Handouts

Marilyn Frye - oppression and double binds

To present a clear analysis of a double bind you should follow this pattern in an essay:

  1. Present your description of the situation you want to address showing how there are at least 2 choices available.
  2. Show that if the person makes choice 1, then bad consequences will follow.
  3. Show that if the person makes choice 2, then bad consequences will also follow .
  4. Explanation of how this situation shows that women are oppressed (at least according to Frye.) This point is an essential step in your explanation!
One of the most characteristic and ubiquitous features of the world as experienced by oppressed people is the double bind -- situations in which options are reduced to a very few and all of them expose one to penalty, censure or deprivation. (Frye 49)

Study questions:

1. Explain Marilyn Frye's use of the notion of a double bind as a way of demonstrating what oppression is. Discuss the examples in paragraphs 6 and 7.

2. Apply her analysis of oppression to examples of double binds different than the ones she uses in her article. (Use other articles from the book.)

3. How does a double standard differ from a double bind? Give examples of double standards.

4. Not all suffering is oppression. Only target groups are oppressed. Why?

5. The male door opening ritual

*Remember that a male ritual is not the same as human door opening event!

**It's a contradiction to say that men and women have given up most of these rituals, and so Frye is wrong to say that they are oppressive. Most people who changed, changed because they did find the rituals oppressive. Thus you're implying that the ritual both is and is not oppressive.

Why does Frye say:

One cannot see the meanings of these rituals if one's focus is riveted upon...the particularity of the individual man's present conscious intentions and motives and the individual woman's conscious perception of the event in the moment. (52)

Apply her comment to the following situation:

A woman, Yolanda, is very happy that a man, Robert, is holding open the door for her. She enjoys such chivalrous gestures, sees them as a sign of respect, and feels very proud that "her man" likes her so much and is polite. Robert learned from his mother that it was appropriate to open doors for women, so he is intending to be respectful, and wants to demonstrate how much he cares for Sally while displaying good manners.

Why would Frye say that the content of Yolanda's and Robert's thoughts is not really relevant to determining whether a social ritual, as opposed to a human door opening event, symbolizes the oppression of women?

6. What is your personal response to the Frye article? Evaluate the effectiveness of Frye's rhetorical choice of using the door-opening example. Does it accomplish her purpose?

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Created by Kathryn Russell
 SUNY Cortland - Philosophy
Last modified on 8-13-99