Alexis McCain
Professor Bartell
English 102
February 18, 2015
In Marilyn Frye’s article “Oppression” she shares her opinion on the oppression of men and women in result of stereotyping. Frye focuses on the opinions on other people regarding sexual and everyday life. Society tends to be more lenient on men compared to women. Furthermore Frye claims that men as made it so women cannot be superior to them in the work force. Not implying that she is completely right, but she does carry strong points and explanations for why she feels this way. Although one can agree with her enlightenments on how women are oppressed as women and face more disadvantages, it is hard to accept this overall conclusion that men are not oppressed as men like women are oppressed as women.
Frye’s article starts off by her defining the word oppression as a strong word that is commonly misused but not in an innocent way. She shares her opinion on how people give labels and judge women by the actions they do or are involved in. For example, she sees that it’s not right how there is a double bind for men and women sexually. Men are never called out for their sexual actions as much as women are. Even how women and men dress is double bind. She then compares the oppression of women to a bird cage, ultimately showing how the wires of a bird cage is one of the many ways women are oppressed. As a result, women are defined by one trait of oppression that is actually part of a whole network that defines women. In other words, women try to deal with a single conflict that blindsides more conflicts they will face in the world.
Later in the article she explains how men try to show how more powerful they are than women by giving examples of chivalry. Frye then shares her opinion on how many people are oppressed and not just women. Keep in mind that someone who is oppressed is categorized and face limits and restrictions in life. Therefore, anyone can be oppressed. Although Frye gives strong...