Abstract

This paper undertakes an intersectional analysis of the ways in which socio-economically elite higher education students in Chile reproduce privilege through everyday practices of whiteness and beauty. Drawing on qualitative data from interviews and observations with 20 privileged students at an elite Chilean university, the paper identifies and discusses the students’ ambiguous racial identifications and the racialized, classed and gendered ways in which privilege was enacted through practices of ‘beauty’ as a ‘natural’ embodied distinction. We discuss how ideals and practices of beauty were a ‘double edged sword’ for elite female students, conferring advantage while also denying academic authenticity. We argue that Chilean elite performances of whiteness offer an added layer of complexity to existing literature, problematising and decentring performances of whiteness from white bodies. We conclude by suggesting that an intersectional lens offers a useful way to understand and address the re/production of inequalities in Chilean elite universities.

摘要

本文对智利社会经济精英高等教育学生通过日常白与美的实践再现特权的方式进行了交叉分析。本文利用智利一所精英大学对 20 名特权学生的访谈和观察得出的定性数据，确定并讨论了学生模棱两可的种族认同，以及通过将“美”作为一种“美”的实践来实现特权的种族化、阶级化和性别化方式。 “自然”体现了区别。我们讨论了美丽的理想和实践如何成为精英女学生的“双刃剑”，在赋予优势的同时否认学术真实性。我们认为智利精英对白人的表现为现有文献增加了一层复杂性，对白人身体的白人表现进行问题化和去中心化。最后，我们建议交叉镜头提供了一种有用的方式来理解和解决智利精英大学中不平等现象的再/生产。