Feminism can be understood as a range of political movements, ideologies, and social movements whose goals can include political, economic, and social equality among all genders (Wikipedia; Fleras 352). Historically, it was for the advocacy of women’s rights but has progressed to encompass all marginalized peoples and minorities (Fleras 352). It is important to remember that Feminism is not humanism. Humanism often claims to be a movement for equality for all but it disregards the differences that exist between groups and peoples, and upholds a belief that we are all on equal footing. Historically, humanist movements has left minorities (such as women) out of the picture. Feminism works to recognize the differences between groups and to give them that space. It recognizes the structures of privilege and oppression, and moves to dismantle the oppression.
Oppression
Oppression has many definitions but its most basic definition is prolonged cruel or unjust treatment and/or control (“oppression” [definition]). It can include, but is not limited to: discrimination, hate speech, bigotry, violence, and persecution. Oppression comes with a historical context, meaning it has roots in history that may start even before our own lifetimes. It is important to note that it is the combination of time and perpetuation of it that makes oppression as powerful as it is. Furthermore, oppression occurs on various levels. These include: personal, culturally, socially, systemically/systematically, and institutionally.
Examples of oppression:
A society that says a woman is the property of men (fathers, husbands, etc) and dictates what she may or may not wear. Note that this need not be perpetuated aggressively or overtly (“Examples of Oppression”).
A society that allows immigrants to enter its borders but not grant them writes or access to housing, food, or healthcare (“Examples of Oppression”).
A society that is controlled by a small percentage of very wealthy people - this form is complex and differs between societies (“Examples of Oppression”).
Vocabulary terms for various forms of oppression include, but are not limited to (these terms will be defined as we go and/or further on): sexism, racism, colorism, cisgenderism, transphobia, ableism, classism, ageism, heterosexism, homophobia, antisemitism.
Remember that not all forms of oppression are overt, especially not within a North American context. Microaggressions are normalized, everyday behaviors and ideologies that may be demonstrated through verbal or nonverbal negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership (Wing Sue 2; Fleras 355). It may be intentional or unintentional, socialized or hateful, individual or systemic. Basically, a microaggression is a learned behavior and virtually everyone perpetuates such.
Examples of microaggressions:
A white persons clutches their purse, bag, or wallet as a black or latino person passes them (Wing Sue par. 4).
An Asian American, born and raised in the US, is complimented for speaking “good English” (Wing Sue par. 4).
Coded language, such as “those people” (Fleras 92).
An manager who is assertive and a woman is called a “bitch” by her counterpart (Wing Sue par. 5).
Whistling at or catcalling feminine peoples (Wing Sue par. 5).
Gay men holding hands in public are told not to “flaunt” their sexuality (Wing Sue par. 6).
A blind man reports that people often raise their voices when speaking to him (Wing Sue par. 8).
Oppression is often described as systemic and systematic. Systemic describes something that happens or exists throughout a whole system, whereas systematic describes something that is methodical, thorough, or intentional (Fogarty; Fleras 360). What this means is that oppression has historically been built into and a founding part of government institutions, structures, and those which hold authority. This is so because the founding and building of any peoples, societies, governments, and nations do not occur as isolated incidents or in a vacuum. The interplay of power dynamics plays a role and remains an active case today.
A good example that is applicable to a Canadian context is colonialism. Colonialism is still perpetuated today through actions such as disregarding treaty rights and land, preventing access to jobs and healthcare to Indigenous peoples, misappropriating cultural symbols such as dreamcatchers, and overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in the prison system. In the same ways, other forms of oppression are perpetuated by government and authority structures. These include, but are not limited to: sexism, racism, classism, and ableism.
Oppression: Charlton (1998: 8) states, “oppression occurs when individuals are systematically subjected to political, economic, cultural, or social degradation because they belong to a social group...results from structures of domination and subordination and, correspondingly, ideologies of superiority and inferiority.” (Charlton, 1998)
Oppression: Johnson (2000: 39) recognizes that “for every social category that is privileged, one or more other categories are oppressed in relation to it. The concept of oppression points to social forces that tend to press upon people and hold them down, to hem them in and block their pursuits of a good life. Just as privilege tends to open doors of opportunity, oppression tends to slam them shut.” (Johnson, 2000)
Summary
Discrimination, prejudice, and time are key components of oppression. This means oppression has a historical context.
Perpetuations of oppression can occur in any form or variety - overt, extreme, hateful, unintentional, intentional, polite, institutional, etc.
Oppression is not performed by only the “bad apples” but by nearly everyone because it is a learned behavior. This does not make anyone inherently “bad”, simply something we must be aware of.
