--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For me white privilege has turned out to…" description: "\"For me white privilege has turned out to be an elusive and fugitive subject. The pressure to avoid it is great, for in facing it I must give up the myt..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ff/peggy-mcintosh-34173_certain_for-me-white-privilege-has-turned-out-to_2427631.png" --- # For me white privilege has turned out to be an elusive and… ![“For me white privilege has turned out to be an elusive and fugitive subject. The pressure to avoid it is great, for in facing it I must give up the myth of meritocracy. If these things are true, this is not such a free country; one's life is not what one makes it; many doors open for certain…” quote by Peggy McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ff/peggy-mcintosh-34173_certain_for-me-white-privilege-has-turned-out-to_2427631.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ff/peggy-mcintosh-34173_certain_for-me-white-privilege-has-turned-out-to_2427631.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9ff/peggy-mcintosh-34173_certain_for-me-white-privilege-has-turned-out-to_2427631.png) > “For me white privilege has turned out to be an elusive and fugitive subject. The pressure to avoid it is great, for in facing it I must give up the myth of meritocracy. If these things are true, this is not such a free country; one's life is not what one makes it; many doors open for certain people through no virtues of their own.” [Peggy McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-mcintosh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that white privilege is hidden yet pervasive, challenging the belief that success is solely merit‑based and exposing systemic advantages. **In simple terms:** White privilege is hidden advantage that undermines meritocracy. Key Takeaway Recognize and confront systemic bias. Themes inequality meritocracy social justice Mood reflective critical empathetic Type analytical social commentary When to use this quote - education policy - workplace hiring - housing discrimination - healthcare access Key Concepts critical race theory structural advantage Questions to Reflect On - How does acknowledging privilege change personal responsibility? - What steps can reduce systemic bias? A Different Perspective It may overlook individual agency and can be perceived as divisive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Doors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doors/) [Elusive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elusive/) [Free country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-country/) [Fugitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fugitive/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Giving up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving-up/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Life is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-is/) [Meritocracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meritocracy/) [Meritocracy Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meritocracy-things-238947/) [Myth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myth/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Pressure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pressure/) [Privilege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privilege/) [Privilege Turned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privilege-turned-238946/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [White privilege](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-privilege/) ## Related quotes > [Infosys is an absolute meritocracy. Even in a meritocracy, other things being equal, you have to give opportunity to the more experienced candidate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-r-narayana-murthy/infosys-is-an-absolute-meritocracy-even-in-a-meritocracy-other-things/) [N. R. Narayana Murthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-r-narayana-murthy/) > [It seems to me that obliviousness about white advantage, like obliviousness about male advantage, is kept strongly inculturated in the United States so as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-mcintosh/it-seems-to-me-that-obliviousness-about-white-advantage-like/) [Peggy McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-mcintosh/) > [one question for me and others like me is whether ... we will get truly distressed, even outraged, about unearned race advantage and conferred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-mcintosh/one-question-for-me-and-others-like-me-is-whether-we-will-get-truly/) [Peggy McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-mcintosh/) > [As a white person, I realized I had been taught about racism as something that puts others at a disadvantage, but had been taught…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-mcintosh/as-a-white-person-i-realized-i-had-been-taught-about-racism-as/) [Peggy McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-mcintosh/) > [Most talk by whites about equal opportunity seems to me now to be about equal opportunity to try to get into a position of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-mcintosh/most-talk-by-whites-about-equal-opportunity-seems-to-me-now-to-be/) [Peggy McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-mcintosh/) > [White privilege is the unquestioned and unearned set of advantages, entitlements benefits and choices bestowed on people solely because they are white. Generally white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-mcintosh/white-privilege-is-the-unquestioned-and-unearned-set-of-advantages/) [Peggy McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-mcintosh/) > [White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools, and blank checks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-mcintosh/white-privilege-is-like-an-invisible-weightless-knapsack-of-special/) [Peggy McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-mcintosh/) > [I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-mcintosh/i-think-whites-are-carefully-taught-not-to-recognize-white-privilege/) [Peggy McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-mcintosh/) > [“White fear emanates from knowing that white privilege exists and the anxiety that it might end.