Straight Talk for white men
Column Published February 21, 2014
Kristof's purpose in writing this article is to dicuss the privilege white men have in America. He begins with an example that has nothing to do with white male privilge: "Supermarket shoppers are more likely to buy French wine when French music is playing, and to buy German wine when they hear German music. That’s true even though only 14 percent of shoppers say they noticed the music, a study finds." This example sets the tone for the rest of the piece. He is trying to get across the idea that while many white men do not feel as if they are naturally privileged compared to others, they subconciously are. Kristof also makes it clear that he is not blaming white men for their privilege because they cannot help who they were born as. He is simply suggesting that they become more aware of their privilege and use it to further equality for everyone. One example Kristof gives is of a study done by researchers at North Carolina State University. Professors taught online courses to mulitple classes who never saw their faces or heard their voices. The researchers had the professors tell their students that they were male in some classes and female in others. The exact same professors got higher student approval ratings when they taught the class as "male" as opposed to when they taught the class as "female." Providing his audience with multiple convincing examples such as the one above makes Kristof ultimately successful in his argument that while their unspoken advanteges are in no way their fault, white males should remember to check their priviledge.
Kristof's purpose in writing this article is to dicuss the privilege white men have in America. He begins with an example that has nothing to do with white male privilge: "Supermarket shoppers are more likely to buy French wine when French music is playing, and to buy German wine when they hear German music. That’s true even though only 14 percent of shoppers say they noticed the music, a study finds." This example sets the tone for the rest of the piece. He is trying to get across the idea that while many white men do not feel as if they are naturally privileged compared to others, they subconciously are. Kristof also makes it clear that he is not blaming white men for their privilege because they cannot help who they were born as. He is simply suggesting that they become more aware of their privilege and use it to further equality for everyone. One example Kristof gives is of a study done by researchers at North Carolina State University. Professors taught online courses to mulitple classes who never saw their faces or heard their voices. The researchers had the professors tell their students that they were male in some classes and female in others. The exact same professors got higher student approval ratings when they taught the class as "male" as opposed to when they taught the class as "female." Providing his audience with multiple convincing examples such as the one above makes Kristof ultimately successful in his argument that while their unspoken advanteges are in no way their fault, white males should remember to check their priviledge.