Oppression and its damaging effects on relationships (Sociology 351, Blog #1)
With little power and the need for change, do you try to shape the world in fairness or do you accept your role in the created society? For my first blog entry, I wanted to discuss the idea of intersectionality theory and how the idea itself can create a divide and power dynamic in a relationship. There are many factors to the intersectionality theory with some being the use of oppression on others. Before we delve deep into the theory itself, I should explain what the intersectionality theory is to begin with.
As taken from my Sociology 351 class in Module 3, the intersectionality theory mainly describes how an individual’s experiences can differ from one another depending on their different identities. With many individuals having several identities they connect with, they might experience feelings of oppression or privilege compared to others (Esguerra, 2021).
A video from the Youtube channel the “Graduate school of Social Work — DU” gives a great description and overview of how privilege and oppression given to groups creates inequality and both suppresses traditions and shows how supplies for brighter futures may be given or withheld based on identities.
The key words that I see from the intersectionality theory is feelings of oppression or privilege. Just for the sake of everyone being on the same page, I feel that we should all have the same understanding of the word oppression. Taken from the scholarly article, Internalized oppression: the psychology of marginalized groups, written by E.J.R. David, the author describes oppression as when one group has an advantage of power and privilege compared to another group in the goal of maintaining the status quo (David, 2017).
In life, everyone deals with both oppression and privilege from other groups and when factors such as those are present in a relationship or even a marriage, it can create a shift or divide in the relationship. It may make individuals feel as if they have no power in their situation and that they must accept their fate. For the sake of an example, let’s look at a hypothetical couple being a white male and a dark skinned female. The main factors that contribute to intersectionality theory are the privileges and oppression present. The white male will have white privilege and have access to more opportunities compared to his partner who does not have that luxury. In this example of the relationship, the female individual may feel that she does not have the same power as her partner in the relationship. This matters most in opinions, choices, and decisions made as a couple and it could seem that her input may be glanced over or deemed as unimportant due to the factor of white privilege. With the idea of white privilege, decisions made in working with white privilege to benefit both parties seems like the goal even though it is unfair for those that do not have access to the same opportunities. The words that best describe this situation of oppression can be found from the scholarly article, The Psychology of Oppression, written by Annie O Derthick and E.J.R. David where it states that the use of unfair aiding of some individuals while in turn harming others is basically inequality and thus leading to oppression (Derthick, David, 2017). The hypothetical couple used in the example shows that there is indeed inequality and unfairness created from negative societal norms which leads to more inequality, oppression, and makes individuals feel as if they are not important.
This kind of example can be seen all through history and in many regions of the world. The worst outcome from this type of oppression and inequality is changing who you are and acting like another identity. As taken again from the scholarly article, Internalized oppression: the psychology of marginalized groups, the author explains a situation of individuals feeling inadequate and wanting to change themselves. They state that white is seen as acceptable and some would lighten their skin even though it causes negative health effects. It continues and says that it pushes the blame on to the individuals and creates the perception that something is wrong with them thus leading them to not feeling satisfied with themselves (David, 2017). Keeping white privilege in the conversation, this idea makes them doubt themselves and change who they are which leads to more oppression and inequality. With the example of the couple from earlier, it is easy to see that those not deemed as standard for the social norm aspect may want to change who they are which only leads to more hurt. The relationship suffers due to these inequalities and doubts created.
Even when we go further back in time, we continue to see intersectionality theory at play. From the same scholarly article, The Psychology of Oppression, the author discusses oppression in early colonial times and how others had to change because of it. They state that colonizers held power and privilege over those that were native to the land and were seen as more valued due to the knowledge and power they held (Derthick, David, 2017). Once again we see the idea of intersectionality theory in play with colonizers and native people. The native people are perceived as not having any power and are being oppressed by colonizers. The colonizers are deemed as having more power due to the knowledge they possess rather than being fair with power. Even though this has happened many years in the past, we can still see intersectionality theory at play and it even continues to more recent times.
In more recent times, African Americans and Asian Americans have been oppressed due to more recent events such as the Black Live Matter rallies and the Asian hate crimes . For those that are unaware, the Black Live Matter movement is not new and has been present for several years as seen from articles such as “The Guardian’s” 2015 analysis on the topic to the more revamped modern movement that we know now. We are continuing to see more and more oppression in our daily lives that in turn can affect relationships with others or lead to violence. As from “The Guardian” article, Oppression in America: ‘To root this out we need a movement against racist policies’, written by Jamiles Lartey, they state from a cultural critic and writer that non-black people in the country have been taught that African Americans are seen all as criminals and are violent predators that need to be monitored (Lartey, 2018). Not only does this show biased and hatred on those that choose to believe this but this false news continues to promote oppression onto others. This creates a stereotype onto others while making those that are being oppressed feel that they are not good enough and are not happy with themselves. This alone can easily put doubts into one’s mind and therefore continue this idea of intersectionality theory. Those that are oppressed may have hard relationships with others due to feeling like they are not good enough, which are ideas brought on by hurtful lies and stereotypes.
In more recent times, we see this inequality with the topical Asian American hate crimes. With the start of it beginning in March after the deadly shootings, we are in the early stages with how this new hate and movement will go. From the “CNN” article, Too Chinese for the US, too American for China. Where can Asian Americans like me call home?, written by Selina Wang, they discuss oppression and how Asian American feel about relationships with others. They state that Asian Americans that have been in the United States are still treated as outsiders and individuals that can’t be trusted (Wang, 2021). The author states that Asian Americans in the country are seen as untrustworthy and have no place in the United States. This belief creates issues in relationships where no one trusts each other for their own reasons. The problem of Asian Americans not trusting others due to the created stereotype that has been put onto them and other groups not trusting Asian American due to the stated claim that they can not be trusted continues. Not only again is this spreading lies and oppressing others but it continues to propel the idea of intersectionality theory and that negative ideas like this will only hurt relationships in the long run.
In conclusion, the intersectionality theory discusses how an individual’s experience can be changed based on their identities and how these same identities can create feelings of oppression or privilege. These oppressive and privileged ideals can create a power dynamic in relationships and even in society itself. When groups feel oppressed for their identities, it can seem as if they have no power to change their situation and may fall into the problem of accepting their position in life. The problem with oppression itself is not a new one and has been an ongoing issue since as early as colonial times. Even more recently with the Black Lives Matter movement and the Asian hate crimes, oppression continues to hurt and create distrust between others. Though oppression may create a power struggle between groups, those who fight against it are the ones who have the most to teach.
References
David, E.J.R, & Derthick, Annie O. (2017). The psychology of oppression (1st ed.). New York: Springer Publishing Company.
David, E. J. R. (2013). Internalized oppression. New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Esguerra, Tamatha (2021). Sociology 351, Module 3
Lartey, J. (2018). Oppression in America: ‘To root this out we need a movement against racist policies’.
Wang, S. (2021). Too Chinese for the US, too American for China. Where can I call home?
