Internalized Oppression
Contents |
Descriptions, definitions, synonyms, organizer terms, types of
External oppression is the unjust exercise of authority and power by one group over another. It includes imposing one group's belief system, values and life ways over another group.
External oppression becomes internalized oppression when we come to believe and act as if the oppressor's beliefs system, values, and life way is reality.
"Self-hate" and "internalized racism" are other ways of saying internalized oppression.
The result of internalized oppression is shame and the disowning of our individual and cultural reality. Without internalized oppression, we would not now have previously unseen levels of violence, especially against women and children.
Drunkenness, disrespect for God, fighting, cussing and disrespect for women were "foreign" behaviors modeled by the Cavalry, and eventually worked their way into our communities through internalized oppression.
Internalized oppression means the oppressor doesn't have to exert any more pressure, because we now do it to ourselves and each other. Divide and conquer works.
Women's Rural Advocacy Program http://www.letswrap.com/nadvinfo/internal.htm]
As I read this selection, I find that there is much wisdom depicted here. I am also asking myself how this view can be utilized to make schools a place in which children do not internalize oppression. Teachers in these settings are uurged to have children follow the rules. Often times when this is not done to a specified degree, consequences follow. How can we then have an organized institution without being oppressive both to the teachers as well as the students? B. Orenic==Application in classrooms and similar settings==
Examples of Internalized Oppression "If she'd just stay home/clean the house/be quiet, he wouldn't hit her."
"Women need to know their place. Men have to tune 'em once in a while to remind them."
"She was yelling at him/flirting with some guy/didn't clean the house. What did she expect?"
She's an adult; she makes her own choices...we have to do something for the kids."
"Children need a father. Fathers have rights, too. He hit her, not the kids, right?"
"Nobody wants to be with a mouthy woman."
"She needs to stand up for herself/quit being a victim/be a better mother."
"Men are threatened by all this women's lib stuff."
"Men are naturally jealous and aggressive."
"It's just another domestic/family fight."
"Traditional Indian women are subservient and quiet."
"Geez, she's asking for help again./She just wants to vacation at the shelter./Just manipulates the system."
"If she won't help herself, why should we?"
"Damn advocate's back! They're just a bunch of man-hating, lesbian control freaks!"
Evidence of effectiveness
I propose that we commit ourselves to the following six-point program:
Point One
To devote significant effort to understanding, adding to, and refining the RC theory of internalized oppression to make this theory as accurate and as workable as possible. We should seek out all information that is relevant to our thinking in this area.
We can do this by devoting sessions to discharging on the theory in its present form and on any patterns that may keep us from thinking about this theory. We can devote time in classes and support groups to "think and listens" and to discussions on the theory of internalized oppressions.
Point Two
Each individual commit herself or himself to learning to identify and recognize patterns of internalized racism in him- or herself and in others. Create ways of reminding ourselves to suspect patterns of internalized racism in all relationships and interactions with others that are not working well and are not characterized by understanding, cooperation, clear thinking, and safety.
Point Three
Focus the discharge and re-evaluation process on all experiences of internalized racism in our sessions, classes, support groups, and workshops. Develop increasingly effective ways of counseling on memories of internalized racism, incidents in which we have been victims of the patterns of other blacks, or incidents in which our own patterns have been the vehicle of oppression of other blacks or other oppressed peoples. (Perhaps it is better to work first on the distress itself in sessions and classes and only then try to think about theory, policy, and improved techniques.)
We can begin by asking some of these questions in our sessions:
What has been good about being black?
What makes me proud of being black?
What are black people really like?
What has been difficult about being black?
What do I want other black people to know about me?
How have I been hurt by my own people? (be specific)
When do I remember standing up against the mistreatment of one black person by another?
When do I remember being strongly supported by another black person?
When do I remember that another black person (unrelated) really stood up for me?
When do I remember acting on some feeling of internalized oppression or racism?
When do I remember resisting and refusing to act on this basis?
Point Four
Commit ourselves to setting correct directions against and taking bold actions that forcefully contradict patterns of internalized oppression and powerlessness in all parts of our lives and discharging on the feelings that these directions and actions bring to light.
Point Five
Continuously and fully share the information, knowledge, and experience we collect through these actions with each other through Black Re-emergence and at our various gatherings.
Point Six
Translate our progress into effective liberation activities in the wide world.
Let us agree to stop being the victims of internalized racism. Let us see it for what it is - nothing more than a distress pattern worn by a victim who feels powerless. There is nothing wrong with any human being (including you) except the effects of mistreatment. These can be changed now by you and your allies.
