Cress theory
Cress Theory, developed by pediatric psychiatrist Frances Cress Welsing, is a controversial framework in race relations that posits racism as a systemic expression of white supremacy aimed at dominating nonwhite peoples to ensure the genetic survival of the white "race." First articulated in her 1970 paper and later expanded in her book "The Isis Papers," Welsing's theory argues that the absence of melanin in white-skinned individuals signifies a genetic deficiency, leading to an inherent sense of inferiority and a profound anxiety regarding nonwhite populations. This anxiety is suggested to manifest as a defensive aggression toward people of color, driven by a psychological need to dominate and suppress perceived threats to their existence.
Welsing's ideas incorporate elements from Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theories, suggesting that white hostility is a product of several ego defense mechanisms that mitigate feelings of guilt and inadequacy. Critics argue that the theory oversimplifies the complex nature of racism, neglecting sociological factors and potentially perpetuating "reverse racism." Advocates, particularly within the Black Power movement, view Cress Theory as empowering, promoting black pride and liberation. Overall, the debate surrounding Cress Theory highlights the intricate and multifaceted nature of discussions on race, identity, and power dynamics in society.
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Cress theory
The Cress theory of color confrontation is a controversial race relations theory that defines racism as a system of white supremacy designed to create worldwide domination of nonwhite peoples in order to ensure genetic survival of the white “race.” Developed by pediatric psychiatrist Frances Cress Welsing, the theory was first presented in a 1970 paper entitled “The Cress Theory of Color-Confrontation and Racism (White Supremacy): A Psychogenetic Theory and World Outlook” and later appeared in her collection The Isis Papers: The Keys to the Colors (1991). The theory postulates that white-skinned people are genetically inferior to people of color because they do not produce melanin, a pigmenting hormone responsible for brown and black skin tones. Welsing notes that only a small minority of the world’s people lack melanin, and that in reproduction, genes producing white skin are recessive (the offspring of whites and nonwhites have melanin pigments in their skin). Based on this evidence, Welsing attributes white skin to a genetic defect.
Welsing further states that the inability to produce melanin causes white people to experience a profound numerical and genetic “inferiority complex,” which manifests as neurotic anxiety. This anxiety is transformed into intense fear of nonwhites, whose genes could annihilate the white race, and results in a psychological need to dominate and destroy nonwhite peoples. Welsing’s ideas were influenced by the psychological theories of Sigmund Freud, a late nineteenth and early twentieth century Austrian physician credited as the founder of psychoanalysis. This influential psychiatric movement was based on the existence of the ego and unconscious motivation, and theorized that defense mechanisms evolved to protect the ego from psychological threat.
Welsing believed that the hostility and aggression exhibited by white people toward people of color developed from the operation of several of Freud’s ego defense mechanisms. These defensive responses included repression of the sense of genetic inadequacy; reaction formation, where something desired (pigmented skin) is converted into something despised; and psychological projection, where people project their own unacceptable feelings onto the recipients of their feelings (this would result in a white person who hates nonwhites developing the perception that nonwhites hate him or her). These defenses are thought to reduce uncomfortable feelings of guilt and anxiety.
Welsing wrote that the resulting hostility and fear explained the negative attitudes and oppressive behavior historically exhibited by whites toward nonwhites. Welsing believed that black people are the biggest targets of this unconscious envy, hatred, and maltreatment because among all melanin producers, their genes possess the greatest potential to transmit melanin. White supremacy therefore evolved as a worldwide social, political, and economic system designed to repress people of color and to prevent the genetic annihilation of the white race. Critics of the theory state that it is scientifically simplistic and empirically untested, focuses overly on biopsychological factors and ignores sociological contributions to the development of racism (such as class and economics); and is a form of “reverse” racism toward white people. Defenders of the theory found it empowering in the context of the Black Power movement because it reinforced black pride and black liberation.
Bibliography
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Finn, Finola. “America’s Reception of ‘The Cress Theory of Color Confrontation.’” Australasian Jour. of Amer. Studies 33.1 (2014): 87. Supplemental Index. Web. 7 Apr. 2015.
Glaude, Eddie S. “An Analysis of the Cress Theory of Color Confrontation.” Jour. of Black Studies 22.2 (1991): 284–293. Print.
Harrington, Richard. “PE & the ‘Pigment Envy’ Theory.” Washington Post 2 May 1990: Style final. NewsBank–Archives. Web. 7 Apr. 2015.
Norwood, Kimberly Jade. Color Matters: Skin Tone Bias and the Myth of a Postracial America. New York: Routledge, 2014. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 7 Apr. 2015.