The Poles of Reality pp. 1-16.© 1983 Crossing Pres OPPRESSION am 0) rnin np ey oft en It ies fundamental claim of feminism that women ae op- pressed. ‘The word ‘oppression’ ir strong word. It repels nd atuats. It is dangerous and dangerously fashionable tnd endangered, Tt is much missed, and sometimes not innocendy, The natement that women are opprestd it fequently met with the claim that men are oppressed too. We hear that op- Dressing is oppresive to thore who oppress aswell at to those {hey oppreus. Some men cite ar evidence of thie oppresion thei much averted inability to ey. I tough, we are told, tobe macline. When the sueses and frstations of being s man ate cited at evidence that oppresors are op pressed by their oppresing, the word ‘oppression’ is being $rctched to meaninglssnety it erated a though is soope includes any and all human experience of imitation or suffer ing, no matter the eause, degree or consequence. Once such turage has been put over on us, then fever we deny that any person or group is oppresed, we seem to imply that we think they never suffer and have no fesings. We are accused of i sensitivity; even of bigotry. For women, such accusation is particularly intimidating since sensitivity i one ofthe few ‘rties that ha been atigned to us. If we are found insens- tive we may fear we have no redeeming tats a all and pet- haps are not real women. ‘Thus ae we silenced before we be fin: the name of our steation drained of meaning and our fue mechanisms tripped.42 THE POLITICS OF REALITY But this is nonsense, Human beings can be miserable with- ‘ut being oppressed, and ite perfectly consistent to deny ‘hat a person ar group is oppressed without denying that they have feelings or that they suffer. ‘Weneed to thnk clearly about oppression, and there is such that mitigates agnnst this. Ido not want to undertake to prove that women are oppressed (or that men are not), but want to make clear what i being said when we say it. We need this word, this concept, and we need it 1 be sharp and “Te tot ofthe word ‘opretion’ isthe lament ‘re ‘The pas of the crows pred into milary erie press ‘per of pent: printing prs; prst the bulton. Prat fed wo old king or ften emer reduce them in blk ‘reinestoveduce them by qocsig ont the pes ot quis in them. Something preaed i tmcthing cag be ten orang for and bates which ae elated eo cach other holy they cena, eit or prevent the thing motion or moby. Mold, Tnmobline Reduce. Ths mundane expen of te eppremed provides another clue Oncol the mont chanctrti ad abigtous features Sf the werd a caperienced by opprened peopl ithe dou Bie bind~stationsin which option ar reduced to ery fer and allel ther expov one to peal cease odo tation. Forctampletisoftens equiemen apon opened evel that we on and be cher Ife comply, re tal or doit and our acquiescence nour tation, We teed nthe, be taken note of We acqulesce nein made Inve in our oceupying no space. We articpate nour tum err, On th othe hand anything but the mnie ountenanc expose ut to beng pereied 2 ea, iter, nny or dangerous, This mean the eat Gat we my be found ifs” or pleasant o work with whichis enough to cost one one's livelihood; at wort, being xen as ‘mean, bitter angry or dangerous hasbeen known to rest in rape, ares, beating and murder. One ean only choose tors one's preferred form snd rate of annihilation, “Another example: It it common in the United States that women, especially younger women, are in a bind where ne ther sexual activity nor sexual inactivity ial right. Ifahe is heterosexully active, a woman is open to censure and punish- rent for being loose, unprinipled or awhore. The “punish- ment” comes in the form of eiiciam,enide and embarrasing ‘remarks, being treated as an easy lay By men, scom from her ‘more restrained female friends. She may have to lie and hide hher behavior from her patents. She must juggle the isk of unwanted pregnancy and dangerous contraceptives. On the ‘other hand if she refrains from heterorexualativiy, she is {ally constanly harased by men whe Uy to persuade her into it and premure her to “relax” and “let her hat down" she is threatened with labels like “frig,” “uptight," “nan hater,” "bitch” and “cocktease." The sme parents who ‘would be disapproving of her sexual activity may be worried by her inactivity because i suggests she isnot or will not be popular, a s noe sexually normal. She may be charged with lesbianism. If woman ie raped, then if she has been hetero- sexually active she i subject to the presumption that she Tiked i (ance her activity i presumed to show that she likes ‘ex, and if ehe has not been heterosexully active, she i ub- {ect co the presumption that she iked it (since she is suppor ‘ly “repressed and frustrated”). Both heterosexual activity and heterosexual nonactiity ae likely to be taken as proof, ‘that you wanted tobe raped, and hence of course, weren't really raped ata. You cant win. You are eaught ia abind, ‘aught Between systematically related pressures ‘Women are caught lke this, too, by networks of forces and