Fanon and Existentialism

From Black Skin, White Masks, this quote illustrates how Black identity is externally imposed by colonial powers and racial stereotypes, leaving little room for self-definition. (1952)

The black man is overdetermined from without.”

Fanon redefines existential freedom as an active process of self-creation, resisting the constraints of colonialism. (1952)

I am not a prisoner of history. I should constantly remind myself that the real leap consists in introducing invention into existence... I am endlessly creating myself.”

Highlights the psychological impact of the white gaze, which objectifies and dehumanizes Black individuals, leading to alienation (1952)

The white man... unmercifully imprisoned me, and I made myself an object.”

From Being and Nothingness, this describes how individuals become self-conscious under the gaze of others, which objectifies and alienates them. (1943)

“I am seen as the Other.”

From Anti-Semite and Jew, Sartre explains how marginalized groups internalize oppressive views, similar to Fanon’s concept of internalized racism. (1946)

The Jew can adopt the anti-Semite’s view of himself, seeing himself as an object of contempt.

From The Souls of Black Folk, Du Bois introduces double consciousness, later expanded by Fanon to describe the internal conflict caused by racialized objectification. (1903)

“It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others.”

From What Fanon Said, Gordon explains how colonial narratives impose a divided selfhood on Black individuals. (2015)

The alienated consciousness of the Black subject is marked by a split identity.

Hesitation offers a moment of resistance against ingrained racialized perceptions, aligning with Fanon’s call for self-redefinition. Alia Al-Saji (2014).

Hesitation disrupts racializing habits, creating a space in which perception can be reshaped.”

Wynter connects Fanon’s ideas on decolonization with the necessity of dismantling colonial systems to reclaim identity and freedom (2001)

Decolonization sets out to change the order of the world.

From Black Skin, White Masks, this quote highlights how colonialism creates a psychological inferiority complex in the colonized, reinforcing the dynamic of domination (1952)

“The feeling of inferiority of the colonized is the correlative to the European’s feeling of superiority.”

Fanon examines how language serves as a tool of colonial domination and cultural assimilation, alienating Black individuals from their native identities (1952)

To speak a language is to take on a world, a culture

From Being and Nothingness, this foundational existentialist claim underscores Sartre’s view of radical freedom, which Fanon critiques for its inapplicability under racialized oppression. (1943)

Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.

Wynter’s analysis expands on Fanon’s psychological insights by showing how colonialism imposes internalized control over identity and perception (2001)

The colonial system seeks to occupy the very minds and souls of the colonized.

Gordon captures Fanon’s insistence on self-definition as an inherent right, emphasizing active resistance against colonial constraints (2015)

Fanon argues for the right to define oneself, rejecting the imposed identities that are constructed through colonial racism.”

This captures the layered alienation experienced by Black individuals, as they bear the weight of collective histories and racialized expectations. (1952)

I existed in triple: I was responsible at the same time for my body, for my race, for my ancestors.”

This insight aligns with Fanon’s critique of how the colonial gaze constructs and limits Black identity.Alia Al-Saji (2014)

Racializing perception inscribes certain bodies with meaning that limits their freedom and defines their identity.”

• Fanon critiques the hypersexualization of Black women, arguing that they are constructed as objects of desire within the white colonial imagination.

• This process reflects a colonial power dynamic, where Black women are both dehumanized and fetishized, symbolizing both subjugation and deviant sexuality.

• “The black woman is made to feel inferior, and at the same time, she is turned into an object of desire and exotic fascination.” (Fanon, 1952, p. 45)

hooks (1981)

“The process of decolonization cannot ignore gender, as women are often doubly colonized—by race and by patriarchy.”