oppression essay sample

15 Oppression Examples

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In Sociology, oppression refers to the unjust use of power and authority by a group, which results in the control, exploitation or mistreatment of another group.

This means that oppression has a social dimension, and it affects whole categories of people, not just individuals.

This control and subsequent subordination happens through different mechanisms: institutional power and norms, laws, social customs and even stereotypes .

The consequence of oppression is that it creates hierarchies within the social structures, with some groups having more power, status and opportunities than others based on characteristics such as race, gender, sexual orientation, age or disability.

As with other terms, there is not agreed definition, but oppression does have certain traits that help shed light onto this complex phenomenon.

Oppression Definition

“Oppression” names a social injustice , which is to say that it is perpetrated through social institutions , practices, and norms on social groups by social groups…In this way oppression differs from many kinds of injustices that can be done to individuals as well as to social groups. (Cudd, 2005, p.21)

Oppression is not always deliberate, but rather it is the result of a complex system that incorporates different mechanisms: institutional power, social norms, stereotypes, laws or social customs amongst others.

This results in what can be called “systems of oppression”.

These mechanisms help maintain the privilege of some groups (Taylor, 2016), which is another important aspect of oppression: it is something that is maintained overtime and thus it is an injustice that is repeated and systemic, widespread, vast and deep (Deutsch, 2006).

There are different types of oppression based on the characteristics of social groups: ethnic or religious minorities, women, people with different abilities or those on the lower socio-economic scales of society.

So, oppression has many faces and it manifests in different ways: politically, socially, economically or culturally.

Oppression Examples

• Racism , which is discriminating people based on the color of their skin or their ethnicity, is a form of oppression as it limits opportunities and life chances. It has its roots in colonialism and the slave trade, and can be endorsed by officials, as with institutional racism .
• Religious oppression happens when governments and society doesn’t allow the expression of religious beliefs through symbology, or when a religion imposes itself over others in a given territory.  This results in people not being able to freely practice their religion.
• Class oppression is the prejudice and the discrimination that occurs based on what is commonly known as social class. Also known as classism, it consists of the system discrimination and exclusion of the lower classes.
• Gender oppression is the result of sexism and the patriarcal mandate, which for years have kept women in the domestic sphere and away from the public one. This has limited their access to institutional and economic power and political decision making amongst others.
• Dictatorships are one of the most extreme examples of oppression. Under political dictatorship there is widespread oppression in pretty much every sphere of life, with many groups being discriminated and treated unfairly.
• Disability oppression , also known as albeism , means that people with disabilities are subjected to many discriminatory practices which stops then from accessing housing, employment, education and a host of other pursuits.
• Economic oppression means that certain groups see their economic opportunities restricted and reduced. An extreme example of this would be enslavement, and a more common one employment discrimination based for example on race, gender or sexual orientation. 
• Heteronormativity , is “what makes heterosexuality seem coherent, natural and privileged.It involves the assumption that…heterosexuality is an ideal, superior to homosexuality or bisexuality” [1] , which results in the oppression of all those who do not identify as heterosexual.

Case Studies and Research Basis

1 . gender oppression.

“Gender oppression is defined as oppression associated with the gender norms, relations, and stratification of a given society. Modern norms of gender in western societies consist of the dichotomous, mutually exclusive categories of masculinity and femininity ”  (Patil, 2007, p. 1)

The category of masculinity is often associated with the public sphere and power, while femininity is linked to the domestic sphere and the reproductive role (with different cultural nuances).

This gendered way of organizing society has resulted in women having less access to institutional power, leadership roles, education, economic resources resulting in greater poverty, sexual objectification and exploitation or greater risk of suffering domestic violence, amongst others.

2. Minorities and the glass ceiling

While the concepts of the glass ceiling and sticky floor is often thought of as something that affects only women, that is not completely true.

Some minorities, which include ethnic background, sexual orientation or disabilities, have been found to also experience the glass ceiling and the sticky floor .

Just hiring underrepresented minorities doesn’t make for an oppression free workplace.

The presence of these two types of discrimination means that underrepresented minorities cannot progress a the workplace, which results in a majority of minorities in the lower rank positions and none or few in the managerial and higher-level jobs.

3 . Women considered property

A very extreme case of oppression, but one that still happens nowdays, are the consideration of women as the property of men.

This can be seen in some cultures in which women are under the rule of their fathers, brothers or husbands.

This has serious implications for the lives of women in those countries, in their day to day and future prospects.

Women may not be allowed to drive cars, have bank accounts or choose how they want to dress. Education and paid employment may be off limits, and they cannot decide who they want to marry, amongst others.

4. Religious oppression

While the reality of many societies is religious pluralism, with different practices and believes co-existing alongside each other, real freedom of religion in some places is debatable.

Religious Oppression derives from the restrictions that both government and society put on the freedom to practice religions.

Examples of these are the prohibition to wear religious symbols, such as the Christian cross, the Muslim veil or the Jewish kippah or skullcap. Another example would be not providing pork-free meals for Jewish and Muslim children at schools.

