Is it Really Oppression?
In Marilyn Frye’s article, Oppression, Frye argues that men are not oppressed but women are, and she attributes this to what she considers the definition of oppressed to be; “something oppressed is something caught between or among forces and barriers which are so related to each other that jointly they restrain, restrict, or prevent the thing’s motion or mobility”. She believes that women, unlike men, are oppressed due to the restrictions and fences that are put around them, that not only prevent women from being free to do what they like, act as they like, and behave in a manner that is not dictated to them by society, but they are forced into a social construct of what it means to be “feminine”. Being miserable, …show more content…
Although the term “chivalry” implies that women are fragile, feminine, beings that are unable to exist without the help and consideration of men, courtesy does not need to disappear. The dictionary definition of feminism is, “the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes”, and chivalry is the “courteous behavior, especially that of a man toward women”. Although chivalry has the expectation of behavior that is courteous, especially towards women, this is not necessarily a negative trait that men should aim to possess. If women are also courteous to men, there is no reason for chivalry to disappear, as then equality will come about. Equality of the sexes still can exist, while chivalry is still able to survive. Being chivalrous is not oppressive, on the contrary, it exists to eradicate oppression and to create an atmosphere where men respect their female counterparts in a manner that is not demeaning, but it polite and courteous. Men do not open doors for women or carry their bags because they feel that women are incapable and inferior; they are merely striving to be helpful and considerate. Being a feminist does not mean eradicating the consideration of other genders within the world; it means standing up for equal rights and opportunities between genders, and this is possible while chivalry continues to
In Marilyn Frye’s article, Oppression, Frye argues that men are not oppressed but women are, and she attributes this to what she considers the definition of oppressed to be; “something oppressed is something caught between or among forces and barriers which are so related to each other that jointly they restrain, restrict, or prevent the thing’s motion or mobility”. She believes that women, unlike men, are oppressed due to the restrictions and fences that are put around them, that not only prevent women from being free to do what they like, act as they like, and behave in a manner that is not dictated to them by society, but they are forced into a social construct of what it means to be “feminine”. Being miserable, …show more content…
Although the term “chivalry” implies that women are fragile, feminine, beings that are unable to exist without the help and consideration of men, courtesy does not need to disappear. The dictionary definition of feminism is, “the advocacy of women's rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes”, and chivalry is the “courteous behavior, especially that of a man toward women”. Although chivalry has the expectation of behavior that is courteous, especially towards women, this is not necessarily a negative trait that men should aim to possess. If women are also courteous to men, there is no reason for chivalry to disappear, as then equality will come about. Equality of the sexes still can exist, while chivalry is still able to survive. Being chivalrous is not oppressive, on the contrary, it exists to eradicate oppression and to create an atmosphere where men respect their female counterparts in a manner that is not demeaning, but it polite and courteous. Men do not open doors for women or carry their bags because they feel that women are incapable and inferior; they are merely striving to be helpful and considerate. Being a feminist does not mean eradicating the consideration of other genders within the world; it means standing up for equal rights and opportunities between genders, and this is possible while chivalry continues to