“I AM EVERY WOMAN” ETHNIC BEAUTY

ETHNIC BEAUTY AND INTERNALIZED OPPRESSION:

OPEN WOUNDSCultural Competence & Mental Health

Southern Region Summit XVIII

PRESENTERBARBARA ANN WHITE, MA

DIVERSITY & MULTICULTURAL COORDINATORCITY OF BERKELEY MENTAL HELATH

December 6th - 7th, 2012

GOAL AND OBJECTIVES Goal

This workshop will explore historical issues related to standards of beauty and the current cultural and ethnic implications it has on the mental health and well-being of women of color, with a focus on African American women.

ObjectivesParticipants will learn:1. The Difference Between Societal Standards of Beauty

Verses Individual Standards of Beauty2. To use a strength-based approach3. Signs of Internalized Oppression and Methods to

Overcome Internalized Oppression 4. To use client-centered techniques.

Dyad Exercise

Select a song that speaks to your beauty. Tell your partner why you selected that song.

BEAUTY VS BEAUTY

EYE OF THE BEHOLDERTEN MINUTE VIDEO

Standards Of Beauty

Are Societal Standards Of Beauty the Same As Individual Standards Of

Beauty?How do we recognize beauty in other

people? On a very superficial level, we compare the

people we see to the media images that we have been exposed to

The people in movies and on magazine covers. If you see a woman who looks very similar to a famous actress or model, you will probably think that woman is beautiful.

Human Barbie' Flaunts Her Living Doll Looks

 

Women

DOMINATE AND RECESSIVE TRAITS

The Nature of Dominant and Recessive There are 23 pairs of chromosomes in a single cell

of a fertilized egg. On each pair of chromosomes, two genes -- one that is dominant and one that is recessive. The combination determines the trait of a person.

The presence of a dominant gene means a dominate trait will emerge. Two recessive genes are required for a trait to emerge.

Eye ColorBrown eyes are a dominant trait over gray, green, hazel and blue eyes.

Hair ColorDark hair is always dominant to blond and red hair. Curly hair dominates straight.

DOMINATE AND RECESSIVE TRAITS

Facial FeaturesFacial features are often a blend of

dominant and recessive genes from our parents.

A Roman nose and broad lips are indications of dominant genes while a straight nose and thin lips represent recessive genes.

Melanin is triggered by an enzyme called tyrosinase, which creates the color of skin, eyes, and hair shades.

Dark Brown Eyes, Dark Hair, and DARK SKIN DOMINATE TRAITS

Blue Eyes, Blond Hair, and PALE SKIN RECESSIVE TRAITS

Reese Witherspoon

Genetic Switch

Question“Why did we go from having nobody on Earth with blue eyes 10,000 years ago to having 20 or 40 percent of Europeans having blue eyes now?" Humans are currently calculated to be at least four million years old!

Article – One Common Ancestor Behind Blue Eyes.

Colorism in America In the United States, discrimination based

on skin tone dates back to the chattel system of enslavement, where skin color was often used as the basis for the division of labor (Hunter, 2002).

These divisions promoted the notion that darker-skinned Blacks were inferior, evidenced by the fact that lighter Blacks were considered more attractive, intelligent, and trustworthy by their White masters.

These biases are particularly salient for African American women, as the American ideal of beauty is primarily Eurocentric.

INFERIORITY COMPLEXAn inferiority complex is an extremely deep feeling that one is inferior to others; a feeling of intense insecurity, inferiority or of “Not Measuring Up”.

SIGNS OF INFERIORITY COMPLEX

FAULT FINDER DESTRUCTIVE CRITICISM TENDS TO BE TIMID IN A CROWD FLATTER ME! DON'T FLATTER ME! UNHEALTHY COMPETITION

Internalized Oppression and Standards of Beauty

Internalized oppression works in the form of white-defined beauty internalization and its damaging effect on African-Americans…

Internalized Oppression Leads to feelings of incompleteness, emptiness, self-doubt, and self hatred.

Responses and Reactions African-Americans’ responses and

reactions to the enforced standards of beauty in Western culture:

rejection alienation self-hatred and self- destruction (We destroy our hair, skin, facial

features, and even our minds.)

Internalized Oppression

When people are targeted, discriminated against, or oppressed over a period of time, they often internalize (believe and make part of their self-image – their internal view of themselves) the myths and misinformation that society communicates to them about their group.  

When people from targeted groups internalize myths and misinformation, it can cause them to feel (often unconsciously) that in some way they are inherently not as worthy, capable, intelligent, beautiful, good, etc. as people outside their group. They turn the experience of oppression or discrimination inward.

Individualized Internalized oppression

Internalized oppression operates on an individual basis. A person believes that the stereotypes and misinformation that she hears are true about herself.

She holds herself back from living life to her full potential or she acts in ways that reinforce the stereotypes and are ultimately self-defeating.

Examples of Individualized Internalized oppression Women, low-income people, and people of color don't speak up as

much in meetings because they don't think their contribution will be important or "correct". Often participants from these groups may have insight into how to solve a problem, but they hold back from sharing it.

In response to low expectations and lack of encouragement, some teenagers from oppressed groups believe that they won't succeed; consequently they give up on learning and pursuing their dreams.

People from oppressed groups often shy away from taking on leadership roles. They don't view themselves as having leadership capabilities, and their style doesn't match that of "traditional" leadership models.

A person who is not able get a job with decent wages may try to dull his disappointment with alcohol.

A person who speaks with an accent feels that she should not build relationships with people outside her own culture because she is afraid that others will not want to be friends with her.

