The Aftershocks Of Oppression : Historical Determinism

Women and men are born equal. However, females are receiving unequal judgement and unfair treatment in the society, and thus Marilyn Frye brings up the notion of “oppression”, claiming that women are oppressed. Throughout the essay, I will first give the definition of Frye’s oppression and then list 5 critical qualifications to be considered oppressed. After that, I will explain my appreciation on Frye’s perspective on elaborating oppression using the “bird cage” analogy. I will support Frye’s “double-bind” argument for sexism followed by flaws in the argument. Furthermore, I will point out some social group are mistakenly placed inside or outside the parameters of oppression, once the theory of oppression extends over other marginal groups.

After I read the article, I had to sit back and digest the material for an entire day. The article force me to do some soul searching regarding my position on power, privilege, and oppression. Have I been so oblivious to my surroundings? I quickly thought about the six core values of social work: service, social justice, dignity and worth, importance of human relationships, integrity, & competence. Will I be able to help others; because like Spencer (2008) I took somethings in life for granted? It was ironic when I was reading the article that Martin Luther King Jr, Desmond Tutu, and Nelson Mandella came to mine. They all fought for the injustice and sacrificed much to change the minds of the one in the position of power.

Stereotyping creates assumptions which lead to segregation issues. Ana is a character who lives in an apartment complex next to the vacant lot that eventually becomes the community garden. Ana creates an assumption about Kim that symbolizes how Cleveland is a ghetto place to live. In the book, Ana states, “ Drugs most likely, or money, or a gun.” This text evidence symbolizes how Ana is stereotyping the victim, Kim, by stating that Cleveland’s a sketchy place filled with suspicious people. In society, our own police officers make terrible

The first source I will use is Andrea Ayvazian’s essay “Interrupting the Cycle of Oppression: The Role of Allies as Agents of Change”. She discusses how allies can change in a good way, our society into something better in increasing oppression and the power behind it. The author explain why it is so important to interfere and end the never ending circle of oppression, discrimination, stereotype thinking or prejudice. Oppression can be found in every group and we face it unfortunately every day, for example opportunities for those who are poor get often denied by the wealthier part of society which as we know out of the book are just a small part. Ayvazian defines the word ally and what it is to be one. Furthermore she discusses the importance

In the raw and graphical important events told to us in the novel Always Running by Luis J. Rodriguez, the events show us the way systematic oppression affects the life’s of minorities, but especially those of the community of the main character Chin. Chin is living through systematic oppression and feeling the effects of systematic oppression on his everyday life and to that of his community. Chin, experiences the oppression that the government created in order to oppress communities of certain appearances. We also get to understand his feelings of hatred towards the United States legal system because of how unfair it was towards minorities. His hatred comes from the abusive actions police committed by using their power of the law to make

In “On the Subway,” Sharon Olds illustrates her opinions regarding oppression within racism and sexism by utilizing figurative language in order to create a menacing tone.

What is it that Vonnegut wants the readers to realize? That equality in general is unnatural, because Adaption to the average might mean bringing everyone down to the lowest level and therefore confirm prejudices of stupid, fat and lazy people and lead to a loss of potential, excellence and talent. The immense state control can lead to oppression and torture of citizens if people are too busy with their personal life instead of caring for the greater good. Furthermore that our modern lives can lead to a desensitization if people spend their time in front of a TV lamenting about the chances in the world rather than standing up from the couch and do something about it. That an uncontrolled medium bears the potential of misdirected utilization

Unable to see through the compassionate and honest mask people often wear, the narrator quickly learns not to believe everyone has her best interest at heart. She was greeted in America by a family whose greed and arrogance is masked by a seemingly perfect job offer, and her eventual discovery of their deceitfulness completely changes the tone of her thoughts. After dedicating a full month to working tirelessly for this family and receiving no wages in return, the narrator walks out, unable to “think through [her] pain…then everything began to bleed in [her]. And [she] was helpless” (31). She is forced to turn away from upper class America and decided to look for opportunities in the Ghetto. She finds employment in a small factory that is owned by an “old, wrinkled woman that looked like a black witch of greed” (40). The narrator and her fellow factory workers are forced to perform in less than reasonable conditions for absurd lengths of time, but as soon as she speaks up about the injustices in the factory, she finds herself among the American unemployed for the second time. Her hope in the American people is lost, yet her hope in America’s opportunities and the country itself continued to fuel her

Feminism means the belief that women should be treated as equals to men. In the early 20th century, women faced adversity in the sense that it was a struggle living at that time because they had a specific role to live up to, and that role was being housewives to the men. The early 20th Century was a male dominated society. Glaspell uses character names, Irony in the title, and symbolism in the play, “Trifles” to reveal the roles in which women play, and the harm it brings to women and also men in the early 20th Century.

