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Speaking of scholarly articles
This site is a fantastic resource
http://www.women-philosophers.com/Contemporary-women-philosophers.html
This is an excerpt on Alison Baily's paper on privilege;
McIntosh's distinction between strength and power puzzles me. Her point can be stated more simply by distinguishing between two kinds of assets: (unearned) privilege and earned advantages. The general distinction I will make between privilege and earned advantages begins with an etymology of privilege and rests on four related claims: (1) benefits granted by privilege are always unearned and conferred systematically to members of dominant social groups; (2) privilege granted to members of dominant groups simply because they are members of these groups is almost never justifiable; (3) most privilege is invisible to, or not recognized as such, by those who have it; and, (4) privilege has an unconditional "wild card" quality that extends benefits to cover a wide variety of circumstances and conditions. To understand how the benefits granted by privilege are always with well-to-do whites. In these cases members of dominant groups are often willing to make exceptions for certain individuals because of their economic success, community visibility, or civic reputation. There are also instances where closeted gays or light-skinned Latinas and African Americans are granted privileges because they can pass as straight or white.
The difference between earned advantages and privilege is not hard and fast; but I want to hang onto the distinction in a way that recognizes how privilege and earned advantages do not operate independently from one another, and at the same time highlight the connections between them. So, the distinction between privilege and advantages becomes less clear when it is challenged by cases where, for example class oppression diminishes the currency of white or male privilege. Consider the role privilege plays in one's ability to get good work, to afford to fly, to buy a house, or to rent an apartment. To earn frequent flyer miles, for instance, assumes that one can afford to fly Regardless of race, the homeless have few, if any, chances to take advantage of opportunities to earn frequent flyer miles. Working long hours so you can afford to buy a house in a good neighborhood also assumes that you are able to get a high-paying job, that real estate agents will show you houses in the "good parts of town," and that the owners of those houses will sell to you. Regardless of economic class, practices like redlining commonly keep fan-Lilies of color that can afford to live in middle or upper-class suburbs from purchasing real estate and moving into those areas. In addition, malicious stereotypes of African Americans or Puerto Ricans as lazy, dirty, or untrustworthy, or stereotypes of gays and lesbians as pedophiles, promiscuous, or diseased also discourage landowners from renting to these individuals even if they are good tenants.
The distinction between privilege and advantage is also blurred by in stances where, for example, class, race, or heterosexual oppression are temporarily transcended or overlooked. I have in mind here the gay community leader or the working-class philanthropist who, by virtue of outstanding community service, earns a good reputation in the community and is granted the status and authority commonly associated with heterosexual or class privilege. Or the African American who has elevated her economic status to the point where she is granted privileges commonly associatedwith well-to-do whites. In these cases members of dominant groups are often willing to make exceptions for certain individuals because of their economic success, community visibility, or civic reputation. There are also instances where closeted gays or light-skinned Latinas and African Americans are granted privileges because they can pass as straight or white.
The distinction between privilege and advantage is also blurred by in stances where, for example, class, race, or heterosexual oppression are temporarily transcended or overlooked. I have in mind here the gay community leader or the working-class philanthropist who, by virtue of outstanding community service, earns a good reputation in the community and is granted the status and authority commonly associated with heterosexual or class privilege. Or the African American who has elevated her economic status to the point where she is granted privileges commonly associatedwith well-to-do whites. In these cases members of dominant groups are often willing to make exceptions for certain individuals because of their economic success, community visibility, or civic reputation. There are also instances where closeted gays or light-skinned Latinas and African Americans are granted privileges because they can pass as straight or white.
http://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=068096001126027103064080119125120117122011005035010028104089106024123016074007077091031007000042033007027070118101127006121069049007088022007111087099126119090111105024020000023076020122002067094093114090&EXT=pdf
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help him with the peanut brittle.
thanks....
more people who want to bash HOF than those who really want to discuss the book. It's the thing I hate about DU3 - that all posts land on the Latest. Maybe I'll start a generic "Books of HOF" thread & invite the group to post about books in the one thread. Then, after it sinks, I can post my thoughts about some of the books I've read.
I have a half written report on "1000 White Women." The book sits, in a pile by my desk, with notes peeking out, reminding me I should finish it. 
