Category: Oppression

The oppression of women will continuously be the elephant in the room, something men will shove under the rug in hopes that people will ignore the maltreatment. The struggles women face daily are overlooked in society, and especially in the media, thus their ultimate struggles seem infinite. In the novel The Handmaid’s Tale written by Margeret Atwood, female characters struggle against power. As a result of the male dominating society of Gilead, the objectification of women and their lack of freedom, characters face their ultimate hardships in an attempt to gain a sense of self.

The start of this dystopian society called the Republic of Gilead begun by men. This patriarchal government banishes all rights of women depending on their social class. Due to the male dominating society of Gilead, the men are responsible for the outcomes of this new experiment they label a government. The main character in this novel, Offred undergoes extreme injustice because of her coming from a lower class and being a female. Males dominate women by making rules and controlling the things they do. An example of this is the authorities in Gilead society is governed by males which are showcased through “The Eyes”, also known as the secret police that is in charge of reporting crimes. The phrase that many Handmaids continue to use is “under his eye” which is a reminder that they are constantly being watched by men and that men have total control when it comes to punishment for their actions. Another example is the hardship Offred faces before becoming a Handmaid. The beginning of this new society is when Offred is kicked out of her job and her bank account is wiped. This marks the beginning of the revolution and when Gilead starts to take over. This is shown when she said “They’ve frozen them, she said. Mine too. The collective’s too. Any account with an F on it instead of an M. All they needed to do is push a few buttons. We’re cut off” (Atwood 206) This demonstrates the stereotypical gender roles throughout the novel and that the dominance of men is clearly expressed. The men in Gilead take everything from Offred, her job, her money and most importantly her pride. They make her feel like she is nothing compared to them, and they show how little power she has in this misogynistic world that they have created.

Another instance where women in the novel, the Handmaids, struggle to gain a sense of self is for the sole purpose that they were objectified as the property of men. The men have total control over women and they have no say in anything. They belong to their Commanders, even their name, the thing that identifies anyone, represents them. This was demonstrated when Ofglen, Offred’s partner is absent and an unknown individual comes to take her place. Offred is concerned because she was unaware of the whereabouts of her friend. The new Ofglen explains “I am Ofglen,” the woman says. Word perfect. And of course, she is, the new one, and Ofglen, wherever she is. Is no longer Ofglen. I never did know her real name. That is how you can get lost in a sea of names. It wouldn’t be easy to find her, now.” (326) This quote demonstrates how the Handmaids do not own their name, it belongs to their Commander and every time their “house” changes, so do their name. The men take full control over the women in the household and show pride in treating them as their personal property.

In addition, the women in Gilead face lack of freedom in an attempt to gain a sense of self. The women are oppressed in regards to their body, especially the Handmaids. They are constantly sexually abused and raped by their Commanders. The Handmaid’s sole purpose is to become pregnant by their Commander, which they have no say in doing. An initial example of this is shown when Offred, sees another Handmaid, Ofwarren, who is very far along with her pregnancy, “She’s a magic presence to us, an object of envy and desire, we covet her. She’s a flag on a hilltop, showing us what can still be done: we too can be saved” (26) This quote demonstrates how the men in Gilead have programmed into the Handmaids mind that the only way they can be saved is by becoming pregnant shows the unjust lack of freedom that these women have to face. The sad reality is that there is no getting out of being a Handmaid, and being pregnant against your will is the only thing these young women want. The objectification of women ruins their self-confidence, their self-worth and shatters any hope of trusting men in the future. The oppression these sterile women face by merely being child-bearers limits their ability to rise to their true potential.

Jean-Paul Sartre describes inauthenticity as living in “Bad Faith” by rejecting radical freedom. His contemporary Simone De Beauvoir, challenges this by dissecting the ontology of “women”, concluding that women’s facticity constrains the ability to engage as radically free beings. By unpacking the ontology of women, Beauvoir revises Sartre’s idea of “Bad Faith” to broaden notions of inauthenticity as both “Moral Fault” and “Oppression” and identifies an embodied experience that leads to the internalisation of being-for-others, which remains relevant in considering gendered ways of being today. This essay will examine Sartre’s “Bad Faith” and Beauvoir’s revisal of it and discuss the distinction between “Moral Fault” and “Oppression” as it can be understood and applied today. First, I will examine Sartre’s ontology with an explanation of terminology. Following this will be a discussion of Beauvoir’s ontology of women and the critique of Sartre’s early work contained within it. This leads to examining how Beauvoir refines “Bad Faith” to “Oppression” and “Moral Fault”. Finally, I will discuss the way that this distinction can inform ideas surrounding gendered sociality in the age of social media. In order to get at the question of being, Sartre first seeks to answer the question “What is man?”.

Jean-Paul Sartre defines man by rejecting the idea of a universal human nature, stating instead that “Existence precedes essence” (Sartre, 2007: 30), rooting the question of being within subjective experience. In “Being and Nothingness” (1943), Sartre explores this by examining the relationship with the other. The other acts as a reference point, defining the boundary of his space and that of the other imposing upon him (Sartre, 1957: 394). In this way, he describes the other as having qualities of “object-being” but distinct from actual objects, in that the other has an effect on his subject-being. This effect produces anxiety, which is the cause of the conflictual nature of the relationship between self and other (Boulous Walker, 2019: 6). This conflict is a struggle for dominance where each person is striving for subject-being by reducing the other to object-being (Detmer, 2008: 78-79). Thus Sartre describes three states of being: Being-for-itself, being-in-itself, and being-for-others. Being-for-itself refers to the subject-being of conscious entities, striving for that transcendence which represents radical freedom and authenticity. This is an important point, as radical freedom for Sartre means accepting the full responsibility of personal freedom, along with the consequences that stem from it (Boulous Walker, 2019: 4). Immanence, described as being-in-itself or object-being, is the concrete situation or facticity of our body and context which prevents authenticity. Sartre’s ontology appears to hold a universal lens through which to view human sociality, but overlooks constraints that inhibit one’s ability to engage authenically. Beauvoir develops Sartre’s work in a way that explores these constraints through a gendered perspective.

The ontology of man explored in “Being and Nothingness” (Sartre, 1943) and the relational dynamic is percieved through the gaze of the white, male, middle class philosopher. Thus Sartre’s work is heavily gendered, referring to characteristics of object-being and immanence as feminine; subject-being and transcendence as masculine (Collins & Pierce 1976: 117). Simone De Beauvoir addresses this in “The Second Sex”(1949) by asking “what is woman?”(De Beauvoir, 1972: 13). Beauvoir gets to the heart of the problem by identifying that the idea of woman is based on the idea of femininity (De Beauvoir 1972: 13). To uncover what femininity entails, Beauvoir explores the relationship between the sexes. She highlights how women are defined in relation to men rather than as an absolute in themselves. “The Second Sex”, speaks of the masculine as representative of the human prototype (De Beauvoir, 1972: 13-16) that sets man as subject, and woman as object. This dynamic would, in Sartre’s ontology, keep women at a level of immanence, unless they choose to take upon themselves the responsibility of radical freedom. What is missed by Sartre is that women’s facticity constrains their ability to choose. Beauvoir identifies these constraints and revises Sartres’ notion of Bad Faith to account for them, breaking Bad Faith down into Moral Fault and Oppression.

