The Conceptual Schema Of Women

In comparing the oppression of women to a metaphorical birdcage, Marilyn Frye’s essay “Oppression” expands the definition of what constitutes as an oppressive act. In doing so, some would argue that her definition allows for nearly every interaction between men and women to have some underlying sexist tone. Others, including myself, would deny such a claim and argue that as opposed to stretching the realms of sexism, Frye’s interpretation contributes to a deeper understanding of sexism in modern society. While it is true that Frye’s metaphor could be over applied and abused, in the long term, it is more beneficial than detrimental. Because the situation of women in the western world has improved vastly in comparison to other societies,

The two publications that best contextualize gender are the Lowell Offering and the Godey’s Lady Book periodicals as the articles found in both magazines depict traditional gender roles for males and females. For the Lowell Offering, this is best seen in the article entitled, “Woman’s Proper Sphere”, which focuses on the thoughts associated with oppression like, “Is it ambitious wish to shine as man’s equal, in the same scenes in which he mingles” or “Does she wish for a more extensive influence, than that which emanates from a woman’s home?” Yet these progressive questions are met with answers like “How necessary, then, that she should understand these pursuits (of men), that she may truly sympathize with and encourage those, with whom she may be associated. In this way…her influence must and

Gender, Lindemann argues, is primarily normative; it yields prescriptions for how one ought to behave, and it does so through a variety of channels. Importantly, gender operates simultaneously alongside other power-relations in order to yield what is a fairly complex final power distribution. Lindemann indentifies the feminist project as one that attempts to �understand, criticize, and correct how gender operates within our moral beliefs and practices.� The domain of the feminist ethicist, as Lindemann understands it, is the domain of power relations � both legitimate and illegitimate. In order to properly understand the domain, the feminist ethicist is firstly concerned with arriving at a proper description of how power differences are at work in our lives. Following this, she is able to make normative claims in light of the descriptive

Before the second segment begins, where a modern case study is applied to Marilyn Frye’s theory of oppression; it seems necessary to briefly mention a few ways that Frye believes that oppression can be surfaced unknowingly between men and women. The first example touches on the simple actions that men do for women such as opening a door, “The arresting of vision at a microscopic level yields such common confusion as that about the male door-opening ritual. This ritual, which is remarkably widespread across classes and races, puzzles many people, some of whom do and some of whom do not find it offensive. Look at the scene of the two people approaching a door. The male steps slightly ahead and opens the door. The male holds the door open while the female glides through. Then the male goes through. The door closes after them” (12). This particular quote receives a lot of backlash, as many people feel that this act is simply a helpful gesture between a man and a woman. This type of gesture is often times defined as chivalry. Frye argues that these “chivalrous” gestures are condoned oppressive behaviors, “The gallant gestures have no practical meaning. Their meaning is symbolic. The door-opening and similar services provided are services which really are needed by people who are for one reason or another incapacitated – unwell, burdened with parcels, etc. So the message is that women are incapable. The detachment of the acts from the concrete realities of what women need and do

Throughout this course, we learned that women’s studies originated as a concern at the time that “women and men noticed the absence, misrepresentation, and trivialization of women [in addition to] the ways women were systematically excluded from many positions of power and authority” (Shaw, Lee 1). In the past, men had more privileges than women. Women have battled for centuries against certain patterns of inadequacy that all women experience. Every culture and customs has divergent female

An Exploration of the Treatment of Women Patriarchal society has oppressed women throughout history, and women have addressed this oppression from different perspectives. Some may find it possible to rise above the continuous suffocation of the restricting structures that men place on women, while others may feel like they can not escape it. In Hamlet, William Shakespeare portrays women as victims of the patriarchy and significantly dependent on their male counterparts, establishing how women often subsume society’s attempts to control them. Conversely, in her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston portrays women as independent with a strong sense of agency and self-sufficiency, who desire to free themselves from social norms.

