Rothenberg tells about growing up female in New York City in the 50s and 60s, years when racial and sexual prejudice were the norm. . . . The stories—especially concerning her parents—are moving.”—Washington Post Book World
“Rothenberg unflinchingly uses her own life to teach about the personal, political dangers of accepting the role of exception.”—The Women’s Review of Books
"Rothenberg writes with refreshing candor: in one vignette, for example, she acknowledges that her family ties gave her the financial wherewithal to buy a home. She argues convincingly that a decision to ‘teach tolerance’ in response to the sometimes hostile relations between college students ignores ‘the real differences in power and opportunity’ that originally caused the divisions. And her criticism of the ways well-intentioned liberals ‘jealously guard’ privilege for their own children is often potent. . . "—Publishers Weekly
"A very readable account of one woman’s thoughtful reflections on her life experiences through the lens of race, gender, and class. Through her stories, we understand the complex intersection of oppressions and the ways in which most of us experience life in both oppressor and oppressed roles. As a woman, Rothenberg dramatizes her personal journal toward feminism and experiences of anti-Semitism. As a white and privileged woman, she shares insights into the invisible privileges she benefits from. . . . Rotheberg tells marvelous and illustrative stories . . . . Invisible Privilege models a courageous honesty and a self-reflective process that each of us can and should undertake.—Class Action
"Paula Rothenberg is one courageous woman! First, her pioneering anthology integrated multiple levels of inequality. Now, Invisible Privilege illustrates how the personal is political in its most profound sense—intimately theorized, scrupulously honest, autobiographical without becoming solipsistically self-absorbed. A work both moving and mobilizing."—Michael Kimmel, author of Manhood in America
"An unusual and amazingly useful analysis of the profound effects of ‘invisible’ privilege in a country with deep, complex, and often unacknowledged histories of gender, race, and class division. A powerful, insightful, and courageous memoir."—Chandra Talpade Mohanty, coeditor of Feminist Genealogies, Colonial Legacies, Democratic Futures
"This compelling memoir is an important contribution to the emerging field of whiteness studies. Like George Lipsitz’s The Possessive Investment in Whiteness, Rothenberg’s autobiographical account illuminates and analyzes the ways in which white privilege has functioned in her own life and how readers might begin to understand the concept of the construction of ‘whiteness’ more broadly."—Beverly Guy-Sheftall, editor of Words of Fire: An Anthology of African American Feminist Thought
"This engaging memoir unflinchingly conveys the ambiguity and paradox that are inescapable when someone who has led a life of privilege devotes her life to the critique of race, class, and gender privilege. Rothenberg draws the reader into her story and allows us to experience firsthand the excitement of political and intellectual struggles that have transformed the academic landscape. The result is a memoir that is as important for its theoretical insights as for the window it provides into history."—Tom Digby, editor of Men Doing Feminism
"Rothenberg reflectively describes her process of coming to see how dynamics of power and privilege have shaped key experiences of her life. The chapter on living in Montclair, New Jersey particularly shows how accumulated subtle inequities for some relate to substantial unearned advantage for others. A rare combination of self-reflection and systematic analysis."—Peggy McIntosh, Wellesley College Center for Research on Women
