Five Faces Of Oppression Analysis

Oppression is the foundation of several serious issues in the world today and in the past. Nelson Mandela gave a good insight to the powerful weight of oppression when he said, “When a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no choice but to become an outlaw.” A global phenomenon that I have seen is the oppression of the sick and the elderly. Whether or not it is intentional or unintentional, both groups have a high tendency of being marginalized and excluded from full participation in society. The oppressive phenomena around the world may seem very similar, however, each one is culturally bound and varied. In the case of Greece, the sick and elderly have been marginalized and denied full participation in society through oppressive measures as seen in events such as the isolation of lepers to the island of Spinalonga and the Greek economic and health crises. Lee Ann Bell’s “Theoretical Foundations” discusses the overarching theme of the

In Young’s “Five Faces of Oppression” she describes five distinctive categories. Exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, cultural imperialism and violence are the five faces of oppression. With the understanding of the five faces of oppression comes the understanding that only one face must be present to consider an individual or a group of people oppressed. I will be focusing specifically on marginalization. Marginals are people the system of labor cannot or will not use. Marginalization in its extremes can turn violent and become very dangerous. For instance, genocide can be considered extreme marginalization and can wipe out entire cultures of people due to the impression of the oppressors that they are no good for society. While the marginalization of the sick and elderly may not be as severe, it is still unjust and takes away their inalienable rights, being capable of functioning as human