Beauvoir’s ontology of women emphasises the difference between the sexes, but also that the meaning of these differences is largely based on a historic situation (Gothlin 1999: 84-85). Woman is defined in relation to man, as a lack of the qualities of masculinity, and Beauvoir shows how this enforces women’s constrained facticity (De Beauvoir, 1972: 15-16). This situation channels women toward being-for-others, so that by virtue of the historical social roles of women, they are confined to immanence by their being-for-men (De Beauvoir, 1972: 169). The social norms that generate this concrete situation for women have two effects on women’s being: oppression and moral fault. Beauvoir defines oppression as being compelled to fall into immanence and moral fault as consenting to that immanence (Beauvoir, 1949: 28-29 in Boulous Walker, 2019: 4). The oppression that constrains women presents two paths, that is, to pursue transcendence by breaking free of these constraints (if that is even possible) or to fall into moral fault by being complicit in their own immanence. Tanella Boni captures this paradox: “woman hardly finds the pursuit of independence comfortable. Not only are her body and her mind at the mercy of all forms of alienation, but the traps set by love give her further reason to mistrust herself.” (Boni, 2017: 175). Thus there are often psychological, social, economic and physical benefits for the woman who wishes to remain in a state of being-for-men. This complicity represents a moral fault, or inauthenticity when consented to, but the apprenticeship of women does not show itself clearly for what it is, with women and girls largely unaware of the possibility of radical freedom. In the world of social media, these messages are reinforced differently, by different online groups.

The current climate of online interaction has changed the landscape of social interactions dramatically. When looking at gender discourse online, there is the potential for self-representation in a way that carries less real-world consequences, in a space that explores the diversity of gender ‘authenticity’ (Son, 2018: 19-21). However, a study of Twitter revealed that the majority of discussion contributed to the patriarchal discourse of social roles and value of women (Cacir-Demirhan & Demirhan, 2015: 310). Whilst other platforms such as Instagram have acted as a means of ‘reclaiming’ authenticity via “self-branding” as a means of generating profit within consumer culture (Faleatua, 2018: 721-723). Through the lens of Beauvoir’s oppression and moral fault, this appears to be a further representation of the general public, with a digital flavour. Whilst oppression seems to align with this idea, I believe that moral fault may need to be adapted to fit the digital age. I would seek to refine moral fault to include a notion of “willful ignorance” along with Beauvoirs idea of complicity. I would define willful ignorance in this circumstance as refusing to acknowledge and thus perpetuating constrictions on authenticity in the digital space. This differs from Beauvoir’s moral fault in that roles, representations and authenticity is often policed by those of the same group (Burr, 2002: 73 in Rose, et al., 2012: 594). Online gendered representations have just as much of a possibility of generating further being-for-others in a detrimental way, and “authenticity” has become a buzzword for both empowerment and disempowerment.

In conclusion, “Bad Faith” and “Authenticity” are insufficient for explaining the ontology of women, not only in Beauvoir’s time, but also today. Beauvoir revises Sartre’s work to explain the ontology of women, as told by men, and how this has constraining effects on their concrete situation. Woman is set up as the other, kept in a state of immanence by her being-for-men as oppression when coerced and as moral fault when consented to. This breakdown has relevance in online public spaces today and can be seen played out on different social media platforms in language, dialogue and presentation.

In the short story, “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin (2009) the period in which it was published was the Harlem Renaissance, where there was a continual reiteration of social hierarchy that was imposed by a higher class. Similarly, “The Yellow Wallpaper” was published during the nineteenth century, which was a period in which women were oppressed and were silenced by a patriarchal society. The emphasis on the treatment of the protagonist, Sonny, who ultimately embodies the conflictive essence of black individuals who often experience injustice, unquestionably asserts the concerns of a person’s color and class through a critical perspective within the short story. In juxtaposition, John, the protagonist’s husband, represents the higher social power and the unnamed protagonist represents the oppressed social class. Moreover, the minorities depicted in these two short stories are depicted as pawns in a game of chess in which the higher class, manipulates the subordinate society in a way that influences their self-awareness into believing that their existence is trivial. Baldwin’s (2009) approach of revealing the discrimination of the black community affirms that colored citizens are depicted as an inferior class that is excluded from society; therefore, leading black people to a state of perpetual agony and despair. At the same time, Gilman (1890) expresses the powerlessness of women and how they are painted as mere objects who are stripped of their intellectual and physical freedom. These troubled individuals are destined to remain at the bottom of the social hierarchy, as it is a generalization that keeps minorities in place, consequently, the intention of a rebellion seems inevitable. Through the utilization of Marxist Criticism, Baldwin (2009) and Gilman (1892) both highlight the constant oppression of minorities, women and black people, and the prejudiced world they have been placed upon, conclusively affecting the perceptions that society holds against their community which in turn strips them of their self-righteousness.

The idea of the inferiority and mediocrity of the black civilization is introduced by the narrator of the story, “Sonny’s Blues”, Sonny’s brother, as he finds out that Sonny had been incarcerated because of his drug use. Almost immediately, Sonny’s brother states that he feels “trapped in the darkness which roared outside” (Baldwin, 2009. p.17) which represents the conceptualization of entrapment as well as the suffocation to unveil the suffering and sorrow that the narrator and his brother are forced to endure throughout their lives. Baldwin’s (2009) act of using historical context conveys the hardships faced concerning racism, such as the poor choices of drug and alcohol abuse, and the impoverishment that occurred during this time. Not only that, but Baldwin (2009) often emphasizes the recurring motif and image of darkness that occurs within the people to further adds to the intensity of the hardships that all black individuals had to experience, including the narrator and Sonny, to feel somewhat significant in a civilization so discriminatory. Furthermore, the narrator observes a woman who “when she smiled one saw the little girl, one sensed the doomed, still-struggling woman beneath the battered face of the semi-whore” (Baldwin, 2009. p.20) which reveals the different facades that individuals would often be described as, as not many people were open to express their anguish because for colored people, it was normal to be in a continuous state of torment and misery. Indeed, Baldwin (2009) is making the argument that the lasting inferior status of black people is ubiquitously ill-fated simply because of their color and class. However, the sense of rebellion is made known by Sonny who expresses, “No there’s no way not to suffer. But you try all kinds of ways to keep from drowning in it, to keep on top of it, and to make it seem–well like you.” (Baldwin, 2009. p.41) the urgency in his tone discloses how the dictatorial system cannot be supported, and how the oppressed must somehow rebel to prove that all the suffering that they have tolerated must be displayed, not hidden. Even more, Sonny continues to get his matter across by claiming, “I think people ought to do what they want to do, what else are they alive for?” (Baldwin, 2009. p.23). This quotation affirms that he will not let his voice go unsilenced; hence, why he utilizes the expression of music to personify the journey of his suffering to those fellow black individuals who experience the same maltreatment from humanity. Once again, Sonny represents the inferior, underlying class against the prominent aristocratic and white-privileged system. Nonetheless, although the white class looks upon the black community as mere pawns in a game of chess that they claim to dominate the entitled, which according to Sonny, have no say in deciding who they are or what will become of them.

In a like manner, in ‘The Yellow Wallpaper,’ the protagonist represents the effect of the oppression of women in society. This effect is created by the use of symbols such as the decaying house and the wall-paper which facilitate her oppression as well as her self expression. Gilman (1892) explores the patriarch that has been imposed by societal norms as the unnamed protagonist is struggling with not being understood by her husband, or society at that. Women during this era were expected to solely oblige their husbands and be child-bearers as that was the only task expected of them. The speaker states that she does not feel well, it is ironic how her husband, a physician, “does not believe” (Gilman, 1892. p.647) that she is sick, illustrating that a man’s judgement, at the time this was written was more legitimate and superior over a woman’s. Additionally, the description of the house makes it seem more like a prison rather than a home. The yellow room that the protagonist stayed in, in which she despised, contained a “heavy bedstead, and then barred windows, and that gate at the head of the stairs, and so on” (Gilman, 1892. p.649) these specific details contribute to the imprisonment that women had to endure, psychologically and substantially. Although the narrator believes that John, her husband of a high class, To enumerate, John would often speak to the protagonist in a condescending tone; thus, overruling her judgment on what treatment is best for her and deeming her thoughts inferior to his own. In short, John is asserting his dominance, as any man would during this era, by treating his wife as a minority by referring to her as a “little girl” (Gilman, 1892. p.652) and assuring her that he will care for her and make decisions about her health and well-being as a parent would for their child. Following thereafter, the narrator attempts to escape the entrapment she is forced upon by tearing off the wallpaper while her husband is away; thus, the woman she saw trapped inside is now free, except the woman she saw confined turned out to be the protagonist all this time.