Internalized racism http://www.rc.org/publications/journals/black_reemergence/br2/br2_5_sl.html
Critics and their rationale
There are no critics of internalized oppression, only those that want to help the victims through the dark spots and stop the mistreatment by others and the processes of this viscious self doubt.
Alternative explanations due to Diversity considerations
Internalized oppression is this turning upon ourselves, upon our families, and upon our own people the distress patterns that result from the racism and oppression of the majority society. As part of our liberation work, we know that we must seek out and direct the attention of ourselves and the world to the strength, intelligence, greatness, power, and success of our people and our culture. We must also constantly seek and root out those features of our present cultures that have been imposed by responses to racism and that keep us trapped in that oppression today.
Internalized racism http://www.rc.org/publications/journals/black_reemergence/br2/br2_5_sl.html
This oppression can be seen in children and adults alike. Internal Oppression does not stop based on the age of the victim be it young or old. It is a case of self daoubt or self abuse based on the person sense of self worth or self value. This question of self value or self worth can be cause by the way the victim is treated by family, teachers, other students or any other person they come in contact with.
Signed �?life experiences�?, testimonies and stories
What are some of the ways patterns of internalized racism operate among us?
Individual Relations
Patterns of internalized oppression cause us to dramatize our feelings of rage, fear, indignation, frustration, and powerlessness at each other - at other black people - often those closest to us.
Our Children
We invalidate our children with fierce criticism and fault-finding, intending to "straighten them out" but, in the process, destroying their self-confidence.
Group Effort
Patterns of internalized racism cause us adults to find fault, criticize, and invalidate each other. This invariably happens when we come together in a group to address some important problem or undertake some liberation project. What follows is divisiveness and disunity leading to despair and abandonment of the effort.
Leadership
Patterns of internalized oppression cause us to attack, criticize, or have unrealistic expectations of any one of us who has the courage to step forward and take on leadership responsibilities. This leads to a lack of the support that is absolutely necessary for effective leadership to emerge and group strength to grow. It also leads directly to the "burn out" phenomenon we have all witnessed in, or experienced as, effective black leaders.
Isolation From Other Blacks
Patterns of internalized racism have caused us to be deeply hurt by our brothers and sisters. We often develop defensive patterns of fear, mistrust, withdrawal, and isolation from other blacks. On top of this we sometimes feel ashamed of our fear of our own people.
The isolation which results from internalized oppression can become so severe that a black person may feel safer with and more trustful of white people than of blacks. This is an illusion, a confusion, created by the pattern, but an individual may accept living inside this pattern because it feels "comfortable" and therefore "workable." Clear thinking tells us, however, that this is not a good enough solution. No black person's re-emergence will be achieved unless he or she faces and dissolves the isolation from her or his own people.
I can be sure that any time I feel intolerant of, irritated by, impatient with, embarrassed by, ashamed of, "not as black as," "blacker than," better than, not as good as, fearful of, not safe with, isolated from, mistrustful of, not cared about by, unable to support, or not supported by another black person, some pattern of internalized racism is at work. Any time I take action or do not take action on the basis of any of these feelings, I am giving in to a pattern of internalized oppression, racism, and powerlessness. For example, if I do not ask for, demand, and organize support for myself from my black brothers and sisters, I am strengthening the stranglehold of oppression on us all. Similarly, if I do not forcefully persist in offering and giving my support (even risking my own feelings) to another black person in the grip of some distress pattern, I am buying into my own powerlessness and oppression.
Internalized Stereotypes
Patterns of internalized racism have caused us to accept many of the stereotypes of blacks created by the oppressive majority society. We have been taught to be angry at, ashamed of, anything that differs too much from a mythical ideal of the middle class of the majority culture - skin that is "too dark," hair that is "too kinky," dress, talk, and music that is "too loud."
Narrowing of Our Black Culture
Internalized oppression leads us to accept a narrow and limiting view of what is "authentic" black culture and behavior. Blacks have been ridiculed, humiliated, attacked, and isolated because they excelled in school; because they did or did not talk in a particular way; because they liked classical or folk music; because they did not dance; because they did not play basketball; and in many other ways have been told that they were not legitimately "black enough," or are "trying to be white," etc. All of these hurts were served up and accepted by human beings wearing restimulated patterns of internalized racism.
Mistrusting Our Thinking
Institutionalized racism and the internalized racism which results from it have given rise to patterns which cause us to mistrust our own thinking. We carry around doubts about our own and other black people's ability to think well. Even when we do have confidence in our own thinking we are often prevented from putting this thinking into action by the racist and oppressive structures and practices of the society.