Religion can be thus be source of oppression, when restrictions are put in place, or when one religion or governing body (e.g. communism ) imposes itself over others in a given territory as this doesn’t allow people to practice freely and fully their religion.

5. Racial oppression

Racial oppression in the modern work has its origins in colonialism and the slave trade and can be considered a bi-product, or a consequence, of racism.

Racism can be considered the root of oppression because “is more than just prejudice in thought or action. It occurs when this prejudice – whether individual or institutional – is accompanied by the power to discriminate against, oppress or limit the rights of others”.

Racial oppression means that those who are discriminated against see their life chances diminish, due to less access to economic or educational resources, less influence at the political level and a general exclusion from society.

Oppression is a complex phenomenon that channels itself through a complex system, made up of institutional power, social norms and customs, laws and stereotypes. All these contribute, sometimes in a non-deliberate way, to oppress groups of people, because of certain traits (which are in themselves the cause of oppression).

Oppression maintains the privilege of some groups over others, and this happens in a sustained way, which makes it systemic and widespread. It is a phenomenon that affects many different groups and also that manifests itself in a variety of ways: politically, socially, economically or culturally.

Oppression can be considered a form of social injustice.

Bibliography

Abberly, P. (1987) The Concept of Oppression and the Development of a Social Theory of Disability. Disability, Handicap & Society, 2 (1).

Berberoglu, B. (1994). Class, Race and Gender: The Triangle of Oppression. Race, Sex & Class , 2 (1), 69–77. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41680097

Cudd, A.E. (2005) How to Explain Oppression: Criteria of Adequacy for Normative Explanatory Theories. Philosophy of the Social Sciences 35 ,1: 20 DOI: 10.1177/0048393104271923

Deutsch, M. (2006). A Framework for Thinking About Oppression and Its Change. Social Justice Research, 19(1), 7–41. doi:10.1007/s11211-006-9998-3 

Taylor, E. (2016). Groups and Oppression, Hypatia , 31 (3): 520–536, doi: 10.1111/hypa.12252.

Patil, V. (2007) Gender Oppresion in George, R. (ed).  The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology . New York: Blackwell. 

Somasundram, S., Sirag, A., Rasiah, V., Ratneswary, R. & Habibullah, S. (2017). Religious Oppression: Government Regulations and Social Hostilities. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business. 4 . 39-49.

• Rosa Panades (PhD) #molongui-disabled-link Manifest Functions in Sociology (10 Examples)
• Rosa Panades (PhD) #molongui-disabled-link Latent Functions in Sociology (with 10 Examples)
• Rosa Panades (PhD) #molongui-disabled-link 10 Institutional Discrimination Examples
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• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 23 Achieved Status Examples
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105 Oppression Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best oppression topic ideas & essay examples, ⭐ interesting topics to write about oppression, ✅ simple & easy oppression essay titles, ❓ questions about oppression.

