The Birdcage Metaphor: Women's Oppression in Male-Dominated Society

Frye opened the introduction with argument how the women that are oppressed as they are in the male-dominated society demands, which they cannot acquire. So many women are promoted that way that they did not realize in fact that they are oppressed, which she used the Birdcage metaphor as to show the bigger picture of the oppression. By picking only one wire, you merely see one wire in one setting, but when you move your eyes up or down, you start to see more wires, thus making the conclusion that the bird cannot fly away without being harmed. “No humans free of social structures, nor (perhaps) would happiness consist in such freedom.” [10]. The women are oppressed to their own roles that it hinders their realization that males are controlling

the society. For example, the man would hold the door open for the woman as it is sending the harm message that women are incapable to open it. A woman may interpret the man holding the door for her as the act of kindness, rather than accepting the message that the man was sent to her.

Women are expected to be virtuous, however not too virtuous or they will be viewed as too stiff.

They cannot have a lot of sex or they will be viewed as a slut, thus the ideology cannot win anyone’s side. Males would make sure the women would remain submissive to her husband. Women were expected to be happy and loyal to their spouse all time, yet the woman has a perfect reason to be unhappy, even the marriage is failing. When the women become angry, they were viewed as mean, bitter, angry or dangerous [2-3], which it leads to the assumption that the men formed as they were asking for to be raped. Women are to be blamed for dressing too promiscuous, as it is their job to retain the men from touching her. Also, the men viewed women as the best fit for domestic service, only because they are ones that bear his children and the best fit to feed their egos as they are raised to be nurtures. The ideology is clearly constructed by the men to control women because males fear them so they made sure that women be inferior of males by limiting the equal

rights.

Lastly, the oppression does not limit to just white women but targeted to another races.

Women may focus on the progress toward the perfect and equal society but they fail to realize that oppression includes more people. Oppression is targeted all women of the races, “Thus to recognize a person as oppressed, one has to see that individual as belonging to a group of a certain sort.” [8] Black males may face racism from the white people but they enjoy the rights as white men enjoyed. Frye had concluded that the only way to see a bigger picture of oppression is that women in all races and classes come to the community and work together to achieve the equal rights in the male-dominant society to ensure that all women of races and class will have equal opportunity to be

heard.