“I don’t like to look out of the windows even — there are so many of those creeping women, and they creep so fast. I wonder if they all come out of that wall-paper as I did?

But I am securely fastened now by my well-hidden rope — you don’t get me out in the road there!”

This quotation is the moment when the narrator finally decides to rebel against these traditional norms, which aids her in discovering her individuality and freedom from oppression. Not only does peeling the paper off the walls symbolize her attempt to liberate herself from the house and its confinements, but also from the confinements of her husband and the patriarchal oppression of society.

Throughout both of these short stories, the concept of Marxist Criticism is visible as the main characters of the story, the unnamed narrator, Sonny, and his brother, all are silenced in such a way that they are portrayed as minorities. The exhibition of the tragedies shown throughout the short stories epitomizes the process of secondary individuals giving into the madness and settling with the same, repetitive injustice as the people from times before. Although both pieces describe how societal structures dictate the minority class, Sonny and the unnamed narrator realize that the only solution to end their monotony state of suffering is to rebel. Without saying it directly, both short stories have made the concise argument that the overbearing, repressive society and class structure, with minorities at the bottom, has relegated these innocent individuals to believe that they are forced to live tragic, meaningless lives.

The Bluest Eye is about what it’s like to be hated for things that are outside of your control. She addresses the larger implications of that, probably something that all of us have experienced in our lives. Especially, she is talking about what it’s like to be hated for being a poor black girl. For many people, knowing that they’re hated for things that are outside of their control makes that hate easier to dismiss, especially if they have the support of family, friends, and a community that validates them and can see that hate for what it is. The Bluest Eye is about people who internalize that hate rather than deflecting it. Specifically, one young black girl does not have the support of her family or a community, and life just keeps beating her up until there is no resistance left. Toni Morrison calls it “the death of self-esteem.”

An interesting thing about the way the book is written is that the story initially focuses on two young sisters so you think the story is about them. You don’t realize until they keep talking about their friend Picola that the story is hers. I thought that was very clever interesting writing, not because there is an element of surprise to it, but that you realize that Picola never could have told her own story. As Toni Morrison confirms, “She’s too passive to narrate her own life.” Only these other young girls in the community who do have the support of their families and some degree of self-esteem could tell the story. What makes this device so effective is that you realize this story is not just about Picola because she can’t even get her own story. The story is also about the people in her community who do see her and do not blame her for the things that have happened to her, and yet are helpless to save her from this dilemma. These girls are not in a situation completely unlike Picola’s, so you see how little it could have taken for her to live a very different life.

You see how little power these little girls have even if they are full of empathy in this one heartbreaking scene. They say that they want to change the course of events and alter a human life and they just can’t because they don’t have that power. The feeling that her young classmates have in just helplessly watching her is something that I felt a lot as a child, but now I have more power and think about what am I doing with it. I think that my education very much has trained me to look at my role in things rather than immediately identifying with whoever is being oppressed. I think it’s more important to look at the role that you are playing in oppressing people, and yet I am not sure if I was doing that when I read The Bluest Eye.

I don’t know if I felt maybe a little too removed from the situation so I simply pitied her or if I felt empathy where I was too much identifying with her rather than looking at my role in oppressing her. It is a question I am going to be considering when I am reading other books. Another theme of the book is the idea that the community does not value the kind of beauty that Picola has and only values the beauty of white women, especially young, blonde-haired, blue-eyed girls. It relates to a conversation that Toni Morrison had as a child with a girl her age who wanted blue eyes. She was writing this novel in the late 60s at a time when reclaiming racial beauty was a big movement and she wanted to get at the kind of self-loathing and internalized hate that would make a young black girl want to racially transform her appearance and think that would change everything. One thing I think is so powerful about The Bluest Eye is that the so-called villains of the book, the people who don’t just overlook Picola’s suffering but directly cause it, are given these rich backstories where you have to somewhat empathize with them. At least you can see how they became the people that they are. It’s not simply that they are evil, it’s that they’ve also lived these difficult lives. It certainly makes for a more real and complicated moral message. You have to see your involvement in everything rather than simply blaming evil people.

The last theme I am going to touch on is the way that sexual assault and sexual abuse are written about where it is kind of removed. The way that authors write about sexual abuse, the language that they use, and that Toni Morrison deliberately uses, puts us at a distance from it. I don’t know if that is reflective of the experience of being sexually abused if that’s the only way that we can stand to read about it or if it makes us think about it differently. I wonder about that distance and if it creates any problems where we feel so removed from it that it doesn’t feel real or that it saves us from some impact of it or what the consequences are of that and is the best way to do it. The writing used about sexual abuse this way is interesting because it feels so removed as if the reader is not sure it’s happening until at a certain point it becomes obvious, but it’s not clear from the beginning because there is almost a language barrier or this distance as if you are not in the situation. You are outside of it somehow, and I think that’s supposed to be a reflection of how the characters feel as well. I am just wondering about how authors write about sexual abuse and I would like to consider that as I continue reading more novels that I know deal with this issue. There are so many other things in this incredibly rich novel and the story is so powerful and well-written. It is this kind of writing that feels so natural, and yet it feels like Toni Morrison considered everything that she was doing and was very deliberate about how she told this story and it just makes for such a powerful novel.  

Abstract There is a gap of over ninety years between the advent of T. S. Eliot as a major poet and the literature of our own time. An approach to Eliot at the end of twentieth Century might lead one to believe that Eliot is now out dated, that he belongs to the twenties and that the intellectual, emotional and spiritual tendencies of that period were different from our own. But it would be helpful to remember that relevance of Eliot’s poetry goes back to 15th – 16th centuries and forward to the 21st century and even beyond. The position of the women faced drastic changes but the real question remains the same. T S Eliot tried in his poetry to showcase the brutal relationship between men and women. In order to accentuate the subjugation felt by women, he took the help of satire and myth. In this paper an attempt has been made to show the oppression of women with Eliot’s use of satire and myth.

After having read and analyzed Eliot’s The Waste Land, it can be said that Eliot has been one of the most daring and fearless authors of the twentieth century. Eliot has been used to seeing women like slaved not just of their own husbands but also slaves of the torturous and maltreating society. These appear to be the main reasons why this work appears to be very expressive on the author’s views on the issues regarding gender and sexuality.

The Waste Land is dominated primarily by women, both contemporary and mythical, who illustrate the brutal relationship between men and women. This intensely personal relationship, however, is similar to the relationship of the individual and society; like the individual, the women must make the decision to either speak out against their oppressors or keep silent and accept their circumstances. Either option places women at risk of further subjugation. In this way, The Waste Land acts as the backdrop to a crippled social world populated by subjugated individuals struggling to find their voice. Eliot portrays the female voice as the struggle against the ruined communication that characterizes the modern world. Contemporary and mythical characters converge in the poem, revealing the ineffectiveness of communication in a world where power barriers exist between the sexes.T S Eliot used the methods of juxtaposing mythical women from Ovid’s Metamorphoses against the contemporary characters from The Waste Land. African American author Zora Neale Hurston once said, “If you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it” (Hurston). T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land explores the role of the voice in the midst of this chaos in an attempt to illustrate the struggle for personal identity against the wave of modern oppressions. The Waste Land is, in large part, about a general social and cultural breakdown; this breakdown takes its shape in ruined communication and infertile human relationships. Eliot situates this breakdown primarily around women: most of the characters in the narrative are women, and the majority of the allusions made throughout reference women and their relationship to men. These brutal relationships between men and women parallel the relationship between the individual and society; like the individual, the women must make the decision to speak out against their male oppressors or keep silent and accept their circumstances. Either option places the women at risk of consequential wrongs and subjugation.