Internalized Oppression Among Members of the Same Cultural Group

People in the same group believe (often unconsciously) the misinformation and stereotypes that society communicates about other members of their group.

People turn the oppression on one another, instead of addressing larger problems in society. The results are that people treat one another in ways that are less than fully respectful. Often people from the same cultural group hurt, undermine, criticize, mistrust, fight with, or isolate themselves from one another.

Examples of internalized oppression among members of the same cultural groupWomen on the board of a charitable organization compete for the

attention of the male chair and refrain from taking leadership roles.  They organize dinners and create decorations for events, even though they all have college degrees.

The membership of a low-income grassroots organization cannot support anyone from their own community who tries to take a leadership role in the organization.

Women who work on construction join men in putting down other women who have child care problems or can't do particular work because they are not as strong as some of the men.

When Latino immigrants from different countries try to organize to create a political power base, the mistrust and prejudices among them makes it difficult for them to work together.

An African-American teenager is not accepted by his group of peers because he works hard and does well in school; he is told he is not Black enough.

ETHNIC BEAUTYINDIVIDUALIZED

Skin Hair Lips Nose Hips The View From Behind!

How do you help people heal from and overcome internalized oppression?

Friendship and caring are two of the strongest weapons we have in combating internalized oppression. All the oppressions have one message in common – that certain people are not valuable. Friendship provides a strong and effective contradiction to that message. What we communicate in our relationships and commitment to one another is more powerful than the message of oppression.

Being a member of a cultural group can be a source of  strength. Our cultures often give us our values, our sense of ourselves in history, our humor, our identities, and our world views. We depend on our cultures to provide us with a community, a reference point, a home, and a place to get our bearings and remember what is important to us.

How do you help people heal from and overcome internalized oppression?

Re-valuation Counseling has developed a model in which people of similar backgrounds meet in groups to heal from internalized oppression. In these groups people encourage each other to remember that they are good, worthy, capable, intelligent, beautiful, etc. and that others in their culture are good as well. In these groups, people take turns talking about how their cultural oppression has personally affected them while others listen.

When people take a stand against injustice and oppression it can be a strong antidote to internalized oppression. Taking charge of an unjust situation and setting it right goes miles in healing people from the oppression and injustice they have endured over time. (Civil Rights Movement)

In some organizations people tend to criticize each other, get into fights, lack discipline, and undermine or attack leadership. These problems have a range of causes. Oftentimes, the cause is, to some extent, due to internalized oppression. This is especially true if all or most of members of the group or organization are from a similar cultural background. Unfortunately, the more harshly a group has been treated, the more these dynamics operate. Again, this is not the fault of the group that has been targeted. Nevertheless, in order to make a group successful, this dynamic should be recognized and turned around.

Client-Centered Approach

Direct impact on the client: the agency asks what clients want and acts on it; services and information are individualized; clients receive information and services specific to their needs–staff don’t assume that all clients

need the same amount of time or the same information.

Strength-Based Approach

A strength-based approach operates on the assumption that people have strengths and resources for their own empowerment.

Traditional teaching and professional development models concentrate on deficit based approaches, ignoring the strengths and experiences of the participants.

Community Defined Practicesfor Beauty in the African American Community

Community-defined is “a set of practices that communities have used and determined to yield positive results as determined by the community.”

Community Defined Practicesfor HAIR The hot comb!!! Lye's (Perms) and Dye’s Braids and Tails Weaves and Wigs“Straight to Curly; Long to short and

everything in between”Sisthas have a “New Attitude” every

two weeks…And, whatever you do…Don’t Touch Our Hair!

Community Defined Practicesfor LOOKS

COLOR, STYLE, AND MORE COLOR MOST BLACK WOMEN HAVE A UNIQUE

SENSE OF STYLE CLOTHES, JEWELRY, and DRESSING!!!

“ I Know about your Mocha Skin and Round Hips and Full Lips”

Book - Chicken Soup for the African American Woman’s Soul

Community Defined Practicesfor the Soul

Kitchen Table Talk Telling Your Story Beauty Shop/Friend Shop Church

VIGNETTES

First determine, if this client is suffering from Internalized Oppression

If the client is experiencing Internalized Oppression use some of the methods listed Use client-centered and strength-based approaches and provide some Community Defined Practices that will help the client to address their Internalized Oppression.

Society's Standards of Beauty

Remember that society's standards of beauty change with the shifting of the winds.

You never know what kind of trait will be attractive next season, and in the meantime, you can enjoy and appreciate your particular features!

Historical Intervention

1960’s – 1970’s “BLACK IS BEAUTY”…”POWER TO

THE PEOPLE”... “SAY IT LOUD, I AM BLACK AND I AM PROUD”

AFROS/NATURE HAIR DARK SKIN AFRICAN CLOTHING HIGH LEVEL OF SELF ESTEEM PRIDE IN BEING BLACK/AFRICAN

Valuing DiversityValuing diversity means accepting and respecting differences.  People come from very different backgrounds, and their customs, thoughts, ways of communicating, values, traditions, and institutions vary accordingly.   The choices that individuals make are powerfully affected by culture.

Conclusion Goal

We discussed standards of beauty and the cultural and ethnic implications it has on the mental health and well-being of women of color; with a focus on African American women.

Objectives - Participants learned: About the Difference Between Societal

Standards of Beauty Verses Individual Standards of Beauty

To use a strength-based approach Signs of Internalized Oppression and Methods to

Overcome Internalized Oppression To use client-centered techniques..

Human Barbie

"Many people think you need only good looks to be successful, but it’s not true—only spiritual work can bear tangible results.“

WEAR YOU TODAY AND EVERYDAY!