Internalized Oppression Introduction: Define and describe Internalized oppression is when a member of an exploited group internalizes stereotypes and misinformation against their group. Internalized oppression differs from culture to culture, as every society has a unique standard. For example, if a black person lives within a society where white people are treated better, the black person may internalize the belief that black people do not deserve to be treated fairly. On the contrary, white people can feel the same way living within a culture where they are treated less fairly. Not all members of a minority experience this issue, as it is caused due to the beliefs of those around them. To illustrate, compare two members of the LGBGTQ+ community. …show more content…
Discrimination can manifest itself within people with internalised oppression by causing said individuals to oppress those in their own community. For example, it is common for women in Western society to act like they are “different” from other women by taking an interest within traditionally masculine mannerisms, and making fun of feminine activities. Those women hold the belief that being more traditionally feminine is wrong, and bring down women who wish to be feminine. Discrimination leads to several other social issues, such as isolation and bullying. People may bully others within their own community due to internalized oppression, just how they may discriminate against others like them. They may also lash out at others and bully them to gain a sense of control in their lives due to being a victim of internalized oppression. Those who are discriminated against may feel scared to interact with others, and isolate themselves from their …show more content…
People with internalized oppression often underestimate thmesleves and do not believe they are capable of doing certain tasks because society has told them they cannot. In a study, a group of women were split into three groups. One group had to answer questions that indicated that they were women, one group has to identify themselves as living in the Northeastern U.S, and the final group had to answer questions that identified them as elite students at a private school. The women then had to write a test. This test is often cited as proof that men are better at women than math.The women who identified themselves as attending an elite college did exponentially better the other groups on a test, and also better than the majority of men who have taken the test. This proves that internalized oppression leads people to believe they are not