Oppression has roots within our systems and structures, that is, our government systems.
Intersectionality
Because we are all born inside the same systems and structures, and because we all belong to different identities and groups, it is likely that we all perpetuate oppression and may also be oppressed at the same time. All forms of oppression occur at the same time and no one form is “worse” than the other - there is no comparison. This theory and understanding is known as intersectionality.
Historically, some marginalized groups have been ignored, undermined, and invalidated in regards to their efforts in feminism. However, it is important to recall that women, queer folks, trans people (especially trans people of color), and people of color have extended and enlarged feminist theory. Because of that, our feminism is intersectional (Al-Awamleh). We recognize that different marginalized groups will experience oppression in differing ways and that such is not comparable to each other.
What this also means is that we cannot focus on just one axis of identity at a time, or the oppression(s) they may face. We must address all of them at once, with the voices of each group or identity leading their own discussions. Intersectional feminism works for equitable equality, by acknowledging that we don’t all start on the same level or equal footing, and recognizing each group’s unique needs.
Allyship
A major portion of feminism is being allies to/with other identities, peoples, and groups. Because of this, allyship is just as active and important a practice as any other part of feminism, social justice, and activism. While there is not one necessarily right way to practice allyship, some practices (even if good intended) can be harmful, invalidating, or undermining. Remember that if you are not a member of a specific oppressed group or peoples, you may lack the experiences and nuances that those people hold. Therefore you may not be able to speak for them or as an authority on the issues specific to them. Good allyship is not just working with other people, but also working with yourself.
Allyship is an active, consistent, and arduous practice of unlearning and re-evaluating, in which a person of privilege seeks to operate in solidarity with a marginalized group of people (The Anti-Oppression Network, 2014).
What do we mean by privilege? “We can define privilege as a set of unearned benefits given to people who fit into a specific social group. Society grants privilege to people because of certain aspects of their identity. Aspects of a person’s identity can include race, class, gender, sexual orientation, language, geographical location, ability, and religion, to name a few”. (Ferguson, 2014)
Virtually everyone is a member of an oppressor class/group, and we inherently gain privilege from that class/group and implicitly perpetuate oppression unto others. Inherently in that we are born into it, socialized as a member of it, and receive benefits because of such. Implicitly in that we may not intend to but that is the impact we have. It is important to note that impact is greater than intent - so you may intend to do well but the impact outweighs that. So if unintentionally cause harm, that harm needs to be acknowledged and amends need to be made. This is a part of unlearning and unpacking our problematic behaviors and generally includes an apology, gaining awareness, and learning to do better in the future.
What is imperative here is to not center ourselves when helping other groups. Unlearning and unpacking problematic behaviors can be extremely uncomfortable and even upsetting. That is okay, mistakes will happen and they don’t make you an inherently bad person. It is, however, each of our own responsibilities to reconcile our guilt and such away from the marginalized peoples who may have called us in or out. When we can unlearn, unpack, work together among fellow allies, we can make massive strides in helping those we wish to be allies to. This is because we are transforming the spaces we occupy to be safer for those marginalized peoples.
In order to make sure we don’t overstep boundaries, speak over or for marginalized groups, or centre ourselves, we need to “stay in our lanes”. This just means that if we are not a member of a marginalized group or peoples, we cannot speak for or be an authority of relevant or specific issues of that group or peoples. Some conversations will be within that marginalized group only, some will be the group providing emotional labor, some will be a conversation among allies only (so without that marginalized group there). Be careful and evaluate: Is my opinion needed here? Are marginalized peoples leading the discussion? Do I need to call in/out my fellow allies?
Each situation will be different. If you do feel it is important to step in, to either aid marginalized peoples there or to call in your fellow allies, the best way to do so includes the following:
Parroting the words of the marginalized group and issues being discussed.
Making disclaimers that you cannot speak for or as an authority of the marginalized group.
Referencing/citing sources that by or from the marginalized group.
Remember that it is okay to make mistakes and that allyship can be difficult at times. There can be a lot to remember or a lot that may need to be done. All that is asked is that you are at least aware and willing to learn, unlearn, and unpack. It isn’t a requirement that all allies be activists, educators, or the like. Be aware, considerate, compassionate, but make sure to self-care and be conscious of the spaces you occupy.
References
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www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/systemic-or-systematic.
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Office of Multicultural Affairs. “Diversity and Social Justice.” https://www.uml.edu/
docs/Glossary_tcm18-55041.pdf.
“Oppression.” OxfordDictionaries.com. Oxford University Press, 2019. https://en.oxfordd
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“Rape Culture.” Marshal Univeristy, https://www.marshall.edu/wcenter/sexual-assault
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