Part 2: What colonization did to the African and marginalized group’s psyche – Internalized Oppression

Between the years of 1997 to 2002, I went to an all-girls boarding school in Cameroon made up of 98% black girls, I mean brown-skinned-Wakanda-looking African girls. We had a few girls of mixed raced (a white and a black parent) similar complexion to Trevor Noah, hence the 98% instead of a 100%. Every year, we would have what is comparable to what Americans call their yearbook. However, the main purpose of these books wasn’t to have everyone’s picture in them (even though they did have some pictures). Rather it was to share our experiences, stories, quotes, meaningful expressions, and aspirations for the future. I remember there being a section that took a survey asking a few girls what their dream guy looked like. I was stunned by people’s responses including descriptions of guys with light skin and blue eyes. None of us had blue eyes, I’m serious NONE!

It also reminded me of other instances when many of the girls would make such noise about how “hot” the guys of mixed race were. We called them “métis” guys. I always wondered why they were the fine ones. In fact, at some point I was outraged that girls were going so crazy about them because I didn’t see the big deal about lighter skin.

Now as an adult, I get it! My classmates along with many other dark-skinned men and women experienced one form of internalized oppression. I also recognize that I have held (and still do if I am being honest) internalized oppressive beliefs about myself and others in many ways that I wasn’t aware of until the last decade of my life. Read my previous post to see how people all around the world experience this as well.

What is internalized oppression?

Internalize oppression is when an individual of an oppressed or marginalized group lives and acts out misconceptions, stereotypes, and negative perceptions society communicates about their own group. In other words, one has been fed so many harmful beliefs about their own group that they believe this is the truth. Thus, a few things could happen:

They believe they cannot be or do anything more than what has already been stated about them
They do everything possible to change themselves or their actions so they can blend in with the non-oppressed group, yet hold negative perceptions about their own group
They separate themselves from or look down on people from their own group

These can manifest in self-hatred and learned helplessness among other things. Skin-bleaching is a perfect example of self-hatred and is rampant in many African countries (although not only Africa but also India and other countries with darker skin-tones). Another example is hair-straightening and hair relaxing. I know this topic can be controversial, but it is important to note that hair relaxing and hair straightening in the black community was popularized from the idea of changing naturally “kinky” or “curly” hair to make it look like what was deemed more “beautiful” and “manageable” according to White standards of beauty. Today, people straighten their hair for different reasons including wanting stylistic variety, but there is a history behind its origin.

Internalized oppression goes beyond physical appearance and can show up in various ways including the belief one holds about their intellectual achievement and professional performance, their thoughts and perceptions about their ethnic or cultural group, and how or with whom they choose to socialize.

If you are wondering if you have internalized oppression, ask yourself these questions:

Do you believe you won’t succeed, hence give up on trying or pursuing your dreams?
Do you hold back from speaking up in meetings because you don’t think your contribution is important even when you have valuable insight into a problem?
Do you feel that you should not build relationships with people outside your own culture because you are afraid people won’t want to be friends with you due to your accent or some aspect of your background?
Do you shy away from being in leadership positions (even when you have the qualifications) because you believe you don’t have the capabilities, or you think your style is too different from typical leadership models?
Have you been in communities where a black or minority student is made fun of for working hard in school and getting good grades?
Have you discouraged an individual from a minority group from taking on a leadership role, pursuing a big idea, or excelling in a noticeable way because you fear that they won’t be able to accomplish it based on their minority status?

I’m sure you are beginning to get the idea. These are just a few examples. Comment below with more examples you can think of.

Marya Axner, author of this great article on internal oppression says “Internalized oppression is not the fault of people whom it affects. No one should be blamed or blame themselves for having been affected by discrimination.”

In other words, it is much bigger than you, remember what I wrote here about the systemic issues. Nevertheless, Marya says and I quote:

Internalize oppression holds people back from thinking well of themselves, from living full lives, and from standing up against injustice. It can be the source of physical or mental illness and self-destructive behavior. Internalized oppression can serve to divide people within the same group, so they are not as effective in supporting each other and standing together for change. It can also cause people to be suspicious of those outside their own group, making it difficult to build alliances.

As much as it is not our fault, its effects are real and detrimental to our well-being and that of our communities.

What can we do about internalize oppression?

Rather than hating each other, we need to remember that we are all in this together. I love my light-skinned, brown-skinned, hair relaxing, natural hair-wearing sisters and brothers.

The goal of this post is not to condemn anyone, instead it is to highlight how we all got here in the first place. We were intentionally made to believe that we are not good enough, our intellect, our hair, our skin, our being, etc. Thus, we have been trying ever since to reclaim ourselves while still looking up to others to save us. But it is time to regain our self-worth and recognize the beauty that God created us to be just the way we are.

Since the 1800s till today, I believe we, as marginalized individuals and groups are already breaking the chains of oppression, recognizing our worth, learning to love ourselves and each other, and build partnerships together. It only gets better from here. Look out for my last post in this series next week. I will provide some suggestions on what we can continue to do to heal from our past and face the future more confidently.

Comment below with more examples of internalized oppression that you recognize in your communities.