Is ‘Impostor Syndrome’ Just for White Women?
As people of color, the idea leaked into our lives even though we aren’t privy to the same advantages of being white
I’m mad at imposter syndrome for stealing time, energy, confidence, and a sense of self-efficacy from people of color. We don’t have time for that. We don’t need to make time for that.
Recently I’ve seen a number of social media posts by friends of color and acquaintances of color talking about dealing with imposter syndrome, and I despair that any of us should feel like impostors, ever, when regimes of whiteness, capitalism, and colonialism have already extracted so much from our communities. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have doubts, or question ourselves, or acknowledge when we fail or make mistakes or don’t live up to our or others’ expectations, standards, whatever. That is different or should be different from what “impostor syndrome” is.
“Impostor syndrome” seems to be another thing that many of us have internalized, perhaps especially those of us who work in proximity to white people in spaces such as academia, the arts, and the non-profit sector. Sadly, I can easily see a person of color going to a white therapist (because there are so few therapists of color) and talking about “impostor syndrome” as part of their…