Needing to Feel Good Right Now
The patterns of powerlessness and despair that result from this "impossible" situation give rise to still another pattern common among us, which I will call the "feel good now" pattern. The pattern says, "Since I do not know what to do (the 'I can't think good' pattern), or knowing what to do, I am prevented from doing it by the racism around me, and since any black effort is doomed to failure in the long run (patterns of powerlessness and despair), I must settle for making myself feel good right now. At least I deserve that much." Drugs, alcohol, and other addictions; compulsive and hurtful sexual behaviors; flashy consumerism; irrational use of money; all kinds of elaborate street rituals, games, posturing and pretenses that waste our energies - these are all directly related to patterns of internalized racism and oppression.
Learning and Long-Range Goals
Learning and thinking are powerfully affected by internalized oppression. Here real, objective racism, internalized racism, and deep feelings of powerlessness combine to make it very difficult to commit ourselves to flexible thinking all the time, or to correct action toward long-range goals, or to efforts with delayed rewards. Prevented by society from acting on our correct thinking - and we often do see clearly what is wrong and what needs to be done - we are limited to acting on our feelings. It would be hard to find a more effective way of keeping us powerless and ineffective towards our own liberation.
Survival
Internalized oppression is a major factor in the perpetuation of so-called "getting by" or "survival" behaviors. Some of these behaviors were developed in the slavery era of our oppression as a necessary response to acute problems of survival in that situation. Learning to silently withstand humiliation by practicing on one another is an example - e.g., playing "the dozens." The development of "happy" or "clowning" or "shuffling" or "ignorant" patterns are other examples. In order to "survive" we have learned also not to show or share our feelings ("cool" patterns) or to disguise them ("tough" patterns) - particularly feelings of tenderness, love, and zest.
Because we have been the victims of attack, humiliation, and exploitation, the restimulated patterns draw us to play out these behaviors on others and to feel that we must do so in order to survive, or at least to prevent ourselves from again being the victim of the pattern.
Such patterns no longer serve our interests or our liberation; but just as the pattern of oppression continues to operate even when it no longer serves the exploitative purposes for which it was originally installed and perpetuated, so, too, our "pseudo-survival" patterns have a momentum of their own and remain in force long after they have ceased to serve any useful purpose for us.
We can no longer allow ourselves to settle for survival. Survival is not enough. To accept these "pseudo-survival" behaviors or call them part of black culture, is giving in to the worst kind of internalized racism and powerlessness.
Other Oppressions and Divisiveness
The workings of distress patterns have caused us to introduce, tolerate, proliferate, and internalize within our black sub-culture other oppressions such as classism, sexism, anti-Semitism, the oppression of young people, and the oppression of other oppressed groups. This has only created further disunity and divisiveness among black men and women and young persons and persons who appear to be of different classes. (In fact, almost all black people are of the working class, although this reality may be obscured from both themselves and other blacks.) Unity and pooling of the power among blacks, and between blacks and other oppressed groups, is thus effectively prevented.
These are some, but by no means all, of the common manifestations of internalized racism among black people. It is probable that each black person in the United States has experienced at least one of these distress patterns but always in some individual, unique way. Each of us has been individually oppressed and participated in internalizing and experiencing this oppression in individual ways.
Although the effects of these patterns have been devastating to our people, we need not despair. We have achieved a major beginning victory against them. We have realized that these terrible feelings and the destructive behaviors that result from them are only patterns - patterns of distress imposed on us from the outside! We know that these can be destroyed by systematic and committed discharge and re-evaluation. These destructive patterns can be replaced by a reality of rationality, love, power, and unity among all blacks and all oppressed peoples.
The perpetuation of internalized distress patterns is the only thing that stands in the way of our coming together and taking the lead in ending all racism, oppression, and exploitation. Knowing this can be done, only patterns of despair and powerlessness stand in the way of our acting on this certain knowledge.
Internalized racism http://www.rc.org/publications/journals/black_reemergence/br2/br2_5_sl.html
Questions
I'm curious if internalized oppression is always gender-related, as the examples seem to outline. I can imagine something similar to poorly treated kids. I also would be curious to know about what theorists/psychologists/researchers examine internalized oppression, and whose views are being presented here.
References and other links of interest
Women's Rural Advocacy Program http://www.letswrap.com/nadvinfo/internal.htm]
Internalized racism http://www.rc.org/publications/journals/black_reemergence/br2/br2_5_sl.html