barriers that expose ane to penalty, los or contempt Whether one works ouside the home ar not is on welfare oF tot, beat childven of not, aie children or not, marries oF ‘ot, stays married or not it Reteronexl, lesbian, both oF44 THE POLITICS OF REALITY neither. Economic necessity; confinement to racial andjor sexual job ghettos; sexual harassment; sex dseimiaation; pressures of competing expectations and judgments about ‘women, wives and mothers (in the socetyat lrg, in racial tnd ethnic subeultures and in one's own mind); dependence (full or paral) on husbands, parents oF the nate; commit ‘ment to political ideas; loyalties co rail or ethnic or other “minority” groups; the demands of self-respect and responsibilities to others. Each of these factors exists in com plex tension with every other, penalizing or prohibiting al of the apparently avallable options. And nipping at one's heels, always, isthe endless pack of ltl things. If one dreses one ‘way, one is subject to the assumption that one is advertising ‘one's sexual avalability; if one dreses another way, one appears to "not care about onesel?” oF to be “unfemiaine.” Ione uses “strong language," one invites categorisation as whore or tat; H one does not, one invites categorization a 1 “tudy"one too delicately constituted to cope with robust speech o the realities to which it presumably refers. ‘The experience of oppresed people i thatthe living of ‘one’s life i confined and shaped by fores and barier which te not accidental or occasional and hence avoidable, but are systematically elated to each other in rach a way arto catch ‘one between and among them and restrictor penalize motion Inany direction, itis the experience of being caged in: all ‘avenues, in every diection, ate blocked or booby espped. ges. Consider a birdcage. If you look very closely at just one wire in the cage, you cannot see the other wires. 1F Yyour conception of what i before you is determined by this myopic fous, you could look at that one wire, up and down the length off, and be unable to se why a bitd would not just fly around the wire any ime it wanted to go somewhere. Furthermore, evenf, one day at atime, you myopically in- spected each wire, you sill could not se why a bird would have trouble going part the wires to get anywhere, There is no physical property of any one wire, nothing that the closest, scrutiny could discover, that will evel how a bird could be (OPPRESSION 5 inhibited or harmed by it except in the most accidental way. It is only when you step back, stop looking a the wires one by one, microscopically and take a macroscopic view ofthe whole cage, that you can see why the bird dose not go any- Winer and then you will ee icin a moment. It wil require no great subtlety of mental powers. Ite perfectly obviou that the bird is surrounded by anetwork of systematically re- lated bares, no one of which would be the least hindrance to ts ight, but which, by thir relations to each other, are a5 confining asthe solid walls of 2 dungeon. tis now posse to grasp one ofthe reasons why oppres- sion can be hard to see and recognize: one can study the ele- ‘ments of en oppresive structure with great care and some {good will without seeing the structure as 2 whole, and hence without seeing or being able to understand that one is looking tx cage and that there are people there who are caged, whose ‘motion and mobility are restricted, whose lives are shape tnd reduced, “The areting of vision at a microscopic level yields such ‘common confusion a that about the male door-opening situ ‘This tual, whichis remarkably widespread across clare and races, pusiles many people, some of whom do and some of ‘whom do not find It offensive. Look atthe scene of the two people approaching 2 door. The mal stepe slightly ahead and fpene the door. The male hold the door open while the fe- mal glides through. Then the male goes through. The door loses after them. “Now how,” one innocently aks, "ean those crazy womenslibbes say that is oppressive? The guy ‘removed barir to the lady's mooth and unruffled pro- tyes." But each repetition ofthis rtual has a pce in a pat fern, in fact in several pattems. One ha o sift the level of ‘one’s perception inorder to see the whole piture, “The dooropening pretends to be a helpful service, But the helpfulness fate. This can be seen by noting that twill be done whether or not it makes any practical sense. Infirm men and men burdened with packages will open doors for able bodied women who are fre of physical burdens. Men will6 THE POLITICS OF REALITY impose themselves awkwardly and jostle everyone in order to {get to the door frst. The act is not determined by conven fence or grace. Furthertore, these very numerous acts of un ‘needed or even noisome “help occur in counterpoint to a patter of men not being helpful in many practical ways in Which women might weleome help, What women experience isa world in which gallant princes charming commonly make 4 fuss about being helpful and providing mall aervices when help and services are