Summary Of Defining Oppression By Marilyn Frye

Defining Oppression: Through the works of Marilyn Frye And Iris Marion Young How is oppression defined? Oppression, as defined by Cambridge Dictionaries, is “a situation in which people are governed in an unfair and cruel way and prevented from having opportunities and freedom.” While this definition is surely inclusive of a broad scope of experiences that constitute oppression, it verges on being too open to occurrences that are not conventionally considered oppression. Marilyn Frye and Iris Marion Young both seek to challenge the standard dictionary definition of “oppression,” redefining it to be inclusive of the experiences of all oppressed people, and exclude circumstances that may involve suffering or prevention of opportunities but

Young’s approach to oppression appears more cohesive and intersectional, because in her philosophy, people experience oppression in multitude of ways, and one oppressed group might experience oppression in a way that is completely different than another oppressed group. Frye, however, is more focused on the cohesive identity of women and how women, as a group, experience oppression. In doing this, however, I fear that she erases the experiences of oppressed people, as well as the results of centuries of violence, war, marginalization, and imperialism that affect women of color, trans women, lesbian women, Jewish women, Native women, disabled women, and so forth. There are countless intersections of oppression that affect women – every woman does not suffer in the same way. Frye particularly seems to gloss over oppression women of color experiences due to their race because it “divides [women] against each other practically and economically.” (87) While her intentions may not be to contribute to the erasure of their experiences (because, as noted earlier, she does acknowledge how oppressed people often do partake in their erasure), there still seems to be a lack of recognition for the importance of intersectionality. Both Frye and Young’s works lack significant discussion of internalized misogyny, and the psychological oppression experienced by women. Neither are without flaws, but Young offers a more inclusive and substantial definition and approach to what constitutes