Whites in the United States

Critical White Studies in relation to Crime and Race

Critical White Studies is included in the Encyclopedia of Race and Crime (1), beginning with: The centrality of race in social, economic, and political discourse has been devoid of much discussion of White identity or the experience of being a White person. Whites have primarily been the subject of studies examining their prejudices toward a given group as opposed to a more phenomenological account of the experience of being White. However, these works mainly discuss how power is maintained among Whites and the importance of race relations in the current social milieu. In order to understand the White experience as a distinct identity, many scholars, particularly in sociology and cultural studies, have called for an examination of how Whiteness shapes social life. The field is still incipient, but a few clear concepts and themes have emerged in recent years. It is important to note that theorizing and deconstructing Whiteness has not been completely neglected in critical race theory.

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Notes and References

1. Entry about Critical White Studies in the Encyclopedia of Race and Crime

See Also

Media Portrayals of White Americans in relation to Crime and Race

Media Portrayals of White Americans is included in the Encyclopedia of Race and Crime (1), beginning with: The media exert a significant influence on Americans in the 21st century, since many people rely on the media as their primary source of information about issues and people with whom they have little direct contact. In one form or another, whether television shows, news reports, movies, or magazine and newspaper articles, the media affect and influence virtually everyone. This influence extends to public perceptions of race and crime. In general, the media portray White Americans in proportion to their share of the total U.S. population, except in crime-based reality shows, where research shows that Whites are depicted as suspects significantly less often than they are in fact criminal suspects. This section describes portrayals of White Americans in various types of media, including television network news and crime shows, movies, magazines, and newspapers. Numerous scholars have examined the portrayal of Whites in the news media.

Resources

Notes and References

1. Entry about Media Portrayals of White Americans in the Encyclopedia of Race and Crime

See Also

White Victimization in relation to Crime and Race

White Victimization is included in the Encyclopedia of Race and Crime (1), beginning with: Members of all races have been victims of crime in the United States. However, disproportionate attention and societal concern are often invested in crimes against Whites. The socially constructed image of the White victim and disproportionate attention to crimes against Whites are often incongruous with the statistical realities of race and criminal victimization. Take, for example, the social construction of the child abduction victim. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that it is a dramatic microcosm of the racial imbalance in mainstream America’s perspective on crime and race. In the past quarter-century, numerous policies that memorialize famous victims have been enacted in response to horrific crimes against children. Among these are the Missing Children Act (Etan Patz and Adam Walsh), sex offender registration requirements (Jacob Wetter ling and Megan Kanka), habitual offender laws (Polly Klaas), and the AMBER Alert system (Amber Hagerman).

Resources

Notes and References

1. Entry about White Victimization in the Encyclopedia of Race and Crime

See Also