Monologue for Marilyn Frye: Oppression

Monologue

Marilyn Frye: Oppression

Frye:

How is it going everyone? It is good to be here. I sincerely mean that. I appreciate the opportunity to visit your classroom today. Dr. Martinez asked me to come and explain the main points of my article with you today. After you read my article, Oppression, you could probably tell my views in the article are from a feminist perspective, and that is what we will talk about. We will discuss why feminism is such a difficult concept for many to understand and accept, and why it is difficult for people, especially men, to see how women are oppressed. I will end by giving you a concrete example of how women are oppressed in your daily lives. In my article, I begin by explaining the word “oppression”. People don’t seem to understand the word, and over use it. People that are not truly oppressed seem to think the word applies to them because they have some minor problem that they endure in life. Take all of the guys in this class, for example, and how many of you are ashamed to cry in front of other people? Raise your hand. See, a lot of you guys. This is unfortunate, and because of socialization, this issue exists, but it does not truly oppress you men. I say that “people can be miserable without being oppressed”, so don’t mistake a miserable situation or circumstance with oppression.
\ Oppression is a combination of “forces and barriers” that keep a person from obtaining equality. These “forces and barriers” have been looked at all wrong when concerning women and their current oppressive state. The problem is, people have been looking at each individual problem that women have and don’t see any difference between one of those problems and a problem of their own. People are having a hard time seeing the whole picture, and how all of the problems women have are a systematic way of keeping women oppressed. Sometimes it can be difficult to take a step back. That is why I talked about the birdcage scenario. A woman is not oppressed by one single wire. A woman is oppressed by the multitude of wires that are specifically constructed in a way that will constrain a woman (or bird) to be in the state that the owner of the cage wants them to be. I talked about how men open doors for women, and how this by itself does not represent oppression, but if we are able to take a step back, WAY BACK, we can see that it is one of many covert ways that women are given a “force or barrier”. Let’s take a look at your own life, at this beautiful university. If you look closely you will be able to see many subtle signs of “oppression”. You didn’t know, but I had two confederates walk in the classroom during our discussion and take a seat in the back. I had one woman, Sarah back there, dress in skimpy workout clothes. The other one, Mike, I had come in in his workout clothes, tank top, short shorts and all. They both are wearing clothes that are equivalent to the other, short shorts and revealing tank tops. It was as I suspected. I noticed MOST of you men noticing the girl walking by. Several of you stared and scanned her for a while! I didn’t see one woman following the man with their eyes to the back of the classroom. They are both attractive, and are both showing a lot of skin. So, why is a woman a “piece of meat”? Why is her situation different from a man’s? Because she is oppressed! All I ask, is that you take your time to see all of the subtle ways that women have “forces and barriers” that cause their oppression. Thank you for having me and good luck with you studies!