Privilege: The Bars

of the Birdcage

How privilege for some equates to oppression for others

The Birdcage
Marilyn Fryes analogy of privilege to the bars of a birdcage
illustrates how people of oppressed groups get caught by a
series of double binds created by the privilege of those in
positions of power.

Marilyn Fryes Oppression

The group women is trapped in the aforementioned
birdcage as an oppressed group. This means that the group
fulfills all of Marilyn Fryes necessary conditions for
oppression.
-The oppression can be seen from a macroscopic perspective.
-Women are targeted members of an oppressed group.
-They have a contextual relation to social barriers.

How Oppression Works

-Oppression happens through the fragmentation and
mystification of an oppressed group. This can take place in the
form of sexual objectification, stereotyping, and cultural
domination.
- Psychological Oppression is another form of oppression in
which a persons agency and autonomy are attacked, causing
psychic alienation.

Privilege => Oppression

-Privilege is something that should be a basic right for
everyone,but is often misinterpreted as a special right.
-People can have privilege and still be oppressed.
-Peggy McIntosh describes what it is like to have privilege
because of her race, but, is still oppressed because of her
gender.

How to Recognize Privilege

-First, you need to get an understanding of what it means to
be privileged.

Is there something that you feel should be a basic right to

everyone, but not everyone is experiencing it?

-Second, you need to come to terms with your privilege.

Don't deny, or guilt trip yourself; take action!

Using Privilege for Good

When you see a person being mistreated based on sexual
orientation,race,gender,etc if you have the privilege,
address it!
Get an understanding of your privilege and educate others.

This video illustrates a scenario in which one womans

privilege has been used to help another woman facing
oppression.
If this instance were the rule rather than the exception,
society could begin to see a moral revolution like that
outlined by Hoagland in her essay Seperating from
Heterosexuality.
Only when societal values can be completely replaced
with values of equality, then our value system could shift
away from structures of oppression.

Privilege: The Bars

of the Birdcage

How privilege for some equates to oppression for others

The Birdcage
Marilyn Fryes analogy of privilege to the bars of a birdcage
illustrates how people of oppressed groups get caught by a
series of double binds created by the privilege of those in
positions of power.

Marilyn Fryes Oppression

The group women is trapped in the aforementioned
birdcage as an oppressed group. This means that the group
fulfills all of Marilyn Fryes necessary conditions for
oppression.
-The oppression can be seen from a macroscopic perspective.
-Women are targeted members of an oppressed group.
-They have a contextual relation to social barriers.

How Oppression Works

-Oppression happens through the fragmentation and
mystification of an oppressed group. This can take place in the
form of sexual objectification, stereotyping, and cultural
domination.
- Psychological Oppression is another form of oppression in
which a persons agency and autonomy are attacked, causing
psychic alienation.

Privilege => Oppression

-Privilege is something that should be a basic right for
everyone,but is often misinterpreted as a special right.
-People can have privilege and still be oppressed.
-Peggy McIntosh describes what it is like to have privilege
because of her race, but, is still oppressed because of her
gender.

How to Recognize Privilege

-First, you need to get an understanding of what it means to
be privileged.

Is there something that you feel should be a basic right to

everyone, but not everyone is experiencing it?

-Second, you need to come to terms with your privilege.

Don't deny, or guilt trip yourself; take action!

Using Privilege for Good

When you see a person being mistreated based on sexual
orientation,race,gender,etc if you have the privilege,
address it!
Get an understanding of your privilege and educate others.

This video illustrates a scenario in which one womans

privilege has been used to help another woman facing
oppression.
If this instance were the rule rather than the exception,
society could begin to see a moral revolution like that
outlined by Hoagland in her essay Seperating from
Heterosexuality.
Only when societal values can be completely replaced
with values of equality, then our value system could shift
away from structures of oppression.