In Ovid’s retelling of the myth, Philomela is raped by her brother-in-law, King Tereus, and when she threatens to tell all who will listen about this crime he has committed against her, he is moved to cut out her tongue. The “change” comes when, after serving Tereus a feast made of his own son, Philomela and her sister escape his rage as if on wings; and indeed, they each have been transformed into nightingales. (VI.966-8). Frequently Ovid uses metamorphosis as a mark of punishment; however, in the myth of Philomela, it acts as a restoration of her purity. Eliot’s use and placement of this image suggests that he intentionally framed the moment of her change (rather than her assault) within this room: Above the antique mantel was displayed As though a window gave upon the sylvan scene The change of Philomela, by the barbarous king So rudely forced; yet there the nightingale Filled all the desert with inviolable voice And still she cried, and still the world pursues, “Jug Jug” to dirty ears. (97-103)

In ‘Sweeney among the Nightingales’ (1920) Eliot portrays Sweeney in terms of animal imagery. Sweeney is portrayed as totally devoid of human attributes. The word “Nightingales” is now used for a woman who is a prostitute, a fallen woman. But this word is associated with the Greek myth according to which Philomela after having been raped by her sister’s husband, who cut her tongue so that she could not reveal his evil deed, was changed into a singing bird. Sweeney’s murder is a purely cold blooded murder to get same feeling of excitement out of it. But the last stanza which concludes the whole atmosphere is an example of the fusion of levity and seriousness.

The nightingales are singing near

The convent of the sacred Heart

And sang within the bloody wood

When Agamemnon cried aloud

And let their liquid sifting fall

To stain the stiff dishonoured shroud

Sweeney is about to murder and nightingales are singing and excreting. They are the witness of such acts in the past when Agamemnon was put to death by his wife. Here, Eliot has used the device of parallelism which stresses a point in common between the past and the present. During Agamemnon’s murder they were singing and excreting and now to they are doing the same. The image of the nightingales excreting and staining the shroud covering the dead body Agamemnon is an example of Eliotian mixture of levity and seriousness. The seriousness of the past is ridiculed by using ‘their liquid sifting fall/To stain the stiff dishonoured shroud’.

Eliot was gifted with the quality of juxtaposing and telescoping the past and the present and underscoring the timeless quality of the myth. The mythical method is characterized by the devices of parallelism and contrast which stress at once the point in common between the past and the present and the ways in which they are demonstrably unlike each other.

Humor and satire are, before the nineteenth century, almost interchangeable terms. The literature before the nineteenth century has no conscious humor apart from satire. In the present age humor is mingled with satire. If a humorist tries to write verse without any aim or moral, it can be pretty to look at, but in reality, valueless. At certain moments the humorist in Eliot plays the part of a satirist who can purge his readers mind; partly dramatically, partly simply, and sometimes in a sharp and pungent manner of speech which arouses hatred or laughter or indignation. The intermingling of satire and humour can be seen in the poems of T S Eliot’s Poems whenever he described the females in his poems.

Eliot. “When Eliot’s poems appeared during the war, they were read, as an odd kind of vers de society; only gradually was it discovered that this slender volume was to have the effect, as Wyndham Lewis described it, of the little musk that scents a whole room.

The satirical humour in “Aunt Helen” is identified when the lady is addressed by the observer as ‘my maiden aunt’. The observer starts giving the details in the next lines and the focus shifts from ‘Aunt Helen’ to ‘Miss Helen Slingsby’ and her world Miss Helen controlled the life around her very mechanically. In her entire life she was cared for by servants to the number of four’. In the presence of the mistress servants hide the frustration and boredom behind the masks of efficiency. Shortly after the death of the mistress they change their conduct. This is presented through the strokes of humour.

And the footman sat upon the dining-table

Holding the second house maid on his knees

Who had always been so careful while he mistress lived.

Eliot presents how the mask of seriousness and gravity was attached with the faces of servants during their mistress’s presence which was broken after the death of their mistress. Eliot makes a satirical effort to project the duplicity of the modern world in a blend of seriousness and levity. Eliot’s interest tends towards the satiric use of bathos:

Now when she died there was silence in heaven and silence at her end of the street.

Here, the humour is no larger a laughing humour. It is at best a chuckle. We are left with a comic examination of from on the one hand and of language on the other, which is essentially a matter of form also.

In the poem “Cousin Nancy” the observer simply announces its subject as “Miss Nancy Ellicott.” The name begins with the characterization and the surname particularly ringing with new England efficiency and power. But this voice is less intent on characterization than on satire. Nancy is the representative of the new England efficiency and power. She

Strode across the hills and broke them,

rode across the hills and broke them-

The barren new England hills.-

Riding to hounds

Over the cow-pasture.

The observer undercuts the character of Nancy while describing her striding across the new England hill to break them. The seriousness of her effort soon vanishes, as the obstancles she “broke” are said to be “barren” and then executed when the site where she rode to hounds is revealed to be a cow-pasture. The new American modes are satirised when she tries to break the hills that seemed changeless. It makes no positive gains for her. The human beings are running an endless race purpose lessly. Literary values are mocked here when :

Miss Nancy Ellicott smoked

And danced all the modern dances;

And her aunts were not quite sure how they felt about it,

But they knew that it was modern.

The structure of The Waste Land is built of contrast of which the most obvious and ironical dramatic scenes from modern life are set against : the memories of the myths related in from Ritual to Romance and The Golden Bough and supported by the suggestions evoked by Eliot’s vast store of literary reminiscences. The free usage of mythological gods and heroes is intended to illustrate the innocence and purity of the ancients. Metaphors are also profusely employed to underline the sense of experience and desire of the modern man whose life is always self-centred. The myths and metaphors, which are intended to expose the difference between the virtues of the ancients and the vices of the modern are blended together expertly to enlarge and emphasize the message of hope even in the life of the Waste Lander who is desperate and dissolute.

Madam Sosostris’ figure is reproduced by Eliot in a different manner which is intended to create humour. The original myth has been changed and perverted according to the modern norms which clearly suggests Eliot’s intention to provoke humour. According to Miss Weston’s book From Ritual to Romance the Tarot cards were originally used to determine the event of the highest importance to the people, the rising of the waters. Madam Sosostris is engaged merely in vulgar fortune-telling and is one item in a generally vulgar civilization. The contrast is obvious in provoking humour.

There are lines in the poem which are suggestive of the modern thinking of looking beautiful in order to attract the attention of the opposite sex:

O the moon shone bright on Mrs. Porter

And on her daughter

They wash their feet in soda-water.

The act of washing feet in soda water becomes a butt of laughter as it is touched with impropriety. In Sanskrit literature Anaucitya or impropriety is considered to be the distinctive feature of ridiculous according to Abhinavagupta. In his opinion, anything can become an object of laughter when it is touched with impropriety. He says even tears become ridiculous when they are not natural.

Eliot has changed the real story with an exaggerated scene. In ancient days there was another sort of foot washing, the sound of the children singing in the dome heard at the ceremony of the foot washing which precedes the restoration of the wounded Anfortas (the fisher king) by parzival and the taking away of the curse from the Waste Land. The act of washing of feet by the children in the grail legend which resulted in the restoration of the wounded Anfortas and the lifting of the curse from the land is again is contrast with that of washing feet with soda water by Mrs. Porter and her daughter to look fairer so that they could attract more men.