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hayes/white-fear-emanates-from-knowing-that-white-privilege-exists-and-the/) [Chris Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hayes/) > [“The idea of white privilege forces white people who aren’t actively racist to confront their own complicity in its continuing existence. White privilege is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reni-eddo-lodge/the-idea-of-white-privilege-forces-white-people-who-aren-t-actively/) [Reni Eddo-Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reni-eddo-lodge/) > [“People buy into this false notion of reverse racism, where they believe that just because there’s a group of people getting together to share…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-s-tam/people-buy-into-this-false-notion-of-reverse-racism-where-they/) [Simon S. Tam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-s-tam/) > [We live surrounded by white images, and white in this world is synonymous with the good, light, beauty, success, so that, despite ourselves sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paule-marshall/we-live-surrounded-by-white-images-and-white-in-this-world-is/) [Paule Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paule-marshall/) > [The police can go to downtown Harlem and pick up a kid with a joint in the streets. But they can't go into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-police-can-go-to-downtown-harlem-and-pick-up-a-kid-with-a-joint/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“Those who benefit from unearned privilege are too often quick to discount those who don't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashanne-stokes/those-who-benefit-from-unearned-privilege-are-too-often-quick-to/) [DaShanne Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashanne-stokes/) > [“Unless institutional power reinforces the hurt and prejudice suffered by a group, it is not oppression. By definition, a person of color cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-stout/unless-institutional-power-reinforces-the-hurt-and-prejudice-suffered/) [Linda Stout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-stout/) ## More by Peggy McIntosh > [I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having my co-workers on the job suspect that I got it because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-mcintosh/i-can-take-a-job-with-an-affirmative-action-employer-without-having/) [Peggy McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-mcintosh/) > [It seems to me that obliviousness about white advantage, like obliviousness about male advantage, is kept strongly inculturated in the United States so as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-mcintosh/it-seems-to-me-that-obliviousness-about-white-advantage-like/) [Peggy McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-mcintosh/) > [White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, maps, passports, codebooks, visas, clothes, tools, and blank checks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-mcintosh/white-privilege-is-like-an-invisible-weightless-knapsack-of-special/) [Peggy McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-mcintosh/) > [White privilege is the unquestioned and unearned set of advantages, entitlements benefits and choices bestowed on people solely because they are white. Generally white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-mcintosh/white-privilege-is-the-unquestioned-and-unearned-set-of-advantages/) [Peggy McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-mcintosh/) > [Most talk by whites about equal opportunity seems to me now to be about equal opportunity to try to get into a position of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-mcintosh/most-talk-by-whites-about-equal-opportunity-seems-to-me-now-to-be/) [Peggy McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-mcintosh/) > [As a white person, I realized I had been taught about racism as something that puts others at a disadvantage, but had been taught…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-mcintosh/as-a-white-person-i-realized-i-had-been-taught-about-racism-as/) [Peggy McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-mcintosh/) > [If my day, week, or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it has racial overtones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-mcintosh/if-my-day-week-or-year-is-going-badly-i-need-not-ask-of-each-negative/) [Peggy McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-mcintosh/) > [I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-mcintosh/i-was-taught-to-see-racism-only-in-individual-acts-of-meanness-not-in/) [Peggy McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-mcintosh/) > [Privilege exists when one group has something of value that is denied to others simply because of the groups they belong to, rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-mcintosh/privilege-exists-when-one-group-has-something-of-value-that-is-denied/) [Peggy McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-mcintosh/) > [one question for me and others like me is whether ... we will get truly distressed, even outraged, about unearned race advantage and conferred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-mcintosh/one-question-for-me-and-others-like-me-is-whether-we-will-get-truly/) [Peggy McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-mcintosh/) > [I think whites are carefully taught not to recognize white privilege, as males are taught not to recognize male privilege.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-mcintosh/i-think-whites-are-carefully-taught-not-to-recognize-white-privilege/) [Peggy McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-mcintosh/) > [Whites are taught to think of their lives as morally neutral, normative, and average, and also ideal, so that when we work to benefit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-mcintosh/whites-are-taught-to-think-of-their-lives-as-morally-neutral/) [Peggy McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-mcintosh/) > [Power from unearned privilege can look like strength when it is in fact permission to escape or to dominate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peggy-mcintosh/power-from-unearned-privilege-can-look-like-strength-when-it-is-in/) [Peggy McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-mcintosh/) [Explore all 14 Peggy McIntosh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peggy-mcintosh/) ## More Certain quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [One can put some trust in the gratitude of a sovereign, and also in that of his family; under certain conditions, one can even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/one-can-put-some-trust-in-the-gratitude-of-a-sovereign-and-also-in/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [For successful education there must always be a certain freshness in the knowledge dealt with. 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