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Cited by 457Racial and Ethnic Identity ResearchSocial Movements and Cultural IdentityCritical Race Theory in Education

What is Internalized Racial Oppression and Why Don’t We Study It? Acknowledging Racism’s Hidden Injuries

Pyke, Karen D.·2010·Sociological Perspectives
DOI 10.1525/sop.2010.53.4.551
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Abstract

Despite sociology's longstanding interest in inequality, the internalization of racial oppression among the racially subordinated and its contribution to the reproduction of racial inequality has been largely ignored, reflecting a taboo on the subject. Consequently, internalized racism remains one of the most neglected and misunderstood components of racism. In this article, the author argues that only by defying the taboo can sociology expose the hidden injuries of racism and the subtle mechanisms that sustain White privilege. After reviewing the concept and providing examples of the phenomenon, the author draws on critical social theory to examine reasons for the taboo, such as a theoretical fixation on resistance, a penchant for racial essentialism, and the limitations of an identity politics. The author concludes by offering a method for studying internalized racism and resistance concurrently within the matrix of intersecting forms of oppression.

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  • Internalized racism is associated with psychological distress (e.g., depression and anxiety) in people of color.

    “When POC adopt oppressive messages about their ethnoracial identities, perpetuated in the White dominant culture and informed by Eurocentric ideologies and colonization, the internalization of these messages can contribute to self-loathing or worse mental health (i.e., depression and anxiety; [4,7,8]).”

    From Internalized Racism and Mental Health: The Moderating Role of Collective Racial Self-Esteem (2024) · cites this paper as [7]

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Authors
Pyke, K. D.
Affiliations
University of California, Riverside (US)
Corresponding author
Pyke, Karen D.
Venue
Sociological Perspectives
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2010-12
Volume
53
Issue
4
Pages
551-572
ISSN
  • 0731-1214 (ISSN-L)
  • 1533-8673
DOI
10.1525/sop.2010.53.4.551
OpenAlex
W2315859443
Semantic Scholar
b96fc96dc382cfdcccc45d2016dd93c6e2559356
Cited by
457
References
128
Citations by year
2026: 26 · 2025: 45 · 2024: 48 · 2023: 46 · 2022: 58 · 2021: 27 · 2020: 36 · 2019: 34 · 2018: 25 · 2017: 27 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 27 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 10
FWCI
25.92
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
Sociological Perspectives (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Racial and Ethnic Identity Research
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social Movements and Cultural Identity
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Critical Race Theory in Education
Keywords
internalized racism, racial inequality, white privilege, taboos, racial essentialism, identity politics, resistance, intersectionality, critical social theory, racial subordination

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