Racial/Cultural Identity Development
Summary of Chapter 11
Introduction
The chapter begins with the question…”What does it mean to be White?”
Responses range from “I am not White…I am Italian to White folks are always thinking they know all the answers”
The Invisible Whiteness of Being
Many Whites deny their Whiteness because it is difficult to think about what surrounds one on a daily basis
Many Whites become defensive when labeled as White because they do not want to accept White privilege
Understanding the Dynamics of Whiteness
Most White folks perceive themselves as unbiased individuals who do not harbor racist thoughts and feelings so to admit to being racist, sexist, or homophobic requires people to recognize that the self-images that they hold so dear are based on false notions of the self
Being a White person in this society means chronic exposure to ethnocentric monoculturalism as manifested in White supremacy
White helping professionals must free themselves from the cultural conditioning of their past and move toward the development of a nonracist White identity
Models of White Racial Identity
The Hardiman White Racial Identity Development Model
The naïveté stage (lack of social consciousness) is characteristic of early childhood, when we are born into this world innocent, open, and unaware of racism and the importance of race
The acceptance stage is marked by a conscious belief in the democratic ideal: that everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed in a free society and that those who fail must bear the responsibility for their failure
The resistance stage can prove to be a painful, conflicting, and uncomfortable transition because this is where. the White person’s denial system begins to crumble because of a monumental event or a series of events that not only challenge but also shatter the individual’s denial system
In the redefinition stage. New ways of defining one’s social group and one’s membership in that group become important
The internalization stage is the
Introduction
The chapter begins with the question…”What does it mean to be White?”
Responses range from “I am not White…I am Italian to White folks are always thinking they know all the answers”
The Invisible Whiteness of Being
Many Whites deny their Whiteness because it is difficult to think about what surrounds one on a daily basis
Many Whites become defensive when labeled as White because they do not want to accept White privilege
Understanding the Dynamics of Whiteness
Most White folks perceive themselves as unbiased individuals who do not harbor racist thoughts and feelings so to admit to being racist, sexist, or homophobic requires people to recognize that the self-images that they hold so dear are based on false notions of the self
Being a White person in this society means chronic exposure to ethnocentric monoculturalism as manifested in White supremacy
White helping professionals must free themselves from the cultural conditioning of their past and move toward the development of a nonracist White identity
Models of White Racial Identity
The Hardiman White Racial Identity Development Model
The naïveté stage (lack of social consciousness) is characteristic of early childhood, when we are born into this world innocent, open, and unaware of racism and the importance of race
The acceptance stage is marked by a conscious belief in the democratic ideal: that everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed in a free society and that those who fail must bear the responsibility for their failure
The resistance stage can prove to be a painful, conflicting, and uncomfortable transition because this is where. the White person’s denial system begins to crumble because of a monumental event or a series of events that not only challenge but also shatter the individual’s denial system
In the redefinition stage. New ways of defining one’s social group and one’s membership in that group become important
The internalization stage is the