After Whiteness

In spite of the recent acknowledgment of race as a social and historical construct, rather than a biological fact, race is nonetheless a material reality. Race is a very powerful ideology and is based around the color of one's skin. Race is conceived in terms of difference and it was not until recently that the concept of "whiteness" emerged within the contemporary discourse. However unlike blackness, which is associated with one skins color, "whiteness"is less about the color of skin and more about an ideology of power. Whiteness is related to economics and class. Whiteness is power and privilege.


whiteness: blank, empty, pure, transparent, peace

blackness: dark, shadow, evil

The exhibition "Whiteness, A Wayward Construction" explores the representation of whiteness in the United States and problemtizes white as a racial subject. The exhibition is divided into three categories, "White Out," "Mirror, Mirror," and "The Graying of Whiteness." This exhibition looks at the broader issues that underlie the representation of whiteness, particularly the of white people not seeing themselves as having a racial identity. It also considers whiteness as a tangled relationship among status, identity, and property that examine such themes as the white-collar work environment, hierarchies, within the art world, the concept of "white trash" and associations of racism. In the end the exhibition is intended to contribute to the dialogue about the naming of whiteness as a means to dislodge whites from their centrality and authority.

"As long as race is something only applied to non-white peoples, as long as white people are not racially seen and named, they/we function as a human norm. Other people are raced, we are just people." -Richard Dyer

One example of whiteness in contemporary culture that kept coming to mind was Barbie. Barbie comes in all skin colors, however her physical appearance never changes and always reflects white ideals. The white Barbie has become the ideal of what all young girls should strive to be and she is associated with the norm.