Iris Young's Five Faces Of Oppression

In philosopher Iris Young’s Five Faces of Oppression, she discusses oppression, highlighting five different categories of it. Among these “five faces” are exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, cultural imperialism and violence. Exploitation occurs when the energies and skills of one are expanded on and taken advantage of by another. Generally, these energies and skills are being exploited to increase one’s power, status or wealth. An example of exploitation that still persists today are sweatshops. At sweatshops, individuals usually work for a prolonged amount of time under poor conditions for very low wages. Many successful companies exploit these manual workers by selling products made by the workers for prices higher than the wages made by the workers. The companies are gaining wealth and, as they become more successful over time, power over the …show more content…
One may be deemed as unprofessional if they lack certain knowledge or a college degree. This makes it more difficult for an unprofessional to gain respect. The professional is privileged in the aspect that they are respected by default while people deemed unprofessional have to relentlessly prove themselves as worthy for respect. Members of minorities are also subject to violence which is the final category of oppression listed by Young. Violence involves physical force with the intent to injure another. Many groups suffer the oppression of systemic violence. Many black men have been assaulted due to their race just as many women have been assaulted due to their gender. Any minority is at risk of violence simply due to the fact that they are disenfranchised. The “five faces” of oppression affect many individuals who are disenfranchised all over the world. Although oppression may be less extreme in some parts of the world, it is still a prevalent problem that will continue to exist for the foreseeable