of litle oF no se, but in which there are rarely ingenious and adroit princes at hand when substantial sistance is really wanted either in mundane affairs or inst tuations of creat, assault or teror. There is no help with the (his) laundry; no help typing 2 report at 4:00 a.m. no help in mediating disputes among relatives or children. There is nothing but advice that women should stay indoors after dark, be chaperoned by 2 man, or when it comes down toi, “ie back and enjoy it.” ‘The gallant gestures have no practical meaning. ‘Their mean: ings symbolic, The door opening and similar services pro vided are services which realy are neded by people who are for one reason or another incapacitated~unvwell, burdened itl parcels ete. So the mestage is that women ae incapable. The detachment of the act fom the concrete realities of what women need and do not need i a vehicle forthe mer sage that women’s actual needs and interests are unimport ‘or ieelevant, Finally these gestures imitate the behavior of| servants toward masters and thus mock women, who ee in most respects the servants and caretakers of men. The mes: sage of the flse helpfulness of mae gllanry ie female depen- dence, the invisibility o insignificance of women, and con- tempt for women. ‘One cannot see the meanings ofthese rituals if ones focus ia riveted upon the individual evene inal its particularity, in cluding the particularity ofthe individual man's present con. Scious intentions and motives andthe individual woman's con: scious perception ofthe event inthe moment, It eer rome: times that people take a deliberately myopic view and fil (OPPRESSION 7 thei eyes with chings seen microscopically inorder not to see macroscopically. At any rate, whether itt deliberate oF not, people can and do fil 10 se the oppression of women be- ‘cause they fll so see macroscopically and hence filo se the various elements ofthe situation as systematically related in larger schemes. ‘As the cageness ofthe birdeage i a macroscopic phenom ‘enon, the oppresiveness of the situations in which women live our various and different lives is a macroscopic phenom ‘enon. Neither ean be seen from a microscopic perspective. But when you look macroscopically you can see ita network of forces and barriers which are systematically related and which conspire to the immobilization, reduction and molding ‘of women andthe lives we live. ‘The image of the cage helps convey one aspect of the systematic nature of oppression. Another i the selection of feeupants of the eages, and analysis of this aspect also helps account forthe invisibility ofthe oppression of women, Iis asa woman (or asa Chicanafo or a a Black or Asan of lesbian) that one is entrapped. “Why can’t Igo to the park; you let Jimmy go!” ‘Because i's not safe for gr.” “want to bea secretary, nota seamstees; don't tanto lear to make dress “There's no work for negroes in that line; learn a shill where you can eam you living." ‘When you question why you ate being blocked, why this bar ‘er isin your path, the answer has not to do with individual talent or merit handicap or fate; it has to do with your membership in some category understood as a “natural” oF| TE POLITICS OF REALITY “physical” category. ‘The “inhabitant” of the “cage” isnot sn individual Buta group, all hove of a certain entegory. TE ‘an individual is opprestd, itis virtue of being a member of group or ategory of people that is systematically reduced, rolded, immobilized, Thus, to recognize a person a op- preted, one has to eee tht individual ar belonging to 3 group of certain sort ‘There are many things which can encourage or inhibit pe. cexption of someone's membership inthe sort of group or cat- ‘gory in question here. In particular, it seem eeasonable to suppore that fone of the devices of restriction and definition ofthe group is that of physical confinement or segregation, the confinement and separation would encourage recognition fof the group az a group. This in urn would encourage the ‘macroscopic focus which enable one to recognize oppresion ‘and encourages the individuals idenification and solidarity ‘with other individuals ofthe group or category. But physical ‘confinement and spregtion of the group a group ls not ‘common to all oppresive structures, and when an oppressed ‘roup ie geographically and demographically dispersed che Dereeption of it ae group is inhibited, There may be litle ‘or nothing inthe situations of the individuals encouraging the macroscopic focur which would reveal tke unity ofthe struc tre bearing down on all members of that group.” ‘A geeat many people, female and male and of every race and clas, imply do not believe that woman isa category of| ‘opptesed people, and [think that thie inn part Beene hey have been fooled by the dispersal and assimilation of women throughout and ico the systems of dass und race which oF finize men. Our simply being lopersed makes it difficult for ‘women to have knowledge of eachother and hence diffcule. to recognize the shape of our common cage. The dispersal ‘oprning group ne elton tovedce andlor nna ker {Fonp. Ta acts ied by the US. goverment formas, BeKerian Indians and assimilation of women throughout economic clases and ‘ces also divides us aguinst each other practically and eco- rnomically and chu attaches interest tothe inability to ee: for some, jealousy oftheir benefits, and for some, resenttent of the others’ advantages, ‘To get past this, it helps to notice that in fact women of all ces and canes are together in a ghetto of ors. There is ‘women's place, a rector, which i iahabited by women ofall, ‘lasses and races, and ite not defined by geographical bound: aries butby function. The function is the service of men and men’s interests as men define dsem, which includes the bea ing and rearing of children. The detail of the service and the ‘working conditions vary by race and class, for men of differ- tnt race and clanes have different interest, pereeve thet. interests differently, and express their needs and demands in different rhetoris, dialects and languages. But there are aso ‘Whether in lower, mide or upper-lss home or work sit uations, women’s sevice work always inches personal sr- vce (the work of maids, butlers, cooks, personal secretaries) * ‘sexual service (including provision for his genital sexual needs nd bearing hi dildrea, but also including "bing ice, “being attractive for him,” et.) and ego service (encourage- iment, suppor, prise, attention). Women’s service work aso Ischaracterized everywhere by the fatal combination of r- sponsibility and powerlessnes: we are held responsible and ‘we hold ourselves responsible for good outcomes for men and chilgren in slmort every respect though we have in almost 20 tase power adequate to that projec. The details of the sb- Jective experience of this servitude ae local. They vary with ‘conomic clas and race and ethnic tradition a well asthe personalities of the men in question. So alo are the detalls Of the forces which coerce our tolerance ofthis servitude par © aight clas levels women may ot dal thee nd of work, lature general sil saponse for hrg and spewing hare wo bie hee eeeer ara n hee cues women's respons.ticular tothe different situations in which different women live and work. ‘All tis isnot to say that women do not have, assert and ‘manage sometimes co satisfy our own interests, nor to deny that in some cases and in some reapects women’s independent iterests do overlap with men's, Buta every racefcat level, and even across race/class lines men do not serve women as ‘women sere men. “Women's sphere” may be understood as the "service sector,” taking the latter expression much more widely and deeply than is usual in iscusions of the economy. I seems to be the human condition that in one degre or another we ll stfer furtation and imitation, ll encounter unwelcome barsers and all are damaged and hurtin various ways. Since we area socal species, almost ll of our behavior and activities are structured by mote than individual inclina- tion and the conditions ofthe planet and its atmosphere. No human ie freeof sci structures nor (pethaps) would happ ness conse in sch Freedom. Structure consists af hound tries, limits and barriers; in «structured whole, some motions tnd changes are posible, and other are not. If one is looking foran excuse to dilute the word ‘oppression’, one can use the fact of social stueture aban excuse and say that everyone is oppresed. But if one would rather get clear about what op- premion is and isnot, one need to ror out the suerings, harms and limitations and figure out whic are elements of ‘oppression and which are not From what have already sid ere itis clear that if one wants to determine whether a particular suffering, harm or Timitaion is par of someone's being opprewed, one has to look at it in context in order to tell whether it ean element nan oppressive structure: one has to see itis part of an ‘enclosing structure of forces and barsers which tends tothe Immobilisation and reduction of a goup oF category of peo: ple, One hat look at how te bare ox force fie withthe Etsand to hove benclit or detent t works, Av soon tn looks a ocample, it beeomes bios tht net sey ‘hing which sete ois perion i oppenv, and Dot every ham or dxmge i doe to or contbutes to op: e Ifa rich white playboy who lives off income from his in- vestments in South Aftzan diamond mine should break Iegina king acide at Aopen and waitin pain in lizard forhouerbefore eis escued,we ay ashe tht i that petiod he suffers. But the wlerng comes to an end isp ‘tea by the Best irgeon money cn by an he e008 feeoperaing in lv ste, ipping Chivas Rea. Nothing int pctre vogue strctre of bares and ores. He iS amember of eer opprenr groupe and des not dene Iy become oppress becnse hei injred adn pai Even iT he seen was eased by someone's mallow negligence, tnd hence mone canbe blamed fort nd morally fated, ‘fac person sl has ot been an agent of oppression. ‘mide sn the restriction et avig to ave one's chile on a eran side of theron Thre ino doubt tat ‘hisrestetionealmont unbeatly