WMNS 1103 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Institutional Racism, Can We Talk, Internalized Oppression

• School: Northeastern University
• Department: Women's/Gender/Sexualty Stdies
• Course: WMNS 1103
• Professor: Moya Bailey

Document Summary

There is still a great deal of social segregation in our communities. Consequently, most of the early information we receive about "others"- people racially, religiously, or socioeconomically different from ourselves-does not come as the result of firsthand experience. The secondhand information we do receive has often been distorted, shaped by cultural stereotypes, and left incomplete. Stereotypes, omissions, and distortions all contribute to the development of prejudice. Prejudice is one of the inescapable consequences of living in a racist society. Even a member of the stereotyped group may internalize the stereotypical categories about his or her own group to some degree. In fact, this process happens so frequently that it has a name, internalized oppression. Unless we engage conscious acts of reflection and reeducation, we easily repeat the process with our children. Limiting our understanding of racism to prejudice does not offer a sufficient explanation for the persistence of racism.