Lyndall Gordon suggests that in real life women were often the recipients of Eliot’s poetic confessions: the women in his life possessed more of him than his poetry (401); in “The Waste Land,” women instead become the medium of confession, demonstrating the harsh reality of the modern world. The poem acts as an exploration of contemporary relationships between the sexes. Placed alongside the tales of mythical women out of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, these human relationships take on new elements of devastation. Contrasted against the heroic voices of Ovid’s women, Eliot’s contemporary women come up short, afflicted with the modern condition of apathy. As a result the oppression of their identity overtakes them, rendering them victims to control. So too becomes the individual in society. Like the typist, they keep silent and accept their circumstances and use their voice only to concede the situation. Sometimes they are the rebels like Philomela and takes revenge. In the portrayal of women Eliot uses myth and satire, characterized by the devices of parallelism and contrast. After having read and analyzed Eliot’s poems, it can be said that Eliot has been one of the most daring and fearless authors of the twentieth century. Very deftly he depicted the most sensitive issues on morality and sexuality. His ability to package his words in a stirring manner has also influenced his poetry, drama, and critical ideas. But above all this, what appears appealing in this work was the explicit representation of the reality on women’s roles. Thus, it can be said that Eliot’s poems serves as an appropriate example of a piece of literature which presents the punishing and painful realities of women’s life during the twentieth century, as well as twentieth century.

In the words of Marilyn Frye (1983), “The word ‘oppression’ is a strong word. It repels and attracts. It is dangerous and dangerously fashionable and endangered. It is much misused, and sometimes not innocently”. In this reflection statement I will try to define what oppression is and how it intersects with privilege in my personal life and experiences. I will explain how I’ve come to understand it and how important it is to recognize your own privilege.

You cannot understand where oppression comes from without considering privilege and where it stems from. “As a white person, I realized I had been taught about racism as something that puts others at a disadvantage, but had been taught not to see…, white privilege, which puts me at an advantage” (McIntosh, 1989). Privilege, domination and oppression come hand in hand and often intersect on many different levels. You cannot have one without the other. An example of one of my intersections is, I experience privilege daily by presenting as a white cisgender woman (I am half Mexican with a very white complexion), but I also face oppression for being a woman. Often people think that they cannot experience privilege because they too experience oppression. I have come to understand privilege as something that is unearned but something I can subconsciously rely on to get me ahead in life. Even if I am oppressed in some ways, I have these privileges I can “cash in”. Examples of my white cisgender privilege are as follows; I can use public bathrooms that are specifically labeled for me without having to worry about being arrested or verbally abused. I learn about my race in school (the white side). My gender is an option on a form. I can assume that people I encounter will understand my gender identity and not think I am confused. I don’t have any problems finding children books that accurately represent my race. I am not associated with violent stereotypes when presenting as white. All of these and many more are examples of unearned benefits I experience in day to day life and I experience even more as an able-bodied white person. It is important to relate white privilege and all privilege to the disadvantage of others, while not all advantages are inherently bad it is necessary to connect the two. If the dominate culture stays ignorant or oblivious to their privilege we cannot hope to redistribute the power that they hold.

“The most general statement of our politics at the present time would be that we are actively committed to struggling against racial, sexual, heterosexual, and class oppression, and see as our particular task the development of integrated analysis and practice based upon the fact that the major systems of oppression are interlocking” (Combahee River Collective, 1978). The women that took part in writing the Combahee River Collective were part of many intersections of oppression. They were lesbians, black, and women. Three separate groups that are dominated in society and are all very much oppressed. The Combahee River Collective really helped me realize and define my own privilege. While I am a woman and also a woman who identifies as queer I am still half white and present as white. I have racial and class privilege to rely or fall back on. I have access and power that marginalized groups do not. I have been given a platform to speak while many people of color fight to be heard everyday who have also been erased from our history books or silenced. That’s why I think it is very important for people who have power to first recognize it, and then realize that that same power comes at someone else’s expense. Growing up I went to a predominately black/latinx school, while I am half Mexican I was considered fully white because I present as white with my dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. I have personally witnessed the opportunities I have been given that my peers have been looked over for, not because they worked any less hard than me but because their skin presented darker than mine.

I am presented with a position of power being half white in America but I have also experienced a lot of misogyny and homophobia in my life because I am a queer woman. While my oppressions are very real my privilege still has a lingering unspoken factor in everything I do, and that’s why I choose to write about that privilege. I have learned from the feminist’s texts I have mentioned above that the first step to dismantle our societies systems of domination is to recognize where you place in this systematic axe of oppression and privilege.

As explained by institutional theory, people tend to adhere to traditional institutions despite the presence of far better and more efficient alternatives due to their belief that with age comes stability and as such would be a better choice than an untested and potentially unstable system.

One example of this can be seen in today’s social institutions wherein in one way or another people still adhere to practices related to competition and competitive behavior wherein society today is often described as a “dog eat dog world” defined by inter and intra social competitive behaviors and traditions.

This is evident in the U.S. social system today where individuals actively compete against each other in various aspects related to work, social standing and a variety of similar situations all of which involve individuals working towards “getting ahead.” The concept of “getting ahead” is so ingrained in American society today that it is a ubiquitous concept adhered to by a large percentage of the population all of whom want to “get ahead” of their fellow man.

This, of course, has created a distinctly individualistically oriented society wherein instead of a sense of community people develop behaviors concerning the improvement of one’s own life instead of the community itself. What must be understood is that competition often results in limitations being placed on particular social classes in terms of the type of opportunities they are given, the communities they can belong to and the types of jobs they can have.

This, of course, prolongs the social condition of people thinking in an adverse competitive way in their desire to get ahead; this shows how the idea continues to propagate in between social classes and becomes an almost everyday fixture in the lives of nearly all individuals within the society.

Due to the fact that people think in relation to how a particular activity will help them achieve their own quality of success rather than that of others, this has resulted in people rationalizing society and life itself as an active competition divided between winners and losers, with winners standing on the top of society’s ladder with the losers well below them.

This has resulted in the development of distinct societal attitudes akin to prejudice and discrimination wherein people on the top of the social ladder believe themselves to be superior due to the “winning” in life’s competition. The reason behind such actions is due to the concept of Speciesism which is based on the belief that the category a particular individual or group belongs to is inherently superior to all other groups (Singer, 567).

All this does is create distinct divisiveness within society which is already plagued by various lines drawn upon the figurative sands of race, class and economic distinction. While it is true that a certain degree of healthy competition encourages people to be more proactive and diligent however the fact remains that the current type of societal competition that is currently being advocated has resulted in distinctly negative results and as such should be changed to create a more cooperative and progressive society.

As indicated by Martin Luther King Jr. in his essay “Three Ways of Meeting Oppression” it is often the case that people tend to accept the social situation they are and live in it rather than fight for a better kind of life. In such cases, this only promotes the action and allows it to continue in succeeding generations.

The current prevalence of adverse competitive attitudes in society today is evidence of both the assertions of King and of the tenets of an institutional theory which show how people tend to merely accept the way things are rather than institute change for the better. It is based on this that what is needed is to respond to the current competitive system within society by establishing new social institutions that encourage cooperative action and positive competition.

Instead of a dog eat dog world what should be advocated is a society where instead of attempting to get ahead of other people for the sake of being ahead a better approach would be to improve oneself for the betterment of society to help improve the community for the better. This can be done by removing the societal notion that getting ahead is the only goal in life and replace it with the notion that the through cooperative and community-based action people can achieve great things.

People in society today always seem to think that attaining a particular high ranking position, gaining a lot of money or having valuable possessions is the goal everyone should attempt to reach. The only problem with such a goal is that it, as mentioned earlier, encourages disreputable practices, individualistic thinking and a form of crab mentality.

