Critical Whiteness

The term Critical Whiteness refers to the differentiated, reflective examination of whiteness as a social category and is grounded in both scientific and political approaches. The literal German translation Weißsein (whiteness) has hardly gained acceptance in research, as it gives the impression of primarily referring to the color of people’s skin. Primarily relevant, however, are aspects such as economic, social, and cultural power that come with the social marking of people as white (cf. Tißberger 2017, 16).

Whiteness as a norm – a thinking error

Fundamental to the critical whiteness concept is the assumption that white people understand their skin color and the social privileges that come with it as the norm, while people who are socially marked as non-white are perceived as foreign. This process of so-called othering results in white people establishing themselves as the norm and thus manifesting their social power status, even though this is unfounded (cf. Albrecht 2017, 232). This subconscious pattern of thinking, regardless of intention, leads to racist ways of thinking and can be understood as a manifestation of structural racism (cf. Hyatt 2015).

The origins of critical whiteness studies.

Fundamental to critical whiteness research was the insight of literary scholar bell hooks (Gloria Jean Watkins) that in the United States race always referred to people who were not white. Accordingly, a distinction is made between ethnically marked and non-marked white people. With a view to slavery, ‚racial‘ segregation and racism in US history, this shows a reproduction of hegemonic structures that are not justified and cannot be justified. Similar social structures are also evident in Germany, closely linked to the colonial policies of the German Empire (see Hyatt 2015).

Literature

Albrecht, Monika (2017): Whiteness. In: Göttsche, Dirk/ Dunker, Axel/ Dürbeck, Gabriele (eds.): Handbuch Postkolonialismus und Literatur. Stuttgart: Metzler.

Hyatt, Millay (2015): Whiteness as Privilege. https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/critical-whiteness-weisssein-als-privileg.1184.de.html?dram:article_id=315084 [March 2020].

Tißberger, Martina (2017): Critical Whiteness. On the psychology of hegemonic self-reflection on the intersection of racism and gender. Wiesbaden: Springer.