This week, after reading about oppression and white privilege, I began to reflect on my disadvantages as a black woman. To be honest, there are times when I don’t even notice I’m black. I don’t really pay attention to it. I didn’t see anything wrong with it either. I’ve spent my entire life attempting to avoid black stereotypes, but it wasn’t until last August that I realized no matter how I speak or act, I’ll always be black. Those stereotypes will follow me wherever I go. Last year, I worked in a local shoe store, but after gruesome long hours that would eventually affect my school performance, I decided to quit after one day. I didn’t think much of it because I’d seen it done before. I’ve seen people quit after just one hour of work.  But I made it through the day and decided it wasn’t the best thing for me in the long run. The job was full-time, and I felt it would be too much for me to handle while also attending school full-time. My boss was not happy with my decision to leave, but I ignored her. I realized a few weeks later that I didn’t get paid for the 8 hours I worked. So my aunt and I went up to the store. We spoke with Ashley, one of the girls I worked with. She told us that we would have to wait until the boss returned from vacation before being paid. So we left, and I eventually returned to the store to buy shoes for my cousin. As soon as I walked in, I was met with a harsh attitude. While I was browsing, I overheard Ashley say to another girl, “That’s her,” and they both burst out laughing. She told the girl that my aunt and I had come up to the store looking for money because we didn’t have any. And began mocking me for quitting after only one day. She then began calling me names like “Shequanda.” That’s when I realized it wasn’t just any old bullying; it was outright racism. That was done on purpose because she knew my name and called it when I first showed up with my aunt. But since I was alone, she decided it was okay to call me out of my name. That was one of my first real racial encounters. It definitely helped me put things into perspective. I didn’t understand at the time because I was trying so hard to fit in. I was both articulate and quiet. I didn’t use AAVE. I never gave an attitude or anything because I know how many black women are stereotyped as having an attitude. I was fantastic, but not quite good enough for them. After that experience, I learned to stop censoring myself because people will always see me as black no matter what. So I’m no longer afraid of eating fried chicken or being too “loud.” For once, I’m just trying to live my life the way I want to live it.

Marilyn Frye, Peggy McIntosh, and Joseph Mabry all individually speak on the overall ideology of oppression but also go into depth about oppression and how it relates to privilege. Before reading these articles I had strong definitions of oppression and privilege and in ways I am right however, I’ve learned there is much more than what’s just on the surface when it comes to oppression and privilege. In the article, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” by Peggy McIntosh obviously focuses on white privilege but McIntosh also zooms in on identifying some of the daily effects of white privilege in her life as a white person. Peggy acknowledges that since we have hierarchies in place throughout our society then there was most likely an occurrence of white privilege that has frequently been denied and protected. An important topic Peggy points out is her own personal examples of her white privilege throughout her everyday life; she also points out how her skin color was an asset throughout her life instead of it hindering her. McIntosh states, “My skin color was an asset for any move I was educated to want to make. I could think of myself as belonging in major ways, and of making social systems work for me. I could freely disparage, fear, neglect, or be oblivious to anything outside of the dominant cultural forms. Being of the main culture, I could also criticize it fairly and freely.” This statement truly spoke to me in a deep way because McIntosh was evaluating all the pros that come with having white skin; she does not have to worry about her skin color working against her because white skin has been favored for centuries. In addition to her acknowledging and understanding that her white skin rules in her favor. She also points out and understands that even though her specific racial group was taught to be confident, comfortable, and oblivious to the oppression in society in return, it made other racial groups unconfident, uncomfortable, and essentially alienated throughout society. I think it’s extremely important for people of white descent to speak on the idea that white privilege not only exists but it has and still is causing continuous damage and trauma to people of other races. When society can truly come to one accord and agree with this idea then I believe we can start the conversation of making steps to change society and the systematic way of thinking about race. In the article, “Oppression” by Marilyn Frye, informs us of oppression and the oppression of women throughout society. An important analogy Frye uses to describe the oppression of women to the situation of a bird in a cage. The analogy focuses on the aim that a woman can constantly become caught in a bind where despite her best efforts she will constantly have obstacles put in her path that will be difficult to overcome. These obstacles are difficult to recognize due to the constant fronts that are put up in society to hide these ideas. Even though both men and women are oppressed in their own ways, women somehow become more oppressed due to the simple fact that the system as a whole benefits men, as it always has. In the article, “When Privilege and Oppression Intersect” written by Joseph Mabry touches base on his own experiences of both privilege and oppression being a blind white man. This article taught me that not only can privilege and oppression cross paths but Mabry also taught me that intersectionality is a theory that also plays a part in oppression. Mabry states, “Intersectionality is a theory that explores how individuals can face multiple categories of discrimination when they belong to more than one marganlized group. Everyone possesses multiple identities, and these identities work together to shape each person’s societal and cultural experience.” This idea goes into detail about how intersectionality is involved in oppression simply because not one person just has one identity, they have many, and they belong in more than one group. Therefore, it does not mean that people with white skin can’t experience oppression, they can just in different ways since they attach different aspects to their identity that make them who they are. And even though white people can experience oppression it does not mean that that specific type of oppression can compare to what other racial groups experience in their everyday lives. Mabry helped me think more deeply about ways in which I may have experienced oppression and although I don’t consider this specific experience actually a form of oppression it certainly made me feel out of place, uncomfortable, and in a way embarrassed. As a hispanic woman who has lived in Park Slope all my life where it is fairly populated with mostly people of white skin, people have sometimes looked at me as though I did not belong in that neighborhood or on their specific block. One day when I was walking home from school as I did everyday, I finally reached the block I lived on; as I was walking up the block to my apartment building I was being looked at and watched by a couple on the block. They whispered to each other as I walked past them asking each other if they’ve ever seen me before. It made me feel as though I did not belong there, I did not deserve to live in such a nice and fairly expensive area to live in. I was also a bit shocked that I was being judged essentially based on how I looked; my race. It didn’t make me feel good and that experience alone made me realize a small part of how others feel on a day to day basis as they are oppressed in more horrific ways then I may have been.

