“You carry forever the fingerprint that comes from being under someone's thumb.”

-- Nancy Banks-Smith

It’s long been understood that those who are oppressed learn first hand about oppression and become oppressors themselves to those they consider less powerful. Women have been oppressed for centuries, and as a group, we have internalized that oppression.

Hal and Sidra Stone, in their book, ‘Embracing the Inner Critic,’ talk about the Inner Patriarch that lives in our psyches. Although we are not conscious of it, this Inner Patriarch affirms societal beliefs in the inferiority of women. They say:

“The Inner Patriarch basically values all things traditionally considered masculine and devalues things traditionally considered feminine. It thinks that men are better than women. Period!”

“This Inner Patriarch is a powerful archetypal ally of the Inner Critic in women. The synergy of these two voices makes the average woman’s Inner Critic more powerful than the average man’s.”

“It is easier to fight an enemy outside than an enemy within. It is important for women to know that an Inner Patriarch exists within them, that patriarchy is not just an energy to be battled on the outside.”

“Your Critic may feel that the only way in which you can succeed in this world is if it makes you less of a woman.”