Internalized Oppression

This past Thursday, my Introduction to LGBT Studies students had to read the following:

Blasingame, Brenda Marie. “The Roots of Biphobia: Racism and Internalized Heterosexism.” Closer to Home: Bisexuality and Feminism. Ed. Elizabeth Reba Weise. Seattle: Seal Press, 1992. 47-53.

Blumstein, Philip W. and Pepper Schwartz. “Bisexuality: Some Social Psychological Issues.” Psychological Perspectives on Lesbian and Gay Male Experiences. Ed. Linda D. Garnets and Douglas C. Kimmel. New York: Columbia University Press, 1993. 168-183.

Green, Jamison. "Letting Go of Shame." Becoming a Visible Man. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 2004.

While broadly the theme for the day's reading had to do with the tensions within queer communities related to bisexuality and transgenderism, class discussion focused more specifically on the issue of internalized oppression.

Blasingame says the following about internalized oppression:

When we experience oppression, we begin to internalize what has been said about us, just as young children who are emotionally abused begin to believe the bad things that are said about them. When this phenomenon takes place, we begin to act out our pain from the external oppression within our own communities. (48)

She goes on to argue about the dangerous effect of horizontal hostility ["lashing out within our own group" (48)] that comes as a result of internalized oppression.

While it is certainly important to consider the ill effects on community and coalition building that internalized oppression has, I'm struck, too, by the damaging potential that we do to our own selves at the service of internalized oppression.

I'm still learning how to get out of my own way...