International Encyclopedia of Men and Masculinities
OPPRESSION
The essence of oppression is an asymmetrical dynamic between oppressors or structures of oppression that exercise unjust power, on the one hand, and those who suffer oppression, on the other. Oppression is often presented as a systematic, overarching force that subjugates groups and dehumanises or even demonises people. Some also refer to ‘internalised oppression’ whereby individuals or targeted groups incorporate hateful or demeaning images as part of their identities. Oppression is pervasive in society, disguised and distorted through ideologies of social advancement that claim discrimination is the exception, not the norm (Thompson 2003). Oppressive practices include activities associated with injustice, cruelty and subservience, often involving large institutions such as government, culture and education, and affecting groups of people more than individuals. Oppression has been defined as ‘a social dynamic in which certain ways of being in this world—including certain ways of identifying or being identified—are normalised or privileged while other ways are disadvantaged or marginalised. Oppression includes ‘racism, classism, sexism, heterosexism, anti-Semitism, ableism, colonialism…’ (Center for Anti-Oppressive Education 2006). Young (1990) lists exploitation, marginalisation, powerlessness, systematic violence and cultural imperialism as five kinds of oppression, and presents women’s oppression as ‘a systematic and unreciprocated transfer of powers from women to men’ (1990:51).
The concept of oppression is central to masculinities theory and many other critical perspectives in contemporary scholarship and activism. In masculinities theory, the specific concept of oppression is often missing or implicit although it has been addressed at length by Hearn (1987). The men’s movement has grappled with a legacy of misogynistic norms, policies and laws that explicitly or implicitly condone violent and hateful actions against women (Pease 2000). This pro-feminist view involves a recognition of patriarchal power and privilege exercised by many, if not all, men. There is a growing body of work about how masculinities theory can complement feminist theories and practices and how men’s and women’s rights and needed reforms could be realised through pro-feminist strategies (Young 1993).
Patriarchal power is seen as so ubiquitous in society that one feminist fiction writer, Marilyn French (1977), caricatured a feminist position as follows: ‘All men are rapists… They rape us with their eyes, their laws, and their codes.’ A counterpoint to the men-asoppressors approach involves the viewpoint that men are oppressed and suggests how men might resist various forms of oppression to achieve men’s liberation (Nichols 1975). Some scholars credit the women’s movement for challenging and changing some aspects of our androcentric world yet argue that popular feminism promotes contempt for and suspicion of men (Nathanson and Young 2001:6–8).
Ongoing work in masculinities theory has, however, moved well beyond a point-counterpoint approach. Researchers and activists concerned with how men or women are oppressed in given situations draw on more nuanced analyses of complex ‘intersectionalities’ played out within hierarchies of power. The social construction of ‘hegemonic masculinity’ can be both empowering and limiting for men, and men can act as agents of oppression against other men and against women. Others concentrate on men at particular risk of oppressive practices. Oppression may be directed towards sexual orientation, disability, race or ethno-cultural groupings, social class or a host of other factors (Hearn 1992). Tolerance of ‘gay bashing’ can be reflected in inadequate police, prosecutorial and judicial responses (Janoff 2005). Oppression may take the form of fathers belittling or attacking their sons (Pease 2000) or ‘fat oppression’ where morbidly obese men are subject to ostracism and discrimination (Longhurst 2005).
Some fathers’ rights groups criticise family law as an institutionalised form of oppression, claiming systemic bias against fathers in divorce situations. Much of the work in masculinities theory cautions against insupportable claims of discrimination against men and explicitly warns against thinly disguised anti-feminist efforts designed to dismantle feminist gains in law, social policy and society in general. Critics of a men-as-victims motif point out how spousal violence and intimidation continue to be exercised by males against women in the family law sphere and other contexts. Moreover, loss of power or privilege is not necessarily a sign of oppression.
In summary, oppression is best understood as an expression of structural power that serves to exploit and demean targeted populations. Anti-oppression initiatives are fundamental to liberation efforts linked with gender, sexuality, race, social class and other factors. In masculinities theory, recognition of men’s oppressive practices is essential in early consciousness-raising work and in ongoing studies of hierarchies of oppression and intersections of factors in men’s experience of—and possible resistance to—oppressive forces.
