Cudd's Arguments Against Oppression Essay

Cudd’s definition of oppression seems to suggest that an oppressor has such a great influence on the oppressed group that the oppressed group could only resist with a lot of trouble. Such an influence can only be held by an actual institution because institutions have the power that individual people do not. Individual people could die along with their reputations and power but institutions go on for many years.
This leads to the next question: what characterizes a social group and how is a social group labeled as oppressed? Cudd explains that social groups are groups of people with shared social constraints in society. People do not volunteer to be a member of a certain group but instead are assigned by society and all of its beliefs. For instance, people are not asked whether they want to be born with a certain skin color or gender or a certain disease. Even if one does not want to be labeled as black or white or female or physically disabled, one is still located in that social group Women would not like to be seen as constant targets of rape and misogyny but their social group places those social constraints on them. All in all, Cudd’s argument is that one does
For instance, shorter people, especially shorter men, are regarded as less assertive and skilled than taller men. As a result of this social constraint, shorter men are susceptible to bullying and to earning lower wages than taller men. This would not necessarily mean that shorter men are to be considered oppressed by their taller male counterparts. In the same way, those who pay any type of consequence because they do not fit in a benefiting social group are not always necessarily oppressed. Cudd states that even though there are many unconscious social groups, only those who face legitimate and significant social consequences are to be considered oppressed social groups (Cudd