White Skin and White Masquerades: The Performativity of “Whiteness” at Trinity College

Abstract

Trinity College has gained a reputation as a predominantly white elite institution over its years at the University of Toronto. Using both personal accounts from a member of the college, as well as participant observation based on three months of research, this essay attempts to understand how the college maintains its legacy as a white institution despite its existence in a supposedly multicultural university environment. Drawing upon Judith Butler's theory of performativity, the essay describes how "whiteness" is constructed through a reiteration of acts rather than on race or colour in the context of Trinity College.