framing a6 sien one's lanes ot moving andthe other lane es ‘There ar surly tins, een, when abiding By ti regulation vould ave hcl consequences, But the ection nob Vout wholeome for mon of moa ofthe tine. There "sin imposed for our beet and oes benef Op tration ends to encourage our continued motion 90 ‘tobe us. The ints mvt by trac relations are Tit mont of ws woul cheertllyinpone on outers given that we knew other woul follow them too. They ae part of sructre which sper or behavior, not to ou rede: ‘ion and immetiiaion, bot he fo the protection four conned ability to move and act at we wil ‘Another example: The boundaries frail eto ian Anse ty ave to some extent to keep white people irom going in swell eto Kevp ghcto dlc fom ng12 THE POLITICS OF REALITY out. A particular white ctizen may be frartrated of fee de. Paved Becaute se cannot soll around there and enjoy the “exotic” aura ofa “foreign” culture, or shop for bargain in the ghetto swap shops. In fact, the existence ofthe gett ‘of racial segregation, does deprive the white pron of knoe ledge and harm herfhis character by nurtuting unwarrented Feelings of superiority. But this does aot make the white per son inthis situation a member of an oppresed race oF a per son oppressed because of hers race. One must look at the barrier. Tlimiss the activites and the acces of those on both sides ofc (though to diferent degres). But itis product of ‘he intention, planning and action of whites forthe benefit of ‘whites, co secure and maintain prisleges that ate avaiable to ‘white generally, a members of the dominant and privileged roup. ‘Though the existence ofthe barrier has sone bad con- equencer lor white, the barrier does not exist in systematic telationship with other bariers and forces forming a structure oppressive to whites; quite che contrary. Ite part of artic ‘ure which oppreses the ghetto dwellers and thereby (and by white intention) protects and furthers white interents 3 dom Jnant white eulture understands them. This bartir i not op- Presve to whites, even though tis a barrier to whites. ‘Barriers have diferent meanings to those on opposite sides ‘of diem, eventhough they are barirs to both. ‘The physical walls t's prizon na more dissolve to let an outside in than to let an insider out, but forthe inider they are confining and limiting while to the outsider they may mean protection from what s/he takes tobe threats posed by insidere—freedom from harm or anxiety. A set of social and economic barriers and forces separating two groups may be fel, even peinflly, by ‘members of both groups and yet may mean confinement :o lone and liberty and enlargement of opportunity to the other. ‘The service sector ofthe wives/mommas[asstants/gls is almost exclusively « woman-only sector; its boundaries not ‘only enclose women but toa very great extent keep men out. ‘Some men sometimes encounter this barier and experience ‘tap a restriction on their movements, thelr actives, their (OPPRESSION 15 control or thelr choices of “lifestyle.” Thinking they might "ike the simple nurturant life (which they may imagine to be quite fee of stress, alienation and haed work), and feeling de- Drved since it sems cloted to them, they thereupon an ounce the discovery that they are opprested, £00, by "ses roles.” But that bair is erected and maintained by men, for the benefit of men. It consis of cultural and economic forces and prestures in a culture and economy contrlied by men in which, at every economic level and i ll racial and ‘ethnic subcultures, economy, tradition and even ideologies (of liberation-vwork to keep a lear local culture and economy in male comol* ‘The boundary that sets apart women's sphere is maintained and promoted by men generally for the benefit of men gen ‘rally, and men generally do benefit from its existence, even the man who bumps into it and complains of the inconveni= cence. That barter s protecting his clasifieation and status 484 male as superior, as having aright to sexual acess toa female of females. It protects & kind of citizenship which it superior to that of females of his clas a race, his access t0 wider range of better paying and higher tats work, and his ght to prefer unemployment tothe degradation of doing lower status of “women's” work a person's life o activity is nfected by some force ot brie that person encounters, one may not conclude that the person is oppressed simply because the person encounters that bari or Fores; nor simply because the encounter ie unpleasant, fruteating or painful co that person at that time; ‘or simply because the existence of the barrier o free, or the procetses which maintain or appli, serve to deprive that ‘Of our his acomplcte by race and ca Machin a “sbck manhood” pods rem tba keep Eatin of Bc me a ‘ono! of more cab tan Lata or Bich women conta bet ere esse eo al ap tere een14 THE POLITICS OF REALITY person of something of value. One must look at the bari 1rforce and answer certain questions about it. Who con- frvcts and eaintaing 2 Whose interest are served by its