaning of whiteness in the American context. Even with this as the case, racism, gender discrimination, and imperialism still persists. Interestingly, the whites exhibit an identity that they cannot adequately explain. However, the race, gender, and the white-self factors hold the answer to the contemporary whiteness question.

White people have defined themselves based on their white race and gender, but they have overlooked self-actualization relative to this race. The author argues that a good percentage of the white population is still struggling to understand the meaning of whiteness from a political and historical point of view. Amid this, whiteness continues to sink in the hearts of the whites, thus enabling them to understand the dynamics of whiteness and what comprises racism out of the whiteness question. Part 2It emerges from the reading that there are white people who have never considered the white to be a race.

From this perspective, it can only be argued that a race comprises of people of color; obviously this not true. This indirect notion was to some extent uncomfortable at a personal level. It never occurred to me before that the whites do not fully understand their whiteness. On the other hand, the fact that there are white people who are always joining the civil rights pursuit in favor of people of color resonated with me.The whiteness question is undoubtedly important to address. The issues raised by this question affect whites and people of color in one way or another.

However, there is an ultimate personal question and point of confusion when it comes to asserting who is really white and what exactly it takes to be white. What I do not understand is the ‘pure’ aspect of whiteness.Part 3Personally, I have interacted with both whites and people of color from the North and South sides of the United States. From my experience, the whiteness and color considerations in the American society have been declining over the years. However, this change is more accelerated in the North than in the South.

As whiteness continues to be explored in terms of its political and historical meaning, it is evident that global diversity is continuously and persistently taking its course. Civil rights hitches might still be realized here and there, but the bigger percentage of whiteness-color standoff have already been addressed.