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Internalized oppression has been the primary means by which we [Latino/as] have been forced to perpetuate and "agree" to our own oppression.1 In order to understand the many ways in which internalized oppression and racism affect subordinated communities, it is important to have a general background on these forces. Thus, this article will describe internalized oppression generally and will then describe how internalized oppression is particularly manifested in the Latino community. This will better allow the reader to comprehend why Latino/as engage in the specific types of self-destructive behavior described throughout this article.
While many negative stereotypes apply to all races and ethnicities encompassed by the term "Latino/a," this article loosely uses "Latino/a" mostly to describe Mexican-Americans, including recent immigrants. There are many reasons for this focus. I am Mexican-American and live in the border city of San Diego, so my experience and familiarity is primarily with Mexican-American and recent immigrant populations. Also, "[t]he oldest and by far the largest segment of the Latino population is, of course, the Mexican-Americans, accounting for almost two-thirds of all Latino/as."2
Working Definitions of Internalized Oppression and Racism
When someone experiences a hurt that is not healed, distress patterns emerge whereby the person engages in some type of harmful behavior.3 Internalized oppression has been described as the process by which these patterns reveal themselves. "These distress patterns, created by oppression and racism..., have been played out... in two places.... First, upon members of our own group - particularly... those over whom we have some degree of power or control... Second, upon ourselves through all manner of self-invalidation, self-doubt, isolation, fear, feelings of powerlessness and despair...."4
Thus, internalized oppression commences externally. In other words, dominant players start the chain of oppression through racist and discriminatory behavior. This behavior could range from physical violence prompted by the victim's race,5 to race-based exclusion,6 to derogatory race-based name calling and stereotyping (such as "we don't need any more wetbacks - they just take away our jobs"), together with capitalization on the fears created by those stereotypes.
Those at the receiving end of prejudice can experience physical and psychological harm, and over time, they internalize and act on negative perceptions about themselves and other members of their own group.7 How might internalized oppression...