Internalized Oppression in the U.S. is Hard to Change, but Never Impossible
by: Zuhey Coria Lopez

        Historically in the United States, whites have always had more privileges than people of color. These privileges include higher position jobs, better education, and health care assistance. These unfair privileges cause people of color to see white skin as preferable and having more advantages. Even light-skinned people of color are often given more advantages than dark skinned people. They are given better education and they earn more money. This type of racism causes white people to be privileged and people of color to be unprivileged. Racism leads to internalized oppression because instead of appreciating who they are, people of color desire to look, act, and feel like white people which they are not. People of color who desire to be privileged and live a better life are pressured to look light skinned. If people of color had privileges equal to those of white people, being “white” wouldn't be desirable and people of color would accept themselves regardless of their skin tone.

        The white privileges against people of color has caused a history of internalized oppression. People of color who were light skinned had more privileges than dark skinned people. The lighter African Americans and Mexican Americans were, the better opportunities they were able to gain. Such opportunities included higher educational standards and higher positions in jobs. However, people of color who were darker had disadvantages. They did not finish high school because they had to work hard for low pay in order to survive and support their family. In the article Light, Bright, and Almost White, Margaret Hunter discusses different privileges that were given to white people and light skinned people. In the article Hunter states, “Lighter skinned African Americans earn more money and complete more years of education than do darker skinned African Americans and lighter skinned Mexican Americans maintain similar advantages over darker skinned Mexican Americans” (Hunter 102). According to Hunter, light-skinned minorities are considered white. She states that African Americans and Mexican Americans with lighter skin tone have the opportunity to take advantage of privileges that darker people of color cannot receive because of their appearance. If society in the U.S. did not focus so much on skin tone, people of color as well as white people would receive the same opportunities in terms of education and jobs. This oppression led to internalized oppression because it caused many to want to look white.

        According to two researchers Kenneth and Mamie Clark, most African Americans preferred to be white. Both Kenneth and Mamie perform a research on both African American children and on adults. Based on this research, Kenneth and Mamie state, “That black children preferred white dolls and pictures of white children to black dolls and pictures of black children (Clark and Clark 1940; Clark and Clark 1950)… Hill (2002b) showed that black interviewer evaluations of black respondents' attractiveness were highly correlated with lighter skin tone for women, and moderately for men.” At such a young age, African American children have a mentality that white dolls are more beautiful and preferable than black dolls. However, it is not necessarily just their fault because most toys stores tend to sell lighter skinned dolls than dark ones. On the other hand, African Americans prefer white women because society views them as better. Since society sees white as better, citizens try to talk and affiliate with white women.

        Higher class Mexicans with lighter tones also receive better opportunities and privileges than those who are dark. Light skinned Mexicans receive their citizenship more easily as opposed to darker Mexicans who did not have the same rights. Hunter wrote, “Anglos were more willing to grant citizenship to light skinned wealthy, land-owning Mexican people than they were the darker skinned disadvantaged class” (Hunter 105). Higher class Mexicans were able to take advantage of such opportunities that lower class people could not possess. Because of oppression, darker Mexicans have a difficult time earning citizenship. Even within their own ethnicities, people of color are being depicted and separated into categories. Since people of color desire to look light skinned, they focus on changing themselves rather than loving themselves for who they are.

        Light skin is considered beautiful and as the best way to look because white people had more power than people of color and were seen as the best. White people were seen as the ones who did not commit crimes. Hunter believes “Light skin is described as more “beautiful” both inside and outside of the African American and Mexican American communities.” (Hunter 102) The advantage for light skinned minorities caused them to act or want to be white in order to receive privileges. However, because society views white as being the best, this leads to internalized oppression. Dark skinned women are not satisfied with the way they look. Instead of women living a normal life and appreciating themselves for what they have and look, they worry about their exterior. Since everyone wants to look beautiful, people of color are willing to change themselves in order to look better.

        In the article White Privilege and Male Privilege, Peggy McIntosh describes that people who have the opportunity to use privileges against people of color are light skinned and white people. Since most white people are stabilized in the higher-class range, society views them as the ones who do not commit any crimes and therefore have control of certain privileges; which include higher wages and higher education. According to McIntosh, “White privilege is like an invisible weightless knapsack of special provisions, assurances, tools, maps, guides, codebooks, passports, visas, clothes, compass, emergency gear, and blank checks” (McIntosh 137). Unfortunately, light skinned and white people take control of those privileges by using them against people of color in a negative way. For instance, white people hire people of color and pay them a low wage. Light skinned people and white people do not take advantages of people of color on purpose. If society was not divided into low, middle and high class than everyone would be equal. Therefore, if people of different ethnicities were treated the same, everyone would have the privilege to receive the same opportunities.

        I believe that people should be open-minded by expressing themselves about any negative situation they confront. Both Hunter and McIntosh express their opinions about the negative effects of privileges leading to internalized oppression. Even though you may have never gone through the same experiences as both of the authors, let everything out and let others know about your feelings. People may think that by others knowing his or her side of the story may not make a change. But by expressing people's thinking and beliefs, people are becoming aware from where they're coming from. Individual's actions will eliminate racism, oppression, and internalized oppression and the U.S. will gain major improvements towards abolishing racism. People should be strong and use their knowledge to educate U.S. citizens about the problems that people of color are confronting.

        Fixing internalized oppression is never easy but not impossible to accomplish. It takes time and effort from citizens to assimilate and change the way they think and act towards race. If writers, the media, and teachers continue to inform Americans about the effects of internalized oppression that we are confronting, then our society will be more educated about it, and they will know how to handle the situation better. It is in your hands to work with others as a community to eliminate internalized oppression so Americans can be free to dress, act, and think in their own positive ways. All it takes is time to see a change in our community. But everything depends on you to take action and eliminate internalized oppression. I know it's going to be tough, but I know that together we can make a change.

Works Cited

Clark, Kenneth B. Prejudice and Your Child . Wesleyan UP, 1988.

Hunter, Margaret. "Light, Bright, and Almost White." Skin Deep How Race and Complexion Matter in the "Color-Blind" Era . Detroit: Inst Research on Race & Public Policy, 2003. 22-44.

McIntosh, Peggy. "White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences' Through Work in Women's Studies'"