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I am a woman, who happens to be white. I possess my own personal cultural identity, but our society does not classify it as being “white.” I am hesitant to refer to culture as being either white or black because to stereotypically label it limits the depth of understanding the complex nature of culture in its entirety. Culture cannot simply be referred to as a race issue and I am consequent proof of that. Within our melting pot of a Nation, the personified ingredients have blended and one’s culture is no longer strictly determined by the color of their skin. As a grown woman, the forming of my own personal ideas, customs, and beliefs has had less to do with the color of my skin and more to do with my individual life realities, which have exposed me to a diversity of people and places. Within our society, the cultural aspects of a variety of races are expressed, but the prevailing issue here lies in the question: how much of culture is actually determined by race? If a white child is born and raised in the conditions which are usually misconceived as belonging to black culture, of which culture does the child belong? The lines have been blurred and other characteristics, such as class stature, geographic location, and social mentality are as much of a cultural determinate as race, if not more.
Within society, whites are often perceived as having a higher financial status, whereas other races are generally thought of as being of a lesser financial stature. This general portrayal of whites is not based in reality, but rather upon socially inspired perceptions. Whites monopolize the top of our class structure and, in turn, the lower classes, consisting of the majority of other racial so-called "minorities" naturally associate a high financial stature as white. The racially diverse lower classes have a view upward to the higher classes and, in turn, the link between white skin and money is emphasized. In actuality, there exists a higher number of poor whites in relation to other races. The established powers that be are comfortable with such societal assumptions as expressed by our mainstream culture through social conscience industries, such as movies, media, television, etc. So by society's influence, the connection is assumed and people are left completely unaware of the actual racial dispersion within our Nation's class structure.
As a product of a financially poor household, I have personally been confronted with society's misconceptions concerning race and class relations. An example of this is the term "welfare queen" which was originally coined by Ronald Regan in the early 80's and found its place within the political mindset of the masses during this past decade. This misconceived stereotype was thought of as an African-American woman, assumed to be financially secure, yet defrauding the government in order to collect benefits, which she then used inappropriately. In reality, the gender and race with the most recipients of welfare are white women. As formally one of these recipients, I can share with the misguided, a personal knowledge on the matter as to the harsh reality of life in this circumstance. Government assistance is by no means an abundant easy living. The system provides help to those in need at the cost of stress and aggravation. One must jump through hoops in order to meet the eligibility standards and even then, the rewards are not enough to live at a basic needs level. With memories of hunger, I can testify that the amount of food stamps offered is not enough to feed your children, let alone commit shopping sprees. So in reality, "the queen of government royalties" is a poor white woman, living in a rural area, whom must collect from charity in order to provide Thanksgiving dinner for her family. Although there are countless exceptions to such class and racial stereotypes, including myself, more often than not lower-class whites go unrecognized within the grand scheme of it all because they are rurally spread out, whereas lower class blacks often live in urban areas. There are also many whites that would choose to remain unacknowledged because their race still places them at a higher social stature, even if they are below the poverty level. In turn there are masses of invisible poor whites that willingly pass undetected when society embraces social issues concerning the lower classes.
Another aspect of life, which is often associated as part of one’s culture, is geographic locations. Within recent years, the New York City school districts have been regressing back towards segregation at an outstanding pace. The class and race separatism, which exists within our educational system, serves, as a microcosm of how geography plays into the dynamic of race relations within this country. The higher-class population is comfortable with being surrounded by people of their same stature usually located in suburban areas or “elite” sections of major cities. In turn, the lower classes are financially forced into socially designated places such as the slums or ghettos of cities, where they are amongst their own social class. This enables those who have money, and in turn power, to shut out the majority of other people who do not have the financial means to meet their standards limiting their possible life opportunities. This separation of class enables people to ignore others due to lack of exposure to anything outside their own life experience. This frame of thought is what enables certain upper-class whites to dismiss the existence of racial strife within society. The state of racial equality and opportunity is slowly evolving, but those whom claim that the struggle is over are blindly fooling themselves. It is not a part of their everyday lives or personal experience so it then becomes easy to view as not existing at all. This form of denial is only possible when there is limited exposure to the contrary, as in such upper class racially segregated living areas.
Perhaps the most definitive component of culture exists not through external characteristics, but rather internal perceptions of and relations to the outside world. It is one's individual mentality that most accurately reflects their personal cultural ideas, customs, and beliefs. Emphasis is often falsely placed on physical differences within the context of race, when in reality it is the mind that has the power to join or separate us all. Throughout history, our misinformed social mentality has been enforced by white males through a historical trail ranging from Columbus' supposed discovery of America to the African-American slave trade to the elite upper- class of today. As the history of a people influences culture today, whites have consistently maintained an egocentric mentality, however diminished the extent. This destructive cycle has continued through society's educational system, which has maintained its Eurocentric perspective expressed through the major fields of study, especially history. The false cultural beliefs of the past, which are taught to our children and continue into our future, prohibit us to look outside racial barriers still existing today. Due to circumstances within our present society, such as conflicting class structure, racial separatism, and social conscience programming a misguided way of thinking and viewing the world is perpetuated. There is a reason that people outside the white race are referred to as "minorities." It is not because there are more white people in the world. It is because many white people, believing in our falsified history, still think they are the major race (whether consciously or not).
Within our Nation, assumed characteristics of culture exist, which have been socially designated and will continue to be portrayed in such a way until the exceptions out number the rule. I am one of those exceptions. My culture is not designated by the color of my skin. It is, on the other hand, designated by my lower-class status within society, the urban areas where my childhood thrived, and the socially conscious mentality, which was instilled in me through exposure to the realities of our society's past and present. These cultural characteristics may be assumed as being "black" according to our society's prefabricated ideology, but I serve as example to the extreme contrary. Throughout my life, my unique cultural background is inevitably expressed and I am often questioned because of it. My response has always been to openly claim all that I am, including the color of my skin, and prove our society's cultural assumptions wrong.
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