America has done the impossible, it has made a culture so toxic to racial minorities that even with the eradication of racism from whites, it has been internalized and turned into "truth". Racism is so interwoven into the American culture that many of the oppressors claim that there is no such thing as racism at all, and it ended in the '60s with desegregation, but that, as many people know, is entirely untrue. A way for white people to realize how very real racism is and how interwoven into all social institutions is by checking your privilege with Peggy McIntosh's "White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Backpack. If you're unfamiliar with the article, you can read it here. In this piece, McIntosh states that whites are taught to view their bodies as normal and right, and only to respect minorities when they mimic the "ideal white". Many of the items on this are present in all the different dimensions of racism, making it difficult to pick out certain instances–which is evermore dangerous to racial minorities.
Anderson touches on the three different dimensions that racism can take form in, which are: institutional, individual, or internal. Institutional racism is demonstrated in How Racism is Bad for Our Bodies, where government policies of Stop and Frisk are racially targeting black intercity males specifically in the streets because they are suspicious. Because the system is set up in a way that benefits whites and keeps minorities out of power, this process is deemed constitutional by all the other rich, white men who govern the country. Individual racism is the bigotry demonstrated in America's "reality" is white and male, where a news reporter endearment reconstructive eyelid surgery because her boss claimed because of her "Asian eyes" she looked bored and disinterested while on camera. Because her appearance deviated from the "American standard" she looked wrong and the only way to correct this was for her to look more white. Internal racism is demonstrated by how Chen, the Asian news reporter, responded to the suggestions of eyelid surgery–she agreed to the demands. Although she was more or less coerced into getting this eye surgery, she accepts the white standard as normal shown be how she later comments that her eyes look "much more alert" after the surgery. Chen, as many other people of color before and after her, took the comments of the more powerful white man to heart and then began policing herself on these standards from here on out. By thinking that the "right" way is the white way, minorities are compelled to thinking that they themselves are worthless, inept, not beautiful, and many more harmful adjectives. Internalized racism leads us back to the effects of racism on the health of minorities.
Racial minorities, specifically black americans, have a highly increased amount of stress compared to whites that comes in the form of everyday racism. This stress wears the body down, and also forces the bearer of it to find unhealthy outlets to cope with their inner turmoil. These combined make the health of black americans decrease drastically, especially in black women. High rates of infant mortality are noted in black women, whom suffer from oppression on two fronts: race and gender. Intersectionality is the many overlapping layers of oppression an individual experiences. Because black women are racially profiled, and also dismissed for being a woman, they experience the stress of oppression in many different forms on a day to day basis. The health risks these women experience are so extreme, they are passed down through generations to their children in the form of miscarriages and premature births from racism and sexism. Although eradicating racism is a long way off, there are still ways to lessen the load that black Americans experience on a day to do basis. One of the most important things is to ensure that you do not make an enemy out of yourself, internalized racism is dangerous and influenced by bigotry and constant institutionalized oppression, but the cycle must break somewhere.
I really like how you talk about the cycle that is apparent in racism and especially how it affects the health of these people caught up in it. I found it rather shocking, yet understandable that racism has created such a negative effect on people’s physical health who has been subjected to this racism. In Silverstein’s article he says how the socially disadvantaged are often the ones targeted with this racism and how because of being disadvantaged don’t have resources to get help from the stress it causes which leads to more issues. It’s sickening that this is an issue in our society today, and that this cycle continues to be perpetuated. Our bodies are complex and highly intelligent, but also are damaged easily. This is one thing that should not even be an issue with the physical health of our bodies today, but it is. This cycle needs to break like you comment, but I think it will still be a long time until that will actually happen in our society.
ReplyDeleteFrom this blog I believe the most important thing that was stated is the three kinds of racism. It is very much alive today still in society but a lot of people don't realize that. African Americans have suffered oppression for so many years that even though segregation and equal rights were created in the 60s, internalized racism will always exist. I agree with the statement that white males are the "ideal male" in the eyes of minorities. it has become a everyday struggle for minorities to act similar to white Americans. To break this ongoing chain of racism, the mind of the minorities must change more than anything. Minorities have a voice now and don't have to turn to whites for the answers. Minorities need to look at the whites as equal to them and not superior to them.
ReplyDeleteIt's ironic how minorities come to the U.S. in search of a better life. While the U.S. does have more money and opportunity, like you said it's set up in a way that will only benefit the white. There is one thing I would have liked to see discussed and that is whether or not leaving the U.S. and the social. conditions will reverse any mental or physical health problems that may have developed due to stress. I liked the way you explained internalized racism by using Chen as an example. I was in disbelief after reading that article. It's so sad to think someone in a America of all places was coerced into changing the shape of her eyes and that she was okay with doing it.
ReplyDeleteOf the different components of racism examined by Anderson and mentioned in your blog post, I would posit that internalized racism is the one that goes unrecognized the most within our society. Citing the McIntosh article you post, the fact that people of minority status who take jobs with affirmative-action employers often have the reason they were hired called into question or that black shoppers are followed and/or questioned based on their race helps mold an image of minorities as inferior not only in the minds of the dominant group, but also among the minorities themselves. Julie Chen serves as a great example of this, but the fact that she reinforced these beliefs on national television by agreeing with the racist remarks made towards her indicates that internalized racialism is sometimes being permitted to fly under the radar. That isn’t to say that sociologists aren’t or have not been aware of this phenomenon, however, as examples of internalized racism have been exposed and acknowledged as far back as the 1939 Clark doll experiment that saw many black children preferring a white baby doll to a black one based on their own perceptions of race.
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