The other response that should be done is to implement new legislative measures which enable more significant social and racial equality. One of the main reasons behind societies competitive practices is the fact that social and economic situations often prove such practices as being justified given the resulting beneficial effects they have on the lives of people who are “winners.”

By enacting new legislative measures in the form of tax breaks, government assistance and educational assistance for minorities beyond what is being implemented today the end result would create a greater degree of equality between minorities and the majority in terms of economic status which should lead to the development of new societal ideas where the concept of equality within a community seems better than living a life of success yet being relegated to a life of individuality.

Works Cited

Singer, Peter. “SPECIESISM AND MORAL STATUS.” Metaphilosophy 40.3/4 (2009): 567-581. EBSCO. Web.

Comparisons and contrasts between Group 2 (Black Women in the Workplace) and Group 3 (Treatment of Black Women in the Legal System)

Group 2 presentation sets off by highlighting the term ‘domestic’. While it usually is an innocuous word, society has with its bias against the black woman introduced a negative interpretation. It explores the expectations of the society placed on black women, as showing up vocabulary interpretation and in colloquial speech. The question that follows: “What happens to domestic work and the people who do it when it is converted…to a service completed by a hired and paid worker?” This is through the same connotations used such as the ‘mammy’. Even working in non-domestic occupation, Group 2 argues, for the black woman who this is not enough redemption. They experience exploitation and are held in contempt, and such terms get constructed as a kind of mask for this. As they say, give a dog a bad name and hang it.

A similar ideology gets explored in Group 3 presentation. It goes back in history, to Africa, and exposes the dubbing of African women as being over-sexed and in need of control by Christian missionaries. This encourages stereotypes at the behest of slave women and holds back the women from seeking justice. Somehow, the black women’s treatment gets explained away in vocabulary and colloquial speech.

The approach of Group 2 presentation to the oppression of the black woman is more passive, sadly reflecting on the black woman’s relegation to a domestic worker who lacks the law protection while offering little good news. This tone is less prominent for Group 3, who offers a more optimistic approach, exploring various attempts at mitigation of this situation and their successes, such as changes to the law, and extols the heroics of a few black women such as Rosa Parks in this regard.

Both groups also place the theme of unequal opportunities for equal qualifications or standing. An example is when a white woman dominates the black woman in administrative roles. While Group 2 focuses on education and pay, Group 3 chooses to rape. A black woman can only become too successful for her own good and is to blame if they get sexually violated. However, this similarity between the two groups brings into focus a disparity: a narrow view taken by Group 3, leaving out non-sexual legal hurdles black women face, spending too much time on the one issue. Group 2 beat this handicap to spread their wings far wider.

How Interlocking Oppressions Relate to the Media’s Portrayal of Black Women

Numerous interlocking oppressions faced by black women relate to the media’s portrayal of black women in many ways. The media say that lighter skin equals a higher stance than a darker one. This is best illustrated by the lightening of skin tone in adverts involving black women, including the black international women singers. This is deeply rooted in pre-World War II, American media’s depiction of beauty as necessarily white. The media also painted the black woman as either a hyper-sexual “Jezebel” with a lot of focus on her relationships with her black male counterparts. The unattractive house servant, the “Mammy” or the matriarch is also prominent in the film industry that for many years has placed black women in these inferior roles.

There is also an almost subconscious promotion of these oppressions through an overemphasis on minor differences among the black community, an internal classification that seeds distrust, driving a wedge into the fabric of the black community, the inferiority-superiority complex. Minor differences such as color, intelligence, size, sex, and hair texture get promoted in the media as determinants of where one ‘belongs’: the privileges one can expect and the oppressions ‘due’. This prepares the mind of the black woman to accept the oppression as the norm, and even black people through color to perpetuate these oppressions among them.

Another particularly powerful way in which these oppressions relate to the media is in the exposure of vulnerable adolescent black girls to images of women as sex objects whose value is on their appearance. This can limit the self-perception, attitude as we as the important appearance of the girl. This becomes worse by their comparatively high media consumption. This shows up later in their adult life as low self-esteem, dissatisfaction, and self-denial. This is the point where the oppressions have broken the barrier of insight and have become an emotional issue the black woman deals with them as an adjunct of their own failures.

There is also a very strong culture of stereotyping black women through media manipulation to prove their oppressions. Subconsciously, the black women themselves without realizing allow these stereotypes to influence their decision-making and reactions.

How Some Black Women Have Internalized the Larger Society’s Negative Messages About Who Black Women Are and How They Should Behave

According to Group 5’s presentation on Mental Health, black women do not seek help for mental health issues, choosing instead to rely on family. According to Silva de Crane and Spielberg (1981), compared to Whites, black women have negative views of mental illness, with notions such as those that depict mentally ill people as morally inferior and deserve isolation. These illustrate the fact that black women have accepted the mental illness stigmatization, and are less likely to voluntarily seeking help.

Beliefs about the causes of mental illness accepted among black women align with the stereotypes of society, such as those that paint them as lacking in willpower and having weakness of character. This also extends to other illnesses.

Group 8 explores relationship issues faced by black women. According to them, black women are more opposed to interracial relationships. This is mainly between black men and white women other than the black men. This is a paranoid stance based on interpreting it as the black woman’s rejection. This is not unselfish, since they are more ready to accept relationships between black women and white men. Perhaps this has contributed to the view of the society that they are ‘difficult’.

Taking a more liberal approach towards a more integrated society would do them better in this regard. Black women in interracial relationships are also the target for hurtful comments and harassment by other black women and this lack of self-belief does little to change the controversy surrounding interracial marriages that get titled against them. When many women do break free from this yoke of bias they still feel compelled to prove that they haven’t abandoned black culture, and go ahead to overcompensate for their choice of an interracial relationship. This will only strengthen the will of their biased society.

Introduction

There is substantial evidence from various sources regarding the link between misogyny and homophobia. Misogyny can be defined as the “fear and hatred of women” (Murray and Roscoe 23). It is a form of psychological manifestation that represses all that was traditionally associated with females in society. It includes several factors, such as emotions, dependency, and religious attitudes (Bordo 28). On the other hand, homophobia is a collection of feelings toward homosexuality.

In other words, the feelings are directed to persons who are believed to be transgender, lesbians and/or gays in the community. The feelings can be expressed in many forms, such as antipathy, aversion and/or contempt. In the US, Black Americans are exemplified by relatively high levels of misogyny and homophobia for the reason that they promote their own oppression, which is mainly attributed to their failure to study their history.

Oppression Tools

It is widely held that black people in America are oppressed by various factors in society. However, people use the notions of homophobia and misogyny to cause divisions that go a long way in perpetuating patriarchy and capitalism. In fact, there is considerable evidence that many people are keen on using the two notions to maintain their status quo (Bordo 28).

It is amazing to learn that Black Americans oppress themselves on the grounds of the two issues of homophobia and misogyny, yet they were evident in ancient Africa (Murray and Roscoe 90; Teunis 176). For example, it is notable that some traditional male Africans were gays, while some females were lesbians. While Black Americans are busy oppressing themselves, many white people in the US are keen on increasing their trade and industries (Teunis 180).

A common phenomenon has been identified in cultural backgrounds that are founded on patriarchal systems. The phenomenon is related to the perceptions of females who are repressed by homosexual acts of men. The “Roman Catholic Church has been shown to be among the leading institutions that facilitate the expression of patriarchy” (Murray and Roscoe 87).

In ancient Africa, men could assume the passive coital role, which could not be tolerated for the reason that it was recognized and practiced based on the principle of insubordination of females to males in the community. In this context, it is worth to note that the theory held that males ought to be aggressive and dominant. Males who could act “like women were looked down upon by their friends” (Murray and Roscoe 34).

