Transcript PowerPoint Presentation - White Racial Identity Development

SW 8100: Social Work with
Diverse Populations
Spring 2008
Dr. Anne Tellett
Dr. Priscilla A. Day
Definition
“culture is learned, shared, and
transmitted values, beliefs, norms, and
life ways of a group which are generally
transmitted intergenerationally and
influence one’s thinking and action”
(Leininger,1998)
in (Hogan, 2007, p.15)
Culture
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Is made up of meaning systems, such
as beliefs, values, and ways of thinking
and viewing the world
These are learned through social
interactions with family and the
community
They are largely invisible, unrecognized
and not discussed
Culture is multi-layered
It exists at individual, group and societal
level:
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individual assumptions, values, beliefs
shaped by family and social group
group membership based on ethnicity,
gender, age, class, race, religion, sexual
orientation, region of the country, etc.
societal institutions that shape our world schools, workplaces, the media, government
Complex process
“Intercultural learning is never linear or
orderly. It is a process that occurs in
complex ways with increasing levels of
cultural knowledge” ( Nakanishi & Ritter,
1992)
Personal Barriers to Effective
Communication
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Language
Nonverbal communication
Preconceptions, stereotypes, and
discrimination
Judgments
Stress
Personal Process
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Everyone goes through a process of
cultural identity development.
This process looks different for people
of color and white people.
What is privilege?
Society gives privilege to groups by assigning
unearned overadvantage to some groups and
unearned underadvantage to others.
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It gives status and power to members of the groups
with privilege
It has nothing to do with merit or ability.
It is systemic.
Privilege is similar to a fish being unaware of the water
in which it lives
Many kinds of privilege
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White privilege
Heterosexual privilege
Able-bodied privilege
Class privilege
Privilege based on religion
Privilege based on gender
Privilege based on formal education
Denial
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The pressure to avoid the realization of
privilege is great
If we face it, we have to give up the
myth of meritocracy…if these things are
true, this is not such a free country and
one’s life is not what one makes it
Many doors are open for certain people
through no virtues of their own
How can you address
privilege?
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Do not assume that all differences are
the same
Acknowledge and validate everyone’s
experience
Avoid assumptions
Listen with compassion
Create safety and room for everyone
Speak from your experience, not
generalities
“Whites are taught to think of their lives
as morally neutral, normative, and
average, and also ideal, so that when
we work to benefit others, this is seen
as work that will allow ‘them’ to be like
‘us’” (MacIntosh, 1998).
Naming it
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“To speak of whiteness is, I think, to
assign everyone a place in the relations
of racism. It is to emphasize that
dealing with racism is not merely an
option for white people – that, rather,
racism shapes white people’s lives and
identities in a way that is inseparable
from other facets of daily life”
(Frankenberg, 1993, p.6).
White Racial Identity Development
(WRID) –Assumptions (Sue & Sue, 1999)
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Racism permeates all aspects of life
We are all socialized into society - inheriting
all the biases, stereotypes and racist
attitudes, beliefs and behaviors of the larger
society
Individuals go through an identifiable process
as they perceive themselves as racial beings
All interracial relationships are affected by the
stage of racial identity each person is in
Minority Racial Identity Development
(MRID)-Assumptions (Atkinson, Morten, &
Sue, 1993)
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Anchored in belief that all minority
groups experience the common force of
oppression
As a result, all will generate attitudes
and behaviors consistent with natural
internal struggle to develop strong
sense of self-identity and group identity,
despite oppressive situations
MRID Focus
Each stage reflects four kinds of attitudes:
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Attitudes
Attitudes
group
Attitudes
groups
Attitudes
toward self
toward others in the same reference
toward members of other minority
toward white, majority group
Identity Change Stages
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Stages are integral to learning cultural
diversity content
An identity change also forces one to
change personal paradigm ( meaning,
beliefs and deep assumptions about
reality)
Comments on stage theories
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racial identity development is not linear
people move back and forth from stage to
stage, but when revisiting an earlier stage, it
will look different because of new experience
the concept of recycling through the stages
can be seen as a spiral staircase
Conformity Stage
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WRID
reliance on stereotypes
and societal messages
deny discrimination
exists, deny own
prejudices
ethnocentric -little
knowledge of other
racial groups
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MRID
preference for the
values and norms of the
dominant culture
Desire to assimilate and
acculturate
Negative attitudes
toward their group and
themselves as a racial
being
Dissonance Stage
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WRID
forced to deal with
inconsistencies in
societal messages
realization can result in
guilt, shame, anger, and
depression
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MRID
Often stimulated by a
personal race related
experience either an
influence by someone
with strong ethnic pride
or a personal
experience with racism
State of flux and
confusion
Resistance and Immersion
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WRID
major questioning of own
and others’ racism
awakened, suddenly seeing
what has been hidden
anger toward society, family
and friends – feel lied to
self-hatred as well as guilt
for being part of an
oppressive system
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MRID
blanket endorsement of
one’s own group, it’s values
and attitudes
rejection of values and
norms of dominant group
accepts racism as a reality
guilt over previous “naïve”
attitudes
very negative attitudes
toward dominant group
Introspection Stage
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WRID
Introspection and
reformulation of what it
means to be white, after the
swing from unconditional
acceptance of white identity
to rejection of whiteness
Feelings of loss and isolation
common – can never truly
understand a person of
color’s experience, but new
awareness also cuts off from
other white people
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MRID
Comfort and security in own
racial identity
Turn energy from previous
anger to positive exploration
of identity issues
Views toward own group are
no longer blindly positive
and individual differentiation
is considered
Still distrust of the “system”
but individual variation of
white people is recognized
Integrative
Awareness
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Synergistic Articulation
and Awareness
WRID
Understand self as a racial
being
Aware of sociopolitical
influences re: racism
Increased commitment
toward eradicating
oppression
Inner sense of security and
strength, which is needed to
function in society where
only marginally accepted
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MRID
Sense of self-fulfillment
re: cultural identity
Confident and secure
Desire to eliminate all forms
of oppression
High positive regard toward
own group, but not blanket
acceptance
Selective appreciation of
whites who seek to halt
oppression
“Differences do not separate us, but
refusing to acknowledge them and the
role they take in shaping our
relationships and institutions keeps us
apart. We need to rethink difference –
use it as a place to reconstruct our
world.” (Audre Lorde)
References
Hogan, M. (2007). The four skills of cultural
diversity competence: A process for
understanding and practice. Belmont, CA:
Thomson Higher Education.
Ponterotto, J. and Pederson, P. (1993).
Preventing prejudice: A guide for counselors
and educators. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE
Publications.
Sue, D. W., & Sue, D. (1999). Counseling the
culturally different: Theory and practice (3rd
ed.). New York: J. Wiley & Sons.