White male power and privilege: The relationship between White supremacy and social class.

Abstract

Counseling psychologists have studied privilege as an individual behavior, belief, and attitude related to an individual's privileged identity such as masculinity, Whiteness, or Christianity. Conceptualizing individual privileged identities in this way means that privileged identities may exist alongside marginalized intersectional identities. However, in this article, the author defines privilege as a multi-identity act that is facilitated and supported by institutions and organizations (e.g., banks, law enforcement, and schools). These institutions are defined as power-governors that regulate access to scaffolds of privilege afforded to the affluent and wealthy. The author posits that power-governors were created to support an ideology of White supremacy and to organize actors within the system to perpetuate and legitimize the status quo. The author describes the ways in which White wealthy men use privilege as a means to access and gain power while White men in lower-and working-classes use privilege to build relationships and legitimize inequality. The author also discusses the proxy privilege of White women and people of color and how this privilege is in fact restricted to specific physical spaces and is limited due to their overt marginalized identities. Recommendations for privilege research are provided. Public Significance StatementThe author describes the ways in which privilege is related to White supremacy and how it is used differentially among the White wealthy men as a means to access and gain power while White men in lower-and working-classes use privilege to build relationships and legitimize inequality. The author also discusses the different types of privilege for White women and people of color and how these privileges are limited by their overt marginalized identities and restricted to specific physical spaces.

Social Justice in Counseling Psychology: Then, Now, and Looking Forward

“…Despite our potential to lead as social justice agents, some scholars have noted the ways in which counseling psychologists' current conceptualization of social justice may impede our forward movement as social justice advocates (Liu, 2017;Olle, 2018). One critique is the separation of social justice discussions from the sociopolitical context (e.g., Liu, 2017).…”

Cultural Humility for People of Color: Critique of Current Theory and Practice

“…We assume that many TOCs will already have developed an exceptional level of stamina for dealing with racialized dynamics and memories of racial trauma. The initial conceptual work on the MCO seems to assume that most clinicians will struggle with a tendency to avoid some cultural content, which seems especially likely for White clinicians, consistent with theory and research, for example, on White fragility (Liu, 2017). If we put TOCs in a position of priority, we would also need to consider when leaning further in might be unwise or when the clinician might need to make a conscious decision to protect themselves, and the therapy relationship, from engaging in a noxious racial dynamic.…”

Color‐Conscious Multicultural Mindfulness Training in the Counseling Field

“…In the United States, race often eclipses other cultural identities (Robinson‐Wood et al, 2015) and is mistakenly combined with socioeconomic status and educational background assumptions (Pederson, Walker, & Wise, 2005). Although social class indicates differential access to resources, individuals with White racial affiliation (regardless of financial status) escape structural racism (Liu, 2017). Racial disparities are apparent in institutional, interpersonal, and individual dynamics, and there are divisions in access and power (Hargons et al, 2017).…”