Throughout the past couple of weeks, the readings revolved around oppression. These readings have talked about oppression as being pervasive, restrictive, hierarchical, intentional, unintentional, institutionalized, and so much more. These examples show us how oppression is taking over our society, and it is going to take a lot for it to finally disappear. One way that individuals believe oppression can start to deteriorate is through the process of social justice. The end game of social justice is to make sure there is equality for everyone present in our society today. Yet, we know that having social justice present is a process that will not happen overnight. By breaking down and analyzing oppression, it could help many individuals understand

The impact of systematic oppression on members of the Black community traces back to the 17th and 18th centuries during the time of slavery within the United States (Feagan, 1986). Systems were established to steal Africans from their homeland, to ship them to America for the purpose of using them as chattel for economic profit. During this daunting time within history, millions of African lives were lost and families were separated (Feagan, 1986). Slavery impacted the Black family structure by indefinitely separating men, women and children (Auslander, 2013). Moreover, families were impacted psychologically with the use of traumatizing tactics forcing them to adhere to inhumane treatment, while internalizing notions that they are less human,

This research paper will outline the causes and traits of oppression in America. Dynamics such as the social, historical, and psychological systems that serve as vessels of oppression will be addressed. Using academic research, the goal for this essay will be to discuss the characteristics of oppression and how those characteristics are connected to its origin. The research will develop major themes that will serve to define agents, including classism, discrimination, and the intersectionality of different types of oppression. Discussions on strategies for addressing and ending the current oppression in America and recommendations for the future will be highlighted as well.

Francine Prose states that “[o]ne reason we read writers from other times or cultures is to confront alternatives — of feeling and sensibility, of history and psyche, of information and ideas” (Prose par. 40). In this quote, Francine Prose offers us with the insight that the reason we read the works of writers from other time periods is to confront other ways of thinking of the past. This way of thinking

He is keeping her locked up under his sister’s watchful eye. The narrator cannot sleep at night for dreaming of ways to get out. Each time her husband comes she attempts to have a “real earnest reasonable talk with him” asking if she would be allowed to go alone to visit relatives. Each time he refuses, which results in her crying hysterically. The narrator seems to be under the spell of the patriarchal norms of her time. She is having an inner struggle with the idea that men are naturally superior to woman. For example she may believe that men are smarter, more dominant, or more logical. The narrator has her own opinions about what is wrong with her and what she believes to be the best ways to improve her conditions, but as a woman transposed by the patriarchal norms of her time, she ignores her own ideas in favor of the ideas of her

I am stating the Five Faces of Oppression based on my understand after reading Shaw & Lee. The first face is Exploitation. Exploitation is, “A process that transfer the results of labor of one social group to benefit another.” (Shaw&Lee, p.53.) An example of exploitation is sweat shops. Children in many parts of the world are making clothing items such as Nike for pennies a day. While these children are underpaid people who aren’t sweat shop workers’ pay multiple dollars for the items made. Marginalization is the next face, Margination is described as, “The expulsion of an entire group from useful participation in social life.” (Shaw&Lee, p.53.) A group that fits this category are the homeless. Homeless people were unable to pay their bills therefore, they’re without a home. Powerlessness comes next and is described as, “lack of respectability.” (Shaw&Lee, p.53.) An example of this would be minority groups. In the media you see many videos of white people disrespecting minorities for being “different.” Cultural Imperialism is the fourth face. Cultural Imperialism is, “Recognizing the dominant group experience and culture as the norm.” (Shaw&Lee, p.53.) An example of this is white culture in America. In America it’s the norm for mothers to be stay at home moms while the husband is the sole bread winner for the family. The last face of oppression is violence. Violence is described as, “Members of a subordinate group who live with the threat of violence.” (Shaw&Lee, p.53.) Transgender individuals live with a lot of fear and violence. Many people don’t understand or support the trans community and tend to thing in order to solve the “problem” they must hurt and kill trans individuals. Iris Young said described the acts as “Using people’s labors to produce profit while not compensating them fairly.”