Blackness and Whiteness Represent
 

          In her book Black Looks, bell hooks dedicates a chapter to the “Representation of Whiteness in the Black Imagination”.  Hooks covers a variety of ideas and concepts related to whiteness and how it affects society, specifically in relation to blackness.  Hooks believes that “Systems of domination, imperialism, colonialism, and racism actively coerce black folk to internalize negative perceptions of blackness, to be self-hating”(hooks, 1992, p.166).  This means that the inequalities that exist between races are created, and have been in the past, by people who associate themselves with whiteness.  Colonialism, and specifically slave ownership, has given whiteness the ‘upper hand’, making people outside of this minority group feel inherently lesser, even though this is certainly not the case.  Hooks argues that whiteness is its own entity, and that people who find themselves under the category of whiteness do not necessarily see blackness, or in other cases, just simply ignore the fact that blackness exists. 

            Hooks critiques white students for their “disbelief, shock, and rage, as they listen to black students talk about whiteness, when they are compelled to hear observations, stereotypes, etc” (hooks, 1992, 167).  Their reactions may have been surprising for some but looking deeper, it relates to their socialization.  Because people who fall under the category of whiteness have, in most cases, never been denied the privileges which come along with whiteness, it is a lot easier for these people to say that racism will just go away if we forget about race in general because we are all people.  This may work in theory, but hooks argues that these beliefs do nothing to eliminate racism, but instead create a false hope for equality and an even greater gap in racial segregation.  In this section of the chapter, Hooks thoughts directly relate to Howard Winant’s views on eliminating racism.  The two’s theories are parallel in the sense that they both agree that by keeping quiet about racism and pretending that race does not exist, there will be no change for the better, and inequalities will continue to exist.  They also agree on the idea that racism has strong ties with European imperialism, as discussed previously. 

            Hooks focuses an incredible amount on the idea of invisibility.  She states that throughout time, black people have been forced to act as though they are invisible while in the company of white people in order to remain safe: “Safety resides in the pretense of invisibility.”(hooks, 1992, p.168).  This began during times when it was legally acceptable for there to be racial inequalities, like slavery.  Hooks brings forth an excellent point that this invisibility is easier to understand, given the time frame, however these ideas of invisibility are still extremely prominent in modern society.  The idea of invisibility of black people not only is to ensure the safety of black people themselves, but also the safety of whiteness.  It has become the norm for black people to be unrepresented, in all types of media (hooks, 1992, p.168).  This argument is supported by McIntosh’s list of privileges that are inherited simply by being white; how whiteness is so accessible (McIntosh, 1989, p.6).  Both authors do an outstanding job at giving everyday examples of how this invisibility of blackness is substantially present in the current state of society, even many years after slavery and inequalities were ‘abolished’. 

            Hooks and McIntosh also agree on the idea that representation of whiteness and blackness, in comparison, are completely uneven.  McIntosh uses more simple examples that people run into, specifically racial minorities, everyday.  “I can choose blemish color or bandages in ‘flesh’ color and have them more or less match my skin” (McIntosh, 1989, p.2).  Though this example may seem to be a minor inequality society offers, the underlying racism is quite disturbing.  If makeup and bandages cannot even be made to accommodate darker skin tones, what does that say about how whiteness feels towards larger issues of inequality, ones that go way beyond cosmetics?  The two authors are heading in the same direction with these ideas, however; hooks digs deeper into the representation of whiteness, describing it as “terrorizing” (hooks, 1992, p.169).  She takes a similar aim at how whiteness is terrorizing by focusing on events of her own past, specifically of her childhood, that lacked the presence of whiteness.  She indicates that stereotypes of white people were reinforced as a child because of the racially segregated neighbourhood she grew up in.  When white people visited her neighbourhood it was usually for economic purposes; she compares these visits to colonialism and the “economic exploitation” often given by whiteness, which in itself is terrifying (hooks, 1992, p.170-71).  McIntosh’s example is great because it touches home for people who identify as white, who have ever bought cosmetics or bandages, never thinking of how something so simple for one individual could be so terrorizing for another.  Hooks example is also great, however; it is a bit more abstract and takes ideas of terrorizing to another level, connecting it with the roots of where it came from and still resides. 

            One of the most moving ideas that is present in the article is that of mobility.  Hooks references James Clifford and his ideas of travel and theory, specifically “How different populations, classes, and genders travel” (hooks, 1992, p.173).  Hooks speaks specifically about her own personal experiences with mobility issues due to a racist society.  She speaks about “leaving Italy after I had given a talk on racism and feminism, hosted by parliament, only to stand for hours while I am interrogated by white officers...”(hooks, 1992, p.174).  The irony of the situation described is that these officers are trying to prevent terrorism but yet they are in fact, by definition, being terrorists themselves.  The idea of whiteness being terrorizing is terrifying in itself to many people who would fall under the term of non-whiteness.  It could be argued that these officers were just doing their jobs, but specifically picking a black woman to interrogate for hours under no ground of suspicion, aside from skin colour, is in no way a coincidence. 

            This section of the chapter also exposes the conveniences, mobility wise, that pairs with whiteness.  The scenario directly relates to McIntosh’s idea of the “invisible knapsack”; “White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools and blank checks.” (McIntosh, 1989, p.1).  Whiteness gives an individual the ability to do nearly anything, including travel the world without any problems.  The incident that hooks encountered at the Italian airport is a result of the mobility inequalities that are outlined in McIntosh’s “invisible knapsack” theory.  It is extremely fascinating that these two authors created, with few differences, theories of racism that complete each other quite nicely.  Hooks representation is a bit more of an aggressive approach, though it does work well at getting through to her audience.  McIntosh uses an approach that has obvious anger behind it, but not to the extent of hooks.  The reasoning behind these slight differences is likely that Hooks has actually experienced this racism on a personal basis, while McIntosh has only seen it happen with others.  This in itself indicates the privileges around whiteness, as McIntosh is a white woman while hooks is a black woman.  

            One of the mobility privileges McIntosh describes as being affiliated with whiteness is the ability to protect her children most of the time from people who might not like them (McIntosh, 1989, p.2).  The idea of this privilege is stated in Hooks chapter but from a non-white perspective.  Hooks writes about a black woman who “Kills her young so that they will never know the terror” (hooks, 1992, p.176).  The idea of this is both shocking and heartbreaking.  What makes the matter even more troubling is that when identifying with whiteness this thought would absolutely never be cross an individual’s mind.  It is depressing that in the society we live today, people will kill, perhaps literally or figuratively, their children in order to keep them from being terrorized solely because of skin colour. 

            The chapter “Representation of Whiteness in the Black Imagination”, written by bell hooks, touches on numerous theories which have been studied in the classroom.  Language from almost all theorists who have been studied was used.  Regardless of language used that associates with several different theorists, Hooks chapter relates closest to McIntosh’s theories of racism, specifically the “invisible knapsack”.  Though Hooks uses difficult language throughout some of the chapter, her ideas are inventive and are presumed to be accurate when associating with whiteness.  She is incredibly critical of whiteness but proves with numerous examples as to why whiteness was problematic in the past and still continues to be an issue today.

Work Cited:

Hooks, Bell. (1992). “Representation of Whiteness in the Black Imagination” Black Looks (165-178), Boston: South End Press.

McIntosh, P. (1989). “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” Peace and Freedom, 49.