Re: Oppression

The Oxford English Dictionary defines oppression as: an uncomfortable or distressing sense of (physical or mental) constriction; prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or exercise of authority, control, or power. Marilyn Frye does an excellent job off communicating this meaning to the reader in terms of feminism and the prejudice against women that persists in our society. Her discussion of barriers on either side of the issue of sex is particularly poignant. Frye highlights the fact that women are stereotyped and oppressed whether they are heterosexually active or not. However, I must take task with her over her extreme depiction and interpretation of male chivalry. Frye argues that the act of opening a door or allowing a woman to go first is merely a reaffirmation of the boundaries in front of women. She claims that this form of “help” is worthless and fake because women would much prefer to be helped in more practical ways, such as assisting in laundry or taking care of the children. While Frye does have a point about the practicality of these gestures, she is being completely unfair to those of us of the male persuasion who still believe in chivalry and good manners. Us gentleman do these things, often at our own inconvenience, because we believe that women should be treated a certain way and that these gestures are part of that very belief. From personal experience, if I am in the company of women and am remiss in opening a door, allowing them to pass first, or pulling a chair then I will quickly gain the reputation of having poor manners, regardless of the rest of my behavior or the intelligence of my conversation. Frye makes many good points, but just because she has lost faith in chivalry, it certainly doesn’t mean that we gentlemen out there will not continue on.