The notion of "victim status" may also become a conduit to pseudo-self-esteem for individuals in any group whose members are frequently subject to discrimination or other forms of oppression. Because most people belong to one such group or another (

), they may be tempted to seek excuses for failure, viewing even a life of non-achievement as heroic in the face of "societal" oppression. Membership in the oppressed group is seen as a badge of honor, enabling one to evade the responsibility of positive action in pursuit of healthy self-esteem. The rational egoist, as we have seen, speaks up vigorously against oppression, but refuses to see himself or herself as a victim or to regard suffering as a status symbol.

Sexism can be used in much the same manner as racism to create a false sense of self-esteem. Again, individuals attempt to extract a sense of superiority, power, and worth from gender, rather than from their personal accomplishments. A man may tell a woman: "It's a guy thing; you wouldn't understand." Similarly, a woman may delude herself into believing that she has inborn "female intuition," eliminating the inconvenient necessity for logical thought. Others seek to bolster a flagging sense of self-esteem from invidious comparisons with persons of a different sexual orientation (a characteristic that seems to be either inborn or acquired at a very early age, and not a matter of conscious choice). Again, sexist and homophobic thinking can be combatted only by acknowledging that human character, actions, and self-worth all derive from the individual mind rather than from inborn characteristics.

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