Oppression Dynamics A little background

1. Social Group A group of people who share a range of physical, cultural, or social characteristics within one of the social identity categories

Social Identity Categories Sex Class Sexual Orientation Physical, developmental, and psychological ability Race Religion Age Gender

2. Differences in Statuses -Some people have greater access to social power and privilege based upon membership in their social group (Examples). -Some people’s access to social power is limited or denied (Examples).

Statuses Advantaged: Agent, dominant, oppressor, privileged Targeted: Target, subordinate, oppressed, disadvantaged

Social Group Statuses

3. Oppression A system that maintains advantage and disadvantage based on social group memberships and operates, intentionally and unintentionally on individual, institutional and cultural levels

Individual Attitudes and actions reflect prejudice against a social group. Examples:

Institutional Policies, laws, rules, norms, and customs enacted by organizations and social institutions that disadvantage some social group and advantage others. Examples:

Societal/Cultural Social norms, roles, rituals, language, music, and art that reflect and reinforce that belief that one social group is superior to another. Examples: this-to-jennifer-lawrence-and-my-guess-is-she-is-too this-to-jennifer-lawrence-and-my-guess-is-she-is-too

4.Privilege UNEARNED access to resources (social power) only readily available to some people as a result of their advantaged social group membership. Examples:

5. Oppressions Many Manifestations

6. Socialization

7. Oppression Based on Negative Stereotypes Stereotypes: generalizations about the attributes of a particular group that disregard individual diversity within the group. They don’t “STICK” for Agent groups Examples of Stereotypes for Men/Women

8. Dynamics of Oppression A. Vertical Dynamics – Oppression occurs in interactions between Agent groups and Targeted groups that maintain and reinforce oppression. Examples:

Dynamics Cont’d B. Horizontal Dynamics – Interactions among advantaged group members and as well as interactions between targeted group members can maintain and reinforce oppression Examples:

Internalized Dynamics C. When members of advantaged and targeted groups adopt the dominant ideology about their own groups that maintains and reinforces oppression. Advantaged groups accept their group’s socially superior status as normal and deserved. - Targeted groups internalize dominant social messages of inferiority about their group. Examples: watch?v=pds9za_oML0 watch?v=pds9za_oML0

Complexities of Multiple Identities Oppression is complicated and dynamic. Disadvantage and privilege is related between all of our social group memberships.