In social justice theory, internalized oppression is the resignation by members of an oppressed group to the methods of an oppressing group and their incorporation of its message against their own best interest. Rosenwasser (2002) defines it as believing, adopting, accepting, and incorporating the negative beliefs provided by the oppressor as the truth.

It occurs as a part of socialization in an oppressive environment. Members of marginalized groups assimilate the oppressive view of their own group and consequently affirm negative self-stereotypes. This harms their psycho-social well-being and self-systems, causing them to produce and reproduce stress-induced, disadvantageous behavioral responses that lead to the development of maladaptive habits. As a result, they cultivate and perpetuate an "assaulted sense of self" by not intentionally and deliberately engaging in active responsibility for their own well-being. Furthermore, the absence of proactive engagement as catalysts for change, such as fostering counterspaces and practicing active citizenship, hinders the overall welfare of the collective in hegemonic societies.

Depending on the form of discrimination, types of internalized oppression include internalized racism, internalized homophobia, internalized sexism, internalized ableism and auto-antisemitism.

Types

Internalized oppression occurs as a result of psychological injury caused by external oppressive events (e.g., harassment and discrimination), and it has a negative impact on individuals' self system (e.g., self-esteem, self-image, self-concept, self-worth, and self-regulation). The trauma of internalized oppression is intensified by repetitive exposure to explicit violence such as segregation and discrimination, as well as implicitly through various forms of oppressive microprocesses and insidious microaggressions (e.g., privation of inclusion and peripheralizing).

Internalized racism is about fostering a negative attitude towards one's own race, created by the oppressing race, and nurturing a positive attitude towards the oppressor's race (e.g., race traitor). As a result, it leads individuals to experience chronic self-hatred and deny their membership in their own racial group. Additionally, research suggests that internalized homophobia can shape how individuals navigate their authenticity in personal and professional relationships, often compelling them to develop strategies to manage or conceal aspects of their identity.

In internalized sexism, individuals (generally women) adopt oppressive attitudes towards their gender which are held by their culture. An example is slut-shaming, where women criticize transgressions of accepted codes of sexual conduct on themselves and other women.

Internalized ableism is often a result of relentless pathologization and lack of or inadequate support disabled people face on a daily basis. The fact the medical establishment is a significant factor that causes and contributes to internalized ableism with frameworks such as the pathology paradigm mean that disabled people trying to enact emancipatory change and self-identify are often deemed as "anti-science" by individuals and institutions which subscribe to scientism.

Internalized oppression may also exist among immigrants, and based on the transgenerational trauma, it may affect their descendants as well. When the host community devalues a foreigner's ethnic origin, native language or culture, the immigrant may feel inferior. Prolonged exposure to such devaluation can lead to the well-known inferiority complex among the oppressed. Immigrants who adapt to this environment, according to the psychology of oppression, may adopt the oppressor's guidelines and prohibitions, assimilate their image and social behaviors, and become agents of their own and their community's oppression. This is often characterized by self-hatred, which manifests itself in an exaggerated conformity to dominant norms. To cope, an immigrant may either assimilate and acculturate or develop a Nero complex.

Causes

Internalized oppression "occurs when a person comes to internalize oppressive prejudices and biases about the identity group(s) to which he or she belongs". It occurs when "[s]ocial oppression such as racism, sexism, ableism, classism, heterosexism, gender and religious oppression, and anti-Semitism" are "implanted by and [work] toward the benefit of any dominant group".

French philosopher Michel Foucault "has argued that the rise of parliamentary institutions and of new conceptions of political liberty was accompanied by a darker counter-movement, by the emergence of a new and unprecedented discipline directed against the body. More is required of the body now than mere political allegiance or the approbation of the products of its labor: the new discipline invades the body and seeks to regulate its very forces and operations, the economy and efficiency of its movements ... the production of 'docile bodies' requires that an uninterrupted coercion be directed to the very processes of bodily activity, not just their result; this 'micro-physics of power' fragments and partitions the body's time, its space, and its movements". Internalized oppression fosters the beliefs that the self cannot be autonomous, is unworthy of wielding power, and is little more than an object of sexual gratification (see sexual objectification). Nabina Liebow wrote, "People of color who internalize stereotypes regarding criminality and moral deviance ... can  ... view themselves as outlaws in the moral community" and may "engage in behavior that further perpetuates these biases ... Fulfilling these stereotypes further pushes someone outside the moral fold and intensifies one's damaged moral identity ... [I]nternalizing stereotypes about criminality and moral deviance can lead to a pervasive feeling of guilt ... Persistent feelings of guilt can result in mental-health setbacks such as depression" and "repeated exposure to guilt and similar feelings has been linked with a range of health challenges such as "dysfunctional coping, abdominal obesity, and glucose intolerance complicit in the development of Type 2 diabetes".