ex- Istence? gt part of truce which tends to confine re duce and immobilize some group? Is the individual « member ofthe confined group? Various forces, aries and init tions a person may encounter oF lie with may be patt of an oppressive structure oF no, and if they ate, that person may belon either the oppressed or the opprestor sie off, One cannot tell which by how loudly or how litle the person complains WV Many ofthe restrictions and Limitations we lve with are ore of les internalized and selfmonitored, and are pat of fur adaptations to the requirements and expectations im- posed by the needs and tarts and tyrannie of other. [have {mind such thing at women’s cramped postures and atten. uated strides and men's errant of emotional self-expression {except for anger). Who gets what out af the practice of those disciplines, and who imposes what penalties for improp cerrelacations of them? What are the reards of this lt Aiscpline? ‘Can men cry? Yer, inthe company of women. If2 man cannot ery, i sin the company of men that he cannot ery. Iismen, not women, who require this restraints and men not only requie it, they reward [Link] man who maintaine a steely or tough of Inid-back demeanor (all ae forms which ‘suggest invalnerability) marks himself as a member of the male community andi esteemed by other men, Consequnt ly, the maintenance of chat demeanor contributes tothe ‘man’s elfesteem. It felt as good, and he can fel ood about himself, The way ths restietion fis into the stuctures fof men's ves is ar one of the socially required behaviors ‘which, if carsed off contribute to thei seceptance and ve COrPRESSION 15 spect by significant others and to their own selesteem. tis to their benefit to practice this ditipline Consider, by compariton the drcipline of women’s ‘ramped physical postures and attensated stride, This disi- pline canbe relaxed inthe company of women it generally Jsat ts mos strenuous in the company of men.* Like men’s «emotional restaint, women's physical restraint i equired by ‘men, But unlike the cae of men’s emotional restraint, wont en's physical restraine isnot rewarded. What do we et fort? Regpect and esteem and acceptance? No. They mock us and parady our mincing reps. We look sly, incompetent, weak nd generally contemptible. Our exercie of thi discipline tends to low esteem and low self-esteem. It dose not benefit ‘a. Te its ina network of behaviors through which we con stantly announce to others our membership in alower este sd our unwilingnes and/or inability to defend our bodily ‘or moral integrity. It ie degrading and par of a pattem of degradation, ‘Acceptable behavior for both groups, men and women, i volver required restrain dhe seems in tel sly and per haps damaging, But the social effec ie drastically different “The woman's restraint is part ofa structure oppressive o women; the man's restraint i part ofa structure oppressive One itmarked for application of oppresive pressures by one's membership in some group or extegory. Mach of one's tafering and frastation befalls one partly or largely beeause © Gh Lets Tae ack Ow Spacer “Female” ond “ale” Body Ianpage as Rea of Parra Saces, by Martone Wee (Grtueinersreerig ermine Pen Wew Gemany, 197), ‘Spey p15, Thsvemarabe book preset eral thousand Teena photoap of waren snd mem poi aeed,anng ‘Saivng own ii demons the vary neat ier ‘ea in wore and me's poner and geste16 THE POLITICS OF REALITY ‘one isa member ofthat category. In the case at hand, fis the category, woman, Being a woman isa major factor in my ‘ot having a better job than Ido: being a woman selects me 84 likely victim of sexual atsault or haressment ite my bee ing 3 woman that reduces the power of my anger to a proof, fof my insanity. Ifa woman has little or no economic or po- litieal power, or achieves litle of what she wants to achieve, 1 major causal factor inthis is that she isa woman. For any woman of any race or economic cass, being a woman i ig rlficantly attached to whatever disadvantages and deprivar tions she sufers, be they great or smal. [None ofthis the case with respect toa person's being ‘man. Simply being a maa isnot what stands between him tnd a better job; whatever asaults and harassments he is subject to, being male isnot what selects him for vietimiza- tion; being male i not s factor which would make his anger Jmpotent—quite the opposite. Ifa man has litte or no ma terial or politial power, or achieves little of what he wants to achieve, his being male ie no part of the explanation. Be ing male is something he has going for him, even if race oF class or age or disability is going aginst him, Women are oppressed, as women. Members of certain cial andjor economic groups and cases, both the males and the females, are oppressed as members of those races andjor classes. But men are not oppressed as en, and anti strange that any of us should have been confused and mystified about such a simple thing? NOTES 1. This examples drive fom Daddy Was A Number Runner, by Louise bervether (Pence Hal Englewood Clif New ere, 1970), pis