Oppression

The Many Faces of Oppression

Oppression is any form of violence, ignorance, hatred, or inequality directed at a group of people. This includes things like racism, sexism, classism, and ableism. In the context of GLBTT* people, the word oppression refers to internal and external sources of homophobia, transphobia, biphobia, and heterosexism. For some examples of external oppression, visit the section on Human Rights and Heterosexism.

Internalized Oppression

When We Become the ‘Bad Guy’

Sometimes we take on blame and shame ourselves, thinking that there is something wrong, bad or unacceptable about who we are. We internalize the oppression or rejection that we feel around us. When this happens, we put our health at risk.

For example, we may harm ourselves by becoming dependent on drugs to ignore or deal with gay-bashing. Or we may assume that because the health care system often ignores our unique health needs, we are not worthy of quality care and long, healthy lives.

When we internalize oppression, we often put the same pressure on GLBTT* people that have been put on us by society. For example, by demanding that a person’s gender or sexuality remain easy to define. We might reject people who are “too gay,” or people who are not “gay enough”. Both can be equally harmful. We may have a hard time accepting a lesbian person who occasionally has sex with men, or a person whose sexual attractions shift and change throughout their life.

How Oppression Affects Our Health

When we’re taught from an early age that a core part of who we are (our gender and/or sexuality) is wrong or unhealthy, one way of coping or surviving with this is to divide ourselves. This means hiding the parts of ourselves that are not safe or "acceptable" to show to anyone. If we get to a place where we can express parts of ourselves that have remained hidden for too long, we may not recognize the divisions that still exist within ourselves.

For example, we may be so intent on having the type of sex we enjoy that we reject any limitations on that freedom and divide our sexual health from our overall health. The belief is that as long as we’re having great sex, there can’t be anything harmful about it. Safer sex messages may be regarded as just another form of oppression, something that limits our sexual freedom. In reality, safer sex is a way of increasing our sexual freedom by making sure we can keep having sex without getting or passing along infections that might limit the pleasure we get from sex.

GLBTT* people’s health is impacted by external and internal oppression and heterosexism. Which means we need to work harder than other people to take care of our health. Even if we provided you with all the best sexual health resources that exist, it will be difficult to make use of these resources if your self-image is damaged, or if you are struggling with issues of basic survival, whether that includes food, money, safety, shelter, or acceptance in community.

What Can We Do About Oppression?

Oppression creates false divisions, and by dividing, it conquers. Oppression turns people against other people, and even turns people against themselves. We can counter oppression by sharing the tools needed to regain a sense of community and a sense of self. When we connect with other GLBTT* people in our community, we are working against oppression. When we connect with our whole selves—mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual—we are also undoing the effects of oppression.