The Men Who Cried Oppression Analysis

“The Men Who Cried Oppression & The War on Planned Parenthood”
Oppression is a term that has been used throughout history to describe the injustices brought upon minority groups. Feminist writer Marilyn Frye shared the definition of oppression, which essentially means to shape or conform certain groups of people (for this paper women will be used as the primary example) into socially constructed ideals through restrictions that mold and immobilize minority groups or females (Frye 11). According to Marilyn Frye, this term is sometimes loosely thrown around and used out of the term’s true context. The misuse of this term often creates a misconstrued view of what true oppression is and how particular groups of people are able to function within

their daily lives. In particular, this paper will be discussing feminism and oppression presented in modern times through politics and institutions that keep women within the theoretical birdcage as presented by Marilyn Frye.
When Frye begins her writing on oppression in her book The Politics of Reality: Essays in Feminist Theory, by discussing the misuse of the word itself.

Her claim is that through the oppression of females, males also claim to be oppressed (10). She goes on to explain how these claims are made, “We hear that oppressing is oppressive to those who oppress as well as those they oppress. Some men cite as evidence of their oppression their much-advertised inability to cry. It is tough, we are told, to be masculine” (10). One can most likely interpret this quote quite simply as Frye has a direct approach to her writing. The essence of this quote displays that through female oppression, men also become oppressed, as they are unable to stray from their “masculine” ideals. By being unable to participate in what are considering “feminine” actions such as crying, they are showing signs of weakness. It seems that Frye believes that through this example, the term oppression, no longer keeps to its true meaning. This is due to the fact that the term is being used to define itself through any negative affectations of the human experience of all

people.
Frye does stress throughout her writing that she is not writing to say that other people don’t suffer from their own limitations throughout their lives. In fact Frye writes, “It seems to be the human condition that in one degree or another we all suffer frustration and limitation, all encounter unwelcome barriers, and are all damaged and hurt in various ways” (13). Frye is recognizing that all people go through their own trials and tribulations and feel pain in similar ways. She continues to write, “Since we are a social species, almost all of our behaviors and activities are structured by more than individual inclination and the conditions of the planet and its atmosphere” (13). Putting both quotes together it seems that Frye is saying that all people suffer to some degree as part of the human experience, however, just because one suffers doesn’t mean that they experience the phenomenon that is oppression. Furthermore, social constructs and culture are varying factors that contribute to societal norms that create barriers and ideals.
Of course throughout the text the idea that the typical male, whom does not belong to a minority group through ethnicity or differing sexual orientation, is oppressed is argued against. Frye goes on to explain that while people may suffer in some form during their life, the suffering or misery isn’t necessarily the result of being oppressed. By denying that males are oppressed women are told that they lack the sensitivity and empathy of other people’s situations, “We are accused of insensitivity; even of bigotry. For women, such accusation is particularly intimidating, since sensitivity is one of the few virtues that has been assigned to us. If we are found insensitive, we may fear we have no redeeming traits at all and perhaps are not real women. Thus are we silenced before we begin: the name of our situation drained of meaning and our guilt mechanisms tripped” (10). The theory within this quote can also be linked to the idea that crying is thought to be feminine or weak. Just as being sensitive is thought to be feminine, these emotions or behaviors are pre-assigned to women and when women are thought to violate these ideals, they are no longer feminine. Therefore, women are being further oppressed by these ideas by being caught within a double bind. It’s typically at this point that women are silenced, as they have nowhere to go within their argument without becoming further trapped within the double bind.
At this point one may be asking; what exactly are these so-called double binds?

According to Frye, “One of the most characteristic and ubiquitous features of the world as experienced by oppressed people is the double bind – situations in which options are reduced to a very few and all of them expose one to penalty, censure or deprivation” (11). In other words, a double bind occurs when someone is caught in a situation where there are two conflicting choices or demands presented; neither of these options is desirable and the outcomes from making such choices or meeting these demands are also undesirable. For example, when a woman chooses not to have children, she is considered non-maternal and unfulfilled or void of purpose. However, when a woman chooses to have children and become a housewife, she is considered simple minded and/or void of a greater purpose. Either way, this woman is caught within a double bind and can’t escape. Frye uses her own example of women that are sexually active versus women that aren’t sexual active; “It is common in the United States that women, especially younger women, are in a bind where neither sexual activity nor sexual inactivity is all right. If she is heterosexually active, a woman is open to censure and punishment for being loose, unprincipled or a whore. The "punishment" comes in the form of criticism, snide and embarrassing remarks, being treated as an easy lay by men, scorn from her more restrained female friends” (11). The female

from the quote is in a sense forced to wear a scarlet letter, while maybe not in a literal sense, she is written off as promiscuous and in turn she is shamed for her sexual expression by friends, family, and outsiders. On the other hand, if a girl refrains from sexual activity, she receives negative treatment as well and is written off as a “prude” or a “tease”. Either way, neither woman can escape the judgments of the double bind.