We Learn to Be White

We Learn to be White

We all learn to be white in order to move up the social ladder. Whiteness is a symbol that runs deeper than skin color. It is a representation of an idea of superiority, which resembles the physical characteristics, behaviors and values of the group of people in power. The idea of Whiteness is an invention used to symbolize the ruling class. White privilege is not only found in America, but can be seen all over the world, except the people who possess the white privilege in other countries are not necessarily white skinned or Caucasian. If whiteness is a symbol of superiority and is what everyone should aspire to be, then it is seeded within our consciousness to learn to be white. History, society and the media reemphasize how we all should strive to be White.

I will use the term "White" and ruling class interchangeably in this blog because I believe that they are representations of each other. But I will not use the term "White" and "Caucasian" interchangeably as I do not believe they are identical. The term does not exclusively represent skin color or race, but represents an economic status and lifestyle. We can examine the use of symbolizing the superior ruling class throughout vast civilizations. In ancient Egypt, the symbol of whiteness changed hands as one group of people overthrew another. When the paler-skinned race was overthrown by the darker-hued race, the darker-hued race automatically became the superior ruling class, which enjoyed white privileges. On the other hand, the overthrown paler-skinned race became the inferior race or the "black" race (Gosset, page 4). China during the Han Dynasty also shows some evidence of the Chinese portraying their own race as the superior race, because the stories that described the Aryans as half human and half beast symbolized them as the inferior and alien group of people (Gosset, page 4).

Moreover, colonialism also served as one of the main triggers in establishing and emphasizing Whiteness around the world. When the Europeans colonized most of Asia, the idea that the way of life of the colonizer was superior to the way of life of the colonized emerged. The Europeans believed that they had two duties, which were to bring civilization to the uncivilized world because it is better for the human race and to convert heathens into Christians because local religions were inferior. Even though in today's world, most of the colonized countries have won their independence, the idea of a supreme race is still rooted so deeply within its societies that it has become a part of everyone's consciousness. For example, even in the modern world after the Philippines have gained independence from Spain and the U.S. the country still continues in the ideology of white as being supreme. However, today Whiteness in the Philippines does not represent Caucasians, it represents Mestizos. Most of the celebrities and high society in the Philippines are Mestizo and possess white features such as paler skin, larger eyes and narrower noses etc. Mestizos are deemed as the epitome of beauty in the Philippines and in most of the Asian countries. This has had vast effects on how people perceive themselves and strive to become "white" in order to be deemed beautiful and superior. Like in the short film A Girl Like Me short film, similarly to black women, many Asian women will try to alter their skin tone and hair in order to appear more "white". In fact many Asian women have even chosen to marry white men in order to climb the social ladder. Coming from Thailand, I know that the working class women will strive to marry a white man in order for her to move into the middle class and have some parts of her that signifies a White identity. She will learn to speak English, step into the Caucasian society and raise White children.

A long history of White colonialism is what caused an ideology of a supreme class globally, but the effects of modern globalization is what sustains this ongoing ideology. For example, most global ad campaigns for luxury goods portray the lifestyle of the White society. The selling point of any luxury product is that people aspire to possess them. Thus people will aspire to be like the people in the ad campaigns as well. One would rarely see a colored model without any White features on a large billboard. It can be argued that there are some campaigns out there that have used colored people, but there was no doubt that these models were styled to look White, airbrushed to look White and directed to pose White. Even superstars, who proudly celebrate their African American heritage such as Beyoncé, still appear paler than they really are in ad campaigns and magazines. Even in India, local darker skinned models have complained that the Indian fashion industry is trying to replace them with foreign white models. Top Indian models have stated "that they are losing the best jobs in their own country and being paid a fraction of the fees of their European rivals." Furthermore, Pranab Awasti of Delhi's Glitz modeling agency said, "Indians themselves preferred white skin to their own and craved 'fair' complexions. Indians in general have that inferiority complex; we have had a hangover about fair skin, since the British left India. The idea of fairness is an Indian concept and it needs to change. It is an inherent thing in Indians to see white as beautiful and black as ugly ... we have this concept in our minds that only fair-skinned people can be models" (Nelson, http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk.). For India, beauty and class is associated with fair skin. This is because India had a long history of British dominance and the perception that European features are superior still lingers today. Many Indian women find themselves bleaching their skin with the fair and lovely skin lightener in order to portray some of the White features that are admired by society. We learn that people who possess White features are rewarded through advantage over those with no White features who are in return, punished.

Attractiveness is communicated through popular culture, and pop culture dictates that attractive people possess White characteristics. In the documentary The color of Beauty, Director Elizabeth St. Philip shadows a black model Renee Thompson who is trying to make it as a top model in New York, which is a world where white models dictate the standard of beauty. However, the fashion industry had grown to become more politically correct by hiring more black girls. The only requirement was that these black girls have to "look like white girls dipped in chocolate." In which they must possess features that are rare for African Americans but common for Caucasians such as a high skinny nose, an almond shaped face, high angular cheekbones and