Uncle Tom syndrome

Uncle Tom syndrome is a theory in multicultural psychology[1] referring to a coping skill in which individuals use passivity and submissiveness when confronted with a threat, leading to subservient behaviour and appeasement, while concealing their true thoughts and feelings.

In Stowe's novel Uncle Tom is a heroic character, loyal to the slaves in hiding, but the original producers of the stage version of the story "grossly distorted" the character into a man who would sell out his own race to curry favor with white people.

[2] This version of Uncle Tom was designed to be more favourable to audiences of the late 1850s, and it is he, not the original, to whom the slur refers.

In race studies literature, Uncle Tom syndrome refers to African Americans who, as a necessary survival technique, opt to appear docile, non-assertive, and happy-go-lucky.

[3] In a broader context, the term may refer to a minority's strategy of coping with oppression from socially, culturally, or economically dominant groups involving suppression of aggressive feelings and even identification with the oppressor, leading to forced assimilation/acculturation of the cultural minority.