Title: Are Men Oppressed Too? Understanding Oppression Through Marilyn Frye
Headings: Are Men Oppressed Too? Understanding Oppression Through Marilyn Frye
Are Men Oppressed Too? Understanding Oppression Through Marilyn Frye
The Birdcage Analogy

Content: I’ve often heard this statement from numerous women and men around me who hesitate to fully embrace the title of “feminist.” For them somehow, equality and feminism were antithetical rather than synonymous. This borderline men-inist argument stated that this heteropatriarchal system did not only disadvantage the woman but also them man who had to conform to a form of hypermasculinity in order to survive in this world. “ Men are oppressed too” was the argument. Also Read: If Kareena Kapoor Khan Says She’s Not A Feminist, Maybe She’s Not
As an individual who defines herself as a feminist, this argument is filled with flaws. This argument allows “oppression” to expand its definition and ironically include the oppressor as the oppressed, in turn invisibilising the functioning of the oppressive system. For me, feminism allows women to acknowledge and name their oppression, an act that transformed my life personally. To put it simply, it creates space to say that our society is built in a way that masculinity is favoured over femininity, putting everyone associated with femininity at a disadvantaged position. While men too face disadvantages because of the heteropatriarchal system, can we tag these disadvantages as “oppression”?