In my readings i found lots of interest. Regarding White Privilege, i have always saw it as people that are white who have gotten things done for them or got to were they are do to word of mouth or family. Also that they have gotten away with everything in life, how they mistreat people how they speak harsh words to others not like them. Like they are the only ones entitled. I honestly think this will never disappear. Because of a failure to acknowledge and confront the white privilege. Oppression can happen to anyone it doesn’t matter who you are. I have never saw it as anything before because i never used the word. I can honestly say that i have a better understanding of the meaning of it today. Marilyn Frye has a good read on oppression. The way she used the analogy of the Bird cage to express the oppressed being treated in a cruel manner or due to racism, religion, gender skin color, nationality. The list can go on. The fact are that all these things still exist is repulsing to me and hard to fathom. It crazy that with all the knowledge in the world today you still have ignorant people who still feel they are entitled and can just do what ever to whom ever with out a care in the world that they think revolves around them. The video was just another of making people see the reality of it.

Talking about oppression and privilege is extremely important since many people’s lives are significantly shaped by these two systems. To be oppressed is to be restricted by systematically related pressures. These pressures prevent our personal development in different areas of our lives. For example, women are supposed to stay silent and be agreeable. If they do the opposite a sort of punishment will come with it. In the best scenario, she would be called hysteric or another pejorative term. In the worst scenario, they could be murdered in more sexist countries. Meanwhile, men are not punished for being loud, in fact, they are applauded and it’s normative. I found it interesting how the gallant gestures, in reality, mock women by making them seem incapable. I personally hate and find it cringy when men do stuff for me, like open the door, carry my bags, or pay for the meal, it’s very unnecessary, I can do all of that by myself. Frye mentioned that women have other real problems that are completely ignored by men which is true, these problems are usually not acknowledged and keep women at disadvantage.

Privilege it’s often unacknowledged by its owners, these are advantages that people have in comparison to other members of the society. It was interesting to see the perspective of Peggy McIntosh, a white woman, regarding privilege. As a black, latina, immigrant, queer woman, I have to think about a lot of stuff that puts me at a lot of disadvantage and how am I going to go through it. In the article, Peggy identified the daily effects of white privilege in her life. It is very impressive how something such as your skin tone can give you plenty of privilege in this society or put you at disadvantage.

There was an amazingly good amount of material this week. One reading had to do with the philosopher Marilyn Freye debating the subjugation of culture on women. Marilyn Freye, “Oppression” sates that women are oppressed, and people or group could be just miserable but not oppress. If we as women start to even question a person of another group of their suffering, we are considered insensitive and mean something that women are not and is not our trait as women. As I was reading and she gave examples of how men cannot be vulnerable or even cry because they would be considered weak, I think how society has imposed behavior on both men and women, but men are not oppressed like women are. It has left me in a confusing place because there is aspect where the men that want to be emotional cannot show it and women who show everything but being a women get criticize this shows two sides, with one side being shown more but men not being oppresses because even if they cannot show emotion they are still winning because society imposed it that way. 

