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White Bound: Nationalists, Antiracists, and the Shared Meanings of Race
Discussions of race are inevitably fraught with tension, both in opinion and positioning. Too frequently, debates are framed as clear points of opposition—us versus them. And when considering white racial identity, a split between progressive movements and a neoconservative backlash is all too frequently assumed. Taken at face value, it would seem that whites are splintering into antagonistic groups, with differing worldviews, values, and ideological stances.
White Bound investigates these dividing lines, questioning the very notion of a fracturing whiteness, and in so doing offers a unique view of white racial identity. Matthew Hughey spent over a year attending the meetings, reading the literature, and interviewing members of two white organizations—a white nationalist group and a white antiracist group. Though he found immediate political differences, he observed surprising similarities. Both groups make meaning of whiteness through a reliance on similar racist and reactionary stories and worldviews.
On the whole, this book puts abstract beliefs and theoretical projection about the supposed fracturing of whiteness into relief against the realities of two groups never before directly compared with this much breadth and depth. By examining the similarities and differences between seemingly antithetical white groups, we see not just the many ways of being white, but how these actors make meaning of whiteness in ways that collectively reproduce both white identity and, ultimately, white supremacy.
White Bound investigates these dividing lines, questioning the very notion of a fracturing whiteness, and in so doing offers a unique view of white racial identity. Matthew Hughey spent over a year attending the meetings, reading the literature, and interviewing members of two white organizations—a white nationalist group and a white antiracist group. Though he found immediate political differences, he observed surprising similarities. Both groups make meaning of whiteness through a reliance on similar racist and reactionary stories and worldviews.
On the whole, this book puts abstract beliefs and theoretical projection about the supposed fracturing of whiteness into relief against the realities of two groups never before directly compared with this much breadth and depth. By examining the similarities and differences between seemingly antithetical white groups, we see not just the many ways of being white, but how these actors make meaning of whiteness in ways that collectively reproduce both white identity and, ultimately, white supremacy.
298 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 6, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 18, 2021
Well this is confronting and in a good way. I’m not clear on sociological methodology so can’t say much about that and certainly the way he got his evidence is quirky for a historian. But letting us know how even those of us who consider ourselves anti-racist still define whiteness in terms of superiority is vital. Very confronting. I do think this message has gotten out a bit more, but many of the stories he tells about the condescension and constant thinking about whiteness and centering it—these were really important to me.
October 10, 2012
A really good book looking at the creation and upholding of white identity through the eyes of a sociologist who spent a year with a white nationalist group and a white antiracist group. The commonalities between the groups are scary and eye-opening. It definitely got me thinking about how I uphold whiteness. Thought provoking. Hughey did a great job using content analysis and ethnography to get the data he needed. A really solid piece of writing and sociology. Engaging, never dry, with solid conclusions and intriguing methodology. I recommend.
September 25, 2020
Asserting that there's no difference between racist white nationalists and white antiracists is a tough sell, except UConn Prof of Sociology Matthew Hughey pulls it off!
May 8, 2023
Read this book for my ANTH 1010 class. It's very interesting, and definitely changed the way I view racism and race discussion, but I was disappointed at the way the author's objectivity broke down partway through. As an ethnography of the two groups it's fascinating and thought provoking, but not my favorite ever.
December 9, 2022
Finally a book on race relations that explores both extreme sides equally. Definitely highlighted some key points.
February 14, 2017
This book offered a fascinating look at how white nationalists and white antiracists conceptualize white racial identity in relation to other races. What may be shocking to most people is that Hughey found that the groups showed a lot of similarities, from the strategies they used to their views of people of color, despite having such utterly polar opposite goals. I imagine that may be difficult for people on both ends of the political spectrum to accept.
Hughey outlines how both the white nationalists and antiracists had shared perceptions of nonwhites as having dysfunctional pathologies, claimed victimization, framed themselves as white saviors, used relationships with nonwhites as a form of capital in order to prove that they were knowledgeable about other races and nonracist, and had feelings of entitlement to racialized knowledge, with palpable frustration at feeling excluded and frequent dismissal of those things they didn’t understand as unimportant. In short, both groups, even the antiracists, who desired multiculturalism and the dismantling of white privilege, still held stereotypical and racist views of minority groups and feelings of white superiority, although the antiracists’ views were tinged with pity.
Hughey does warn about the generalizability of these findings; while this ethnography is excellent for understanding these processes and patterns of thought, the two groups participating in this study may not be representative of whites in general. Indeed, they do tend to occupy two extremes. At the same time, it is certainly eye-opening to realize that two such disparate groups are, as Hughey puts it, two sides of the same coin.
Hughey outlines how both the white nationalists and antiracists had shared perceptions of nonwhites as having dysfunctional pathologies, claimed victimization, framed themselves as white saviors, used relationships with nonwhites as a form of capital in order to prove that they were knowledgeable about other races and nonracist, and had feelings of entitlement to racialized knowledge, with palpable frustration at feeling excluded and frequent dismissal of those things they didn’t understand as unimportant. In short, both groups, even the antiracists, who desired multiculturalism and the dismantling of white privilege, still held stereotypical and racist views of minority groups and feelings of white superiority, although the antiracists’ views were tinged with pity.
Hughey does warn about the generalizability of these findings; while this ethnography is excellent for understanding these processes and patterns of thought, the two groups participating in this study may not be representative of whites in general. Indeed, they do tend to occupy two extremes. At the same time, it is certainly eye-opening to realize that two such disparate groups are, as Hughey puts it, two sides of the same coin.
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February 10, 2018I had to read this book in spring of 2013 for a class that the author was teaching. I had to read it at a breakneck speed that I didn't retain what it said. Luckily I had read it and didn't get kicked out of class one day. So I decided to reread it. I will say that now after I have the time to read and digest what was written I will say that it was a fascinating read. I would like to see this field observation preformed again now that Trump has been elected to see what has changed and what is different.
March 19, 2013
An interesting book that I recommend to read if you want to learn more on Whiteness studies as well as challenge your mind with an intruiging thesis.
A big disadvantage is the secrecy around the nationalist and the antiracist group the author studies, as well as the members of each group.
Without any interview transcripts or recordings and the people's disclosed identities,the data introduced remains ambivalent.
A big disadvantage is the secrecy around the nationalist and the antiracist group the author studies, as well as the members of each group.
Without any interview transcripts or recordings and the people's disclosed identities,the data introduced remains ambivalent.
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January 3, 2024This book is painful yet very important. Must read for Race scholars (and anyone).
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews