Unpacking the Five Faces of Oppression: A Comprehensive Analysis

Name Institutional affiliations Date Summary of five faces of oppression Iris Marion Young, the author of 'Five Faces of Oppression has clearly stated that five specific factors of oppression tend to affect people in their day-to-day lives. The five faces of oppression discussed herein are exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, cultural imperialism, and violence. Young has in each face and explained why each is a form of oppression and further detailed why each of the faces is oppression. To begin with, the author started with exploitation. She explains that it uses forced labor of a specific group of people to benefit another group. Exploited people in the workplace are usually perceived to be less human. On the other hand, marginalization is the exclusion of people considered to be of a third world. Such may include the elderly, the disabled, and the unemployed or even people from a particular ethnic origin. On the other hand, marginalized people are perceived to lack characteristics that make them less fit for a specific society. The third face that the author has discussed is powerlessness which the author says is based on the concept of how people in power take advantage of those not in control. In other words, those in power tend to benefit from the labors and aspirations of others without feelings of remorse or guilt. The powerless are placed in a situation that they cannot make individual decisions and can only take orders from those in power. The vulnerable are usually subjected to disrespectful treatment because they are taken to be of lower status by those in power. In 'Five Faces of Oppression, cultural imperialism is discussed in the context of where the culture of the ruling class and making it the norm in a particular society. Those in power dictate how their subjects live, communicate and interact. Finally, violence is discussed as the last face as the most visible form of oppression. Violence is usually designed to create fear, humiliate people, damage their properties and their self-esteem, and finally destroy them. Narrative 1: Marginalization As far as the five faces of oppression are concerned, marginalization is the exclusion of a particular class of people by the essence that they lack something that others do not have. The elderly could be viewed as lacking energy and the workforce to do chores; the unemployment could be seen as lackin