“Negro-phobogenesis,” a fear of Blacks that Whites develop out of their need to rid themselves of their repressed sexual desires, the scapegoat complex, and blackness as a “repository” for what Jung calls shadows. All these manifestations foster the internalization of racism, Blacks’ identification with the aggressor, whilst sustaining the “narcissistic homeostasis” of Whites. To better illustrate the psychic struggles Blacks face, Fanon uses the Jungian concept of the collective unconscious, albeit in a modified form. Disputing the notion that it is entrenched in our cerebral structure, Fanon regards the collective unconscious as something that is culturally acquired, or, in the case of the oppressed, culturally imposed. This imposition of Eurocentric archetypes, in which all the negative forces of the soul are cast as black, has a detrimental effect on the self-images of Blacks (146). Their efforts to compensate, to rid themselves of the negative view of self by seeking the approval of Whites, are the topic of the next chapter. …show more content…
In his struggle for recognition, the black man is fixated on Whites. However, he does not compete against the white men but against his fellows in a battle that is social, not personal. The black man, so Fanon, is obsessed with proofing that he is the “whitest person” in his community. Thereby, he remains unaware of the fact that his narcissistic behavior fosters intra-racial strife and ultimately increases his feelings of alienation (167). As if this were not enough, the effort to fill the void left behind by the decades-long cultural imposition of Whites is now used against him as well. Unapologetic, many Whites ridicule Blacks for the recognition that they seek from them, using the so-called dependency complex to reinforce deep-seated feelings of inadequacy among Blacks