In fact, “they were told that they were dragging their fellow males down with them in their voluntary disgrace” (Murray and Roscoe 176). Thus, it would be important for Black Americans to realize the fact that the rationalization of various forms of sexual prejudices are fueled by false notions vis-à-vis sexual privileges, which are critical to establishing the traditional practices that are inherited from past generations.

When a Black American woman says that she does not want to be a female, then this can be viewed as a negative attitude toward her sexuality that could be caused by several factors, such as past sexual experiences or domestic violence. Such a person should be allowed to adopt what she likes. Most probably, she would end up being a lesbian, but her desire should not be utilized to deter her from achieving her goals. A Black American male could also express his desire to be a female, implying that he would end up being a gay (Bordo 28).

That notwithstanding, homophobia and misogyny are not associated with introducing or perpetuating capitalism and patriarchy in society. In the context of Black Americans, the two notions cannot be used to oppress them. They are committed to achieving long-term and short-term goals in their lives. It does not make sense to be deterred from achieving both personal and organizational objectives by adopting the notions of homophobia and misogyny.

In the contemporary world, just like in the traditional world, people make their own decisions regarding what they what to practice. For example, in the US, citizens have the freedom to decide whether they can be gay or lesbians, decisions that cannot negatively impact them in their roles in the workplace. Homophobia and misogyny cannot be used as instruments to promote divisions among oppressed persons. This is due to the fact that even though they are oppressed, they still have their psychological abilities to make critical decisions.

Conclusion

Personal beliefs are important in determining the extent to which people are impacted by some phenomena in the real world. Thus, it can be argued that homophobia and misogyny are personal beliefs that cannot negatively affect the whole population in terms of maintaining the status quo and high levels of oppression. In other words, the perceptions cannot have significant effects on systematic oppression.

From a sociological standpoint, persons are supposed to be united in society, but the issues of homosexuality and lesbianism cannot be applied to cause divisions since they are not practiced based on collective decisions (Murray and Roscoe 134). In addition, the fear of women and homosexuality matters cannot be used to propagate capitalism, which is firmly founded on strong economic platforms.

Works Cited

Bordo, S. Unbearable weight: Feminism, Western culture, and the body. California, CA: Univ of California Press, 2003. Print.

Murray, S., and Will R., eds. Boy-Wives and Female-Husbands: Studies in African-American Homosexualities. New York, NY: Macmillan, 2001. Print.

Teunis, N. “Same-sex sexuality in Africa: A case study from Senegal.” AIDS and Behavior 5.2 (2001): 173-182. Print.

Cases of oppression are common in modern society. The situation is brought about by the various inequalities existing among different people in the community. To this end, it is noted that individuals have varying access to resources, including power, economic influence, and social status (Csiernik, 2003). In some instances, those in power may use their privileged positions to exploit the individuals below them in the social and political hierarchy.

In this paper, the author will analyze the issue of oppression in the context of Bishop’s presuppositions. A review and summary of Bishop’s definition of oppression will be provided. The author of the paper will highlight how they have experienced each of the various categories of domination. Other issues addressed in this essay include the different forms of oppression and why they exist.

Bishop’s and Textbook Definitions of Oppression

Overview

Life in modern society is characterized by several instances of oppression. The social situation is based on several biases. In their book, Bishop (2002) identifies some of the root causes of the biases that lead to the oppression perpetrated against some people in society. The Political Processes course seeks to expound on these biases and analyze how oppression manifests itself in a given community.

Definition of terms

In their text, Bishop (2002) is alive to the fact that oppression exists in all societies. The domination occurs with or without the consent of the individuals in the community. What this means is that there is no consensus between the oppressed and the oppressor. According to Bishop (2002), oppression encompasses power about the rights of the people. To this end, this form of domination is regarded as the abuse of power to enforce unequal relationships in society. In most cases, individuals are denied their human rights. In other instances, these freedoms are abused due to oppressive mechanisms prevailing in the community. To understand the oppression concept, Bishop (2002) introduces several elements that constitute systems of dominance. The systems of oppression, according to Bishop (2002), include the following:

• Classism,
• Racism,
• Ageism,
• Ableism,
• Sexism, and
• Heterosexism.

Classism

Classism, as the name suggests, is a form of discrimination based on people’s social standing. Bishop (2002) advances the notion that societies are made up of a hierarchy of classes. Under this oppressive system, the dominant classes deny the subordinate clusters certain rights and values. Classism is the most common form of oppression in the modern world.

Racism

Racism, as a form of oppression, is understood from the fact that there is diversity in a society based on people’s biological differences. Bishop (2002) is of the view that certain societies are ordered in biological hierarchies. To this end, those perceived to be lower in the biological hierarchy are denied certain fundamental privileges by those occupying higher levels.

Ageism

Ageism, as a system of oppression, derives its bias from the age of the individual. Bishop (2002) looks at this concept from the perspective of prejudice perpetrated against a group of people owing to their age. The society institutes certain parameters that lockout some groups from enjoying certain privileges, such as employment, due to their age.

Ableism

Disabilities among individual members of society are non-changing variables. Bishop (2002) defines ableism as an oppressive system based on this concept.

Sexism

Sexism is a form of prejudice based on genders. Bishop (2002) argues that sexism is used as an oppressive system to deny people of a certain gender given rights. Examples include the right to vote, which was a preserve of the male gender in early societies.

Heterosexism

Societies are characterized by relationships that are cross-cutting with regards to definition and understanding. Homosexual and heterosexual unions are examples of such engagements. Bishop (2002) points out that some societies create oppressive systems against same-sex relationships. Such a system is referred to as heterosexism.

Personal Experiences

As an individual, I have experienced the oppressive systems listed above, either directly or indirectly. Bishop (2002) observes that classism is largely determined by economic status. During a trip to a foreign country, I was booked to the economy class. I received substandard services compared to a colleague of mine in the same flight who was in business class. I have also experienced racism given that police officers tend to suspect me of being an illegal immigrant. My Hispanic background contributes to such racial stereotypes. According to Brooks and Menard (2013), ageism is most common in employment circles. I have been denied several job offers owing to my lack of experience, which is partly due to my age.

I have a relative who is paralyzed and has to use a wheelchair. Unfortunately for him, there are certain areas of the city where his mobility is limited. Based on the description of ageism, many societies develop their infrastructure by disregarding the wellbeing of the disabled (Brooks & Menard 2013). On one occasion, I had to carry my relative up several flights of stairs since there was no ramp for his wheelchair. I have also suffered indirect sexism having witnessed my mother being denied employment at some point due to her gender. The company preferred a man and, as a result, our family suffered. Finally, I have a friend who is gay and who has faced discrimination based on his sexual orientation. Consequently, he is unable to enjoy the benefits of being in a marital relationship.

Effects of the Oppression Systems

The oppression systems have a direct effect on my thoughts. Brooks and Menard (2013) suggest that domination is a form of mind control mechanisms employed by the members in elevated hierarchies. As an individual who has experienced some form of oppression, I tend to feel inferior to Caucasians. My black friends erroneously assume that given my skin color, I am not discriminated against by the system. The relationship between us is usually cold at best.

As already indicated, I have experienced discriminations based on ageism and heterosexism. The two are some of the barriers that I encounter in my daily life. Bishop (2002) indicates that employment and social life are integral aspects of human existence. Individuals enjoy certain rights and privileges with the help of these concepts. Due to ageism, there are certain employment opportunities that I miss out on. Separately, owing to my friend’s sexual orientation, it is difficult for me to interact freely with people of my gender. They tend to associate me with his sexual orientation. The developments impede my social life.

Being an Oppressor

Advantages of an Oppressor

Oppressive systems arise due to the many cases of prejudice and denial of privileges. Oppressors are known to perpetuate violence and advance discrimination against target groups (Bishop, 2002). However, most people do not appreciate that some of these oppressive systems are beneficial. For instance, when the lower classes are given low-quality medical services in public hospitals compared to those in higher echelons of the social ladder, they are forced to seek alternatives from the privately-owned facilities. The same acts as an economic advantage to the elite class, which has privatized healthcare.

