Hegemonic whiteness: Expanding and operationalizing the conceptual framework

Abstract

AbstractConversations about whiteness in the U.S. have become increasingly common in recent years. Yet, there is still much deliberation about what whiteness is. Existing research has demonstrated that whiteness is a homogenizing force, investing all white people in institutions and cultures that maintain white supremacy. Yet, recent studies have also explored the situated nature of whiteness by demonstrating how whiteness varies based on space, time, and the social location of the white people who embody it. Hegemonic whiteness, a framework that explores how inter‐ and intra‐racial hierarchies are sustained via dominant ideologies and practices, provides insights that account for these seemingly opposing trends. In this paper, I further develop the framework of hegemonic whiteness using Connell’s (1987), Connell and Messerchmidt's (2005), and Messerschmidt’s (2019) framework of hegemonic masculinity. Next, I operationalize the dominant affective, attitudinal, behavioral, and cultural standards associated with one particular type of whiteness: notably hegemonic whiteness in the US context. These standards provide important insights into whiteness by demonstrating the baseline expectations whites from disparate backgrounds are expected to embody to fully reap the “wages of whiteness”. Such understandings can contribute to more effective anti‐racist education programs and race‐based social justice movements.