 Peggy McIntosh’s, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack,” Peggy addresses the systematic dominance as white privilege is carried out throughout her experience in everyday life. For me most of the examples I had already knowledge of but when she listed and stated, “I was taught to see racism only in individual acts of meanness, not in invisible systems conferring dominance on my group” (pg. 1) I understood that white people did not understand because they were not taught the aspect and things that are consider racism and how their white privilege contributes to that. She asks herself if once identify what can one do to lessen or end it, I have asked myself this when I witness something I do not agree with, and it might be impossible to end it because of the systemic dominance but I think people could lessen it.  

It is interesting how this week’s readings intertwine despite being about two different topics from two different perspectives. Marilyn Frye’s article establishes a definition for the word “oppression” and explains its mechanism while taking women as an example. It speaks from the point of view of, in this case, the underprivileged group and provides many examples of how women are oppressed as women. Meanwhile, “White Privilege” by Peggy McIntosh explores the issue of oppression from the perspective of a privileged group. One phrase that struck me while reading this paper was “I can choose blemish cover or bandages . . . and have them more or less match my skin.” It felt weird that things so simple and usual can cause discomfort to a huge number of people, but are still not addressed as much. Peggy McIntosh found out on her own example that oppressiveness can be, and often is unconscious.

The same phenomenon happens throughout different hierarchies in the society, including gender hierarchies, which are discussed in the book “Oppression.” While reading through it I learned that there’s a more proper word for something I encounter almost daily – “double bind.” I’ve always thought of this feature as “double standards,” by which our behavior is shaped in a certain way. The term double bind however offers an idea that these standards do not allow for shaping the behavior to any side of the spectrum — it simply squeezes women from both sides, making everything they do wrong and miserable. An example Marilyn Frye provides is how being sexually active will make a woman be perceived as a whore, while being sexually inactive will label a woman as “frigid” and “cocktease.” Both of the options can be used as proof that this woman wanted to be raped, therefore justifying the rape itself. Such double binds always put a woman in a losing position, while benefiting the oppressor by establishing the male privilege.

When reading “Oppression” and “White Privilege” These two have something indifferent when reading them. In the article Oppression by Marilyn Frye, she talks about women being put down along with people of color, LGBTQ, and Indigenous plus disabled people. When reading the article it was quite confusing about the point of being oppression when I did some research about it and it seems to acknowledge that oppression means unjust treatment. In Fyre’s article, she explains how people who aren’t either white or heterosexual are seemed to be oppressed and are put down a lot. This is wrong in every way, people should be treated with respect whether they’re Hispanic, gay, bisexual, African American, or non-binary. Men can be oppressed as well, an example of it is when men are expected to be the alpha or they should not show emotions.

It isn’t as much to talk about the article Oppression but there are a lot of thoughts coming to my mind when it comes to the article “White Privilege” by Peggy Mcintosh. In this article, Mcintosh talks about privilege being a white person and how it is difficult to have the privilege if you’re not a straight white male. This makes people uncomfortable and sometimes scary by the fewer privileges people of color can have. Sometimes they have to fight for their privilege and others have the advantage to get their privilege. Reading both articles helped me learn more about privilege and oppression, especially the youtube video, “What is Privilege.”

I felt an interesting push and pull as I went through the three readings for this week. As I read through “Oppression”, it kind of made me feel uncomfortable to contemplate my own oppression. Firstly, I don’t particularly want to acknowledge my own oppression because to do so makes me feel defeated by it somehow. And secondly, I am scared to define my oppression for fear that it may be used against me. I find myself measuring my perceived oppression, qualifying it against the oppressions faced by others, concerned that it won’t be seen as valid. I also have shaped my life to shelter myself from much that my oppression may have brought me. I also have to admit that some of that discomfort comes from some of the rhetoric around oppression in our class discussions thus far. As I read “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” I could say that some of my discomfort in acknowledging my oppression also comes from the fact that I feel I carry a tremendous amount of privilege. I also recognized that as much as I am aware that I carry a lot of privilege, I rarely confront the multitude of unseen ways in which I benefit from it. Reading “When Privilege and Oppression Intersect” somewhat helped me reconcile a bit of the conflict I feel between my oppression and privilege, but I am aware that if I were to do the exercise in the video, I would likely be at the front of the room.