My Role as an Oppressor

As an oppressor who propagates ageism, I have found my acts to be beneficial at times. According to Bishop (2002), ageism is common in the employment sector. It is common to find companies seeking to improve performance by offloading aged employees from the workforce. Regardless of the biased treatment of these employees, the results are beneficial to the companies. Some of these employers prefer employees who are my age, but who are experienced. The situation is an indication of how I may benefit as a result of my age.

My Membership to Groups and my Role as an Oppressor

As a member of the Hispanic community, there are several groups that I belong to. Bishop (2002) observes a trend where persons tend to seek refuge in their communities when attacked by others in society. My worldview has been shaped by the struggles I have to go through. The opinions shared by other members of the community are that struggle is the only way through which we can access education and other privileges. The reason is that access to state scholarship is skewed in favor of the Caucasians. Separately, associating myself with a community of same-sex couples has made me realize that equality is possible. My membership in these groups has made me realize that most of these prejudices can be broken. All it takes is an aggressive commitment to bring them to a halt.

Analyzing Chapter Five

In chapter 5, Bishop (2002) talks about the similarities and differences between the various types of oppression. According to Bishop (2002), some of the differences entail the hidden benefits of oppressive systems. Bishop (2002) also mentions the common grounds between these clusters of domination. In this section, the various aspects of oppression are discussed in length:

Similarities between the Oppressive Systems

There are certain parallels between heterosexism and ageism. For example, Bishop (2002) points out that at the core of all oppressive systems is the element of prejudice. The element is shared across all repressive structures. Some jurisdictions come up with laws that spite same-sex unions. The situation is similar to sexism, where women are denied certain privileges due to their gender.

With regards to ageism, redundancy in companies is assumed to be caused by people who are old. It is noted that this is not entirely true. However, some members of a society experience a violation of their rights. Another element of similarity between the oppressive systems touches on indoctrination. According to Bishop (2002), some societies make it a norm to oppress those perceived to be from low cadres.

Differences between the Oppressive Systems

The primary variation between the oppressive systems entails the element of power. In most cases, oppression is carried out by the ruling elite. However, such aspects as sexism and heterosexism differ from classism and racism. Bishop (2002) argues that the latter two are brought about by the ruling elite, whereas the former two can exist without a power structure in place.

Separately, there exists a disparity in the manner through which the different oppressors enjoy their privileges. Csiernik (2003) points out that some groups of oppressors are known to award privileges to the high entities. However, in cases of heterosexism and sexism, the privileges tend to vary. One may find economically able individuals who are unable to access certain rights, such as marriage and employment, due to heterosexism and sexism. Regardless of these variations, it is important to appreciate the relationship across the entire strata of oppression in any given society

Common Grounds

Oppressive systems are meant to propagate satisfaction for the members of the community who believe that they are superior to others. To this end, it is possible to find societies that encourage the existence of certain oppressive systems. In light of this, Bishop (2002) makes reference to ageism and classism. In most societies, the upper and middle classes control the economy. Such parameters are unlikely to change. It follows that many oppressive systems, such as ageism and classism, will persist. Bishop (2002) finds that the economy is the common ground between the different formations.

Companies that are owned by the elite tend to prefer efficiency. As such, ageism will be propagated in such a way that it becomes acceptable to the individuals. Similarly, Bishop (2002) advances the notion that certain classes will create comfort zones for themselves. In both cases, the common ground is that the society functions best with the institutionalization of both oppressive systems. On their part, heterosexism and sexism find common ground in that sexual prejudices are widespread in society.

Analyzing Chapters Six and Seven

Changing Oppressive Systems

Oppression becomes acceptable once members of the public get comfortable with the status quo. According to Bishop (2002), several changes can be made to do away with oppressive systems. In the first case, Bishop (2002) argues in favor of changing the education system. Religion is seen as a major channel through which sexism, heterosexism, and ableism are advanced. The change in this regard is meant to ensure that members of the society access education that is devoid of religious overtones. However, in a bid to avoid discrimination against religions, the study of these faiths should be made optional. That way, society will begin to reevaluate the prevailing biases without external influences.

Another change entails liberating people from the oppressive systems using the information they consume. Bishop (2002) argues that issues like racism and classism are brought about by the skewed nature of information fed to the public. For instance, movies that depict Asian females as sex slaves and Hispanics as casual laborers perpetuate the predetermined hierarchy of race in society. An effective move to counter this will entail carrying out a campaign to advance the principles of equality within the larger spectrum of the society. The case applies to classism since perception is created to the effect that economic inequalities are legal bases for violation of rights.

Ableism and ageism are other key areas that can be reformed through an effective public awareness campaign. The important element is that such campaigns are intended to counter predetermined notions in various societies. According to Bishop (2002), agitation is one of the most effective mechanisms through which change can be realized. To this end, the agitation should be advanced aggressively.

Changing to Become an Ally

Regardless of the oppressive mechanisms prevailing in a given society, it is possible for individuals to ‘ally’ themselves with the exploited masses. Bishop (2002) argues that such a move is one way of ending oppressive systems. However, the hostility associated with these groups is the main obstacle that prevents the oppressed from interacting with their oppressors. The first form of change to be carried out to deal with the situation will entail stopping the exploitation of privileges brought about by the oppressive systems. Bishop (2002) observes that many beneficiaries of these structures enjoy the privileges without direct oppression. Avoiding the exploitation of these benefits is a sign of goodwill to foster the said alliances.

Another effective change will be the collaboration between the oppressors and the oppressed to phase out institutionalization of the systems. Bishop (2002) regards legislation as an effective channel through which this can be achieved. The minority groups can work together with the oppressors to formulate laws that will ultimately end the oppressive mechanisms. Another change will restructure the manner through which people interact. Oppressors should begin engaging with the oppressed in a manner that illustrates equality. Such a move allows people to embrace the spirit of equality. In the long term, they will do away with prejudices based on race and other factors.

Partnership with Clients

The text by Bishop (2002) makes an interesting argument that supports the idea of forging alliances. Diversity is a common constant in many societies. As such, there is a need to create bridges to meet the goals of different members of society. Bishop (2002) supports the creation of alliances in spite of the inevitable nature of oppression in society. Information from the text is invaluable concerning partnerships, which are a key aspect of the empowerment approach. One such area focuses on the need to drop hard-line stances.

Prejudices lead to oppressive systems like racism. Bishop (2002) argues that the idea of one race being superior to another is an example of a hard-line stand. Building alliances will ensure that partnerships are developed to do away with such situations. In the book, Bishop (2002) advocates for the need to appreciate the hierarchical orders existing in a given society. To this end, such an understanding allows one to appreciate the fact that equality and equitability are not the same. The realization will assist in fostering partnerships through empowerment. The reality is that one party has to be powerful than the other for the mechanism to work.

Conclusion

In this paper, a critical analysis of oppression was provided from the viewpoint of Bishop and their writings. It was revealed that coercion and domination is a common feature in many societies. The author of the paper determined that they had played the role of both oppressor and oppressed at one time or the other in their life. The experiences have an impact on how the author interacts with other people in society and with clients in their professional life. Also, some similarities and differences were evident between the researcher’s personal experiences and the various forms of oppression.

References

Bishop, A. (2002). Becoming an ally: Breaking the cycle of oppression. Halifax: Fernwood Publishing.

Brooks, S., & Menard, M. (2013). Canadian democracy: A concise introduction. Toronto: Oxford University Press.

Csiernik, R. (2003). Responding to the oppression of addiction: Canadian social work perspectives. Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press.