The Four "I's" of Oppression

1) "We internalize things because there's a dominant narrative that tells us that there's a standard, there's a norm and if you're anything outside of this you're other." (Malbroux).

Explanation: When Lisa Malbroux talked about internalized oppression towards the end of her video she mentioned that this type of oppression is talked about the least. Internalized oppression has to do with an individuals own beliefs that eventually "contribute to feelings of false supremacy within themselves in relation to others" (TRC org). It is basically your own negative thoughts and beliefs about yourself or others. Malbroux explains that we often feel internalized oppression. An example could be feeling like you're excluded when hanging out with a group of people. I think that we all deal with internalized oppression without even realizing it. We are all guilty of making up misconceptions.

2) "Because ideology often presents itself as “common sense” or a way of

understanding the world, ideological oppression can have longstanding cultural and historical roots."

Explanation: Ideological oppression has to do with certain stereotypes that have become normal over time. An example would be "real boy" and "real girl" stereotypes. Before you're even born, you're already being forced into "gender norms." For an example, a boy is often gifted toy trucks or toy cars, etc and a girl is often given barbie dolls, makeup, etc. But why? We are shaped even while we are still in the womb to like certain things because that has always just been the societal norm. Malbroux also explains that these gender norms can affect which professions men and women go into. Certain concepts such as men being smarter than women and performing better in certain subjects such as mathematics can affect the amount of women in the engineering and science fields.

3) "numerous studies have demonstrated that scores do not predict academic success and at best reflect class privilege."

Explanation: There are certain policies, laws and social practices that all go into institutional oppression. Many schools require a certain test score in order for you to get accepted into that school but does it really show your true intelligence? Living in a rough low income area can affect your education. Schools in rougher areas don't have access to half the materials that a school in a rich area does. Schools in better areas are funded more money which then gives their students more benefits that will help them receive a better education.