Matilda Gage stated ‘Both Church and State claiming to be of divine origin have assumed divine right of man over woman; while church and state have thought for man, man has assumed the right to think for woman.’ This summarises the ideas of the patriarchy and how men in society impacted women. The reason women's sexuality was condemned was because they did not fit the ideal woman in society or the role they were placed into domestically. This led to accusations and through the prejudice against women who did not fit the social spheres. Gage discusses how the use of the divine right led to the position of all authority and can be seen through how religion gave authorization of publications and government leading to the witch- hunts.

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.

Over time we can see how our civilization can socially change based on the transformations from a person’s behaviors, culture or social structures. Both Audre Lorde and Bell Hooks are talking in her essays about the many forms of being oppressed by someone. Those domination might be patriarchal, but both are emphasizing our society to acknowledge oppression from all genders, not only from men. Moreover, they talk that females are not only can be seen as the victim, they are also as perpetrators. Lorde talks about the “mythical norm” and says “In America, this norm is usually defined as white, thin, male, young, heterosexual, Christian, and financially secure” (Lorde, 651). Meaning that if you are different or less than this norm, there is

Stigma attached to the word lesbian also kept women apart from one another. "Radicalesbians" describes the label lesbian as "the debunking/scare term that keeps women from forming any primary attachments, groups, or associations among ourselves." The women’s movement was hurt by the labeling by some in the media as a lesbian movement. Ironically, lesbians often felt underrepresented in the movement while heterosexual women were afraid of being labeled lesbians. "Radicalesbians" confronts this issue by arguing that women are being dominated by men "as long as the label ‘dyke’ can be used to frighten a woman into a less militant stand, keep her separate from her sisters, keep her from giving primacy to anything other than men and family."

It must be said that men of power create the structure of life--which is not necessarily profitable or fitting to women, nor to the human race in its entirety. Women do not live in this structure:“They lead beautiful lives--women. Lives not only divorced from, but irrevocably excommunicated from, all reality” (156).

Wilton later describes how, by turning away from the heterosexual male-female institution, women are taking a crucial step on the path of liberation. Although a woman may be content having relations with a male, the male’s dominant role in society should be enough persuasion for the former to leave such structured relationship so as to explore a freer partnership that goes against societal expectations.

Firstly, Frye discusses the etymology of the word ‘oppression’ stating that it has its elements from the word “press”, 1983, p: 2. She then gives imagery in order to demonstrate that the word is very restrictive in nature as if something were; “caught between or among forces and barriers which are so related to each other that jointly they restrain, restrict or prevent the thing’s motion or mobility”, (Frye, 1983, p:2). Frye makes the point that he first criterion in defining oppression is that the oppressed is restricted or limited in some manner, giving the sense that they have been moulded, immobilised or reduced. She exemplifies this notion with the following comparison using her theory of the “double-bind” theory. According to Frye, in the United States, young women, are locked in a bind where if they exhibit that they are heterosexually active, then she is explicitly regarded as “loose, unprincipled or a whore”, 1983, p:2. The woman may then feel that she must hide her behaviour from her parents who are likely to look down on her for her promiscuity. She will also face criticism by her peers as being an “easy lay” and put down in comparison to her friends who practise more restraint, (Frye, 1983, p:3).

“…there are lesbians who affirm that “women and men are different species or races (the words are used interchangeably): men are biologically inferior to women; male violence is a biological inevitability…” By doing this, by admitting that there is a “natural” division between women and men, we naturalize history, we assume that “men” and “women” have always existed and will always exist.’”

Power is not something that only very top people want, it is something that everybody wants. At least, this what society makes us think. But what power really means? It is “the ability to do something or act in a particular way, especially as a faculty or quality.” In the movie The Stepford Wives(2004), gaining power through genders which can be also call as gender oppression is explained very well with a mocking perspective. The origin of The Stepford Wives is a novel by Ira Levis and it was first filmed in 1975 which is a horror movie. The funny version of The Stepford Wives came out in 2004 by Frank Oz. This paper focuses on the concept