• Women’s Inequality, Oppression and Well-Being From the perspective of natural and applied sciences, women’s equality and oppression are relevant to the issue of establishing gender equality in the sciences, which is a research-based challenge that has not been addressed yet.
• “On Psychological Oppression” by Sandra Bartky Psychological oppression is to have a harsh dominion exercised over your self-esteem and make the victims their own oppressors.
• Different Examples of Oppression Oppression is not a new term in the country. This paper serves as an informant, showing that oppression is prevalent in many parts of the world.
• Resisting the Oppression: “Sophie Scholl and the White Rose” The main theme in the story of Sophie Scholl and the White Rose is resistance and oppression. They depend on the accounts of Hans and Sophie Scholl and the letters they wrote.
• Using of Oppression for Crushing Tutsis and Women Writers Among the strategies of oppression, Gourevitch singles out the Hutu Power group, which engaged in terrorist attacks and massacres. However, there is the problem of the extent to which the oppressor has control and how […]
• The Older Population’s Disparities and Oppression The relationships between the younger and the older populations introduce a problem of abuse and disparities between the two. To conclude, it is clear that the problem of oppression and abuse of the elderly population […]
• Privileges and Oppression Within Subordinate and Dominant Groups The Whites were “more devoted to order than to justice” and opted for “a negative peace, which is the absence of tension, to a positive peace, which is the presence of justice”.
• Being an Upstander in the Face of Oppression In this respect, the writer is emphasizing the fact that there is so much inaction and silence in the face of fundamental rights violations in every corner of the world.
• Oppression of Black and Chicana Women The only job they could get was in the kitchen of the white man. Generally, black and Chicana women faced a lot of discrimination and oppression before the mid-twentieth century.
• The Five Forces of Oppression in “Philadelphia” The central theme of Philadelphia is discrimination against the LGBT community and people who had HIV/AIDS back in the 1980s and 1990s.
• Breaking Oppression Barriers in Maya Angelou’s “Champion of the World” and Amy Tan’s “Fish Cheeks” Although it is not the initial goal of the author to specify the impact of family relationships, she still mentions that the store is the uncle’s property.
• Views on Female Oppression in Christianity Letter One of the reasons for female subordination in Christianity is the protection that is to be provided by fathers, brothers, and husbands.
• Systemic Oppression & Traditional Counseling Ethics My response in the past would be in favor of the law because I was not fully aware of the cultural aspects of counseling.
• “The Color Purple”: Oppression and Pain of an African American Woman Adapted from Alice Walker’s novel by the same name, the movie delves into the life of a girl who was sexually abused by her father before being sold off to an irresponsible and cruel husband.
• Intersectionality Oppression and Discrimination in Latin America One of the major reasons for the intersectionality is lack of awareness. Class intersectionality means discrimination based on the class of the people.
• Sweatshop Warriors Fighting Against Oppression The analysis will aim to answer several questions regarding the gains from the book from a historian’s perspective, the events on which the work shed light, the point of view on the events, the accuracy […]
• Masculinity as a Gender Oppression and Inequality Consequently, men address their aggression as a means to demonstrate their contradictions, and women believe that their aggressive behaviors can provide them with the necessary powers.
• Female Body Conceptions and Cultural Oppression The failure to conform to the expectations of a male or female in terms of behavior and expression of identity often attracts social sanctions.
• Struggle and Oppression of an African-American Woman in Ann Petry’s Novel “The Street“ In the US, the concept of blackness is the key idea that defines the social, political, and cultural position of African-Americans, both in past and present periods of history.
• Black Women’s Oppression and Portrayal in Media This tone is less prominent for Group 3, who offers a more optimistic approach, exploring various attempts at mitigation of this situation and their successes, such as changes to the law, and extols the heroics […]
• Religious Oppression in the Medical Field In this way, regardless of living in the modern world that moves in the direction of eliminating borders between nations, the problem of religious oppression in the medical field is complicated to overcome.
• African Americans’ Oppression and Stereotypes Moreover, the paper will provide insight into the role of social workers in the process of handling these challenges and determine the benefits of this experience for the further professional activities.
• Systemic Oppression and Racial Inequality The purpose of the present paper is to review and evaluate the arguments presented by the authors writing about the concepts of racial inequality and oppression.
• Oppression From Anne Bishop’s Perspective In their book, Bishop identifies some of the root causes of the biases that lead to the oppression perpetrated against some people in society.
• Misogyny and Homophobia as Oppression Tools In the US, Black Americans are exemplified by relatively high levels of misogyny and homophobia for the reason that they promote their own oppression, which is mainly attributed to their failure to study their history.
• Multicultural Education: Freedom or Oppression It is apparent that the level of school dropouts in the education system is still affecting the minority in the society.
• Themes of Racial Oppression in Langston Hughes’s Works The tone of the poem is one of anger and, at the same time, pride. The message that the reader is left with is that the singer discussed in the poem had died deep down […]
• Oppression, Sexual Harassment, and Employment Also one always have a guilt conscience and his or her social and sexual life is usually affected as most of the victims may opt never to be involved in sexual acts or develop phobia.
• The Oppression of Social Groups in British Literature In literature, writing back is a style where authors use their experiences and historical time lines to bring into light some of the cross cutting social issues within the context of the society of the […]
• The Oppression and Seclusion of Muslim Women According to them, the Quran and Sharia laws provide parameters on the behavior of the men and women in marriage institutions.
• Ethnicity: Oppression and Racism Some of the instances that can be compared to the bars of the cage include scenarios where the people who are oppressed assume that nothing is happening, and participate in their oppression either directly or […]
• Oppression of Women’s Rights Affects the Economy of the Middle East For instance in Iceland, the high level of quality of life and health is one of the factors that lead to a GDP per capita of $54,291 On the contrary, there are situations where women […]
• Ruth Almog on Oppression and Liberty The story of a young girl growing up in the midst of problems is a good platform for Ruth Almog’s explanation and emphasis on the many ways of oppression.
• Liberation and Oppression in Ruth Almog’s Writing In the work of Jewish writers Ruth Almog and David Fogel the themes of liberation and oppression take the forefront. As an oppressed child, the daughter of immigrants whose life has already been touched by […]
• Three Ways of Meeting Oppression While it is true that a certain degree of healthy competition encourages people to be more proactive and diligent however the fact remains that the current type of societal competition that is currently being advocated […]
• The Relationship Between Historical Oppression and Perceptions of Police
• British Oppression: The Cause of the American Revolution
• Oppression and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Persons
• Identity and Altruism: The Moral Basis of Prosperity and Oppression
• Legal and Social Equality: The Struggle Against Oppression and Bigotry
• Change Against Racial Oppression and Martin Luther King
• Anti-semitic Violence and Oppression, Jewish Men and Women
• Internet Freedom and Political Oppression
• Human Rights and Justice: Forms and Mechanisms of Oppression
• Female Stereotypes the Cause of Women’s Oppression
• Ethnocentrism, Oppression, and Discrimination
• Altruism, Other-Regarding Behavior, and Identity: The Moral Basis of Prosperity and Oppression
• Freedom, Patriarchy, and Racial Oppression
• African American Community, Important Theories of Psychology, and the Causes and Effects of Neglect and Oppression
• Educational Public Policies and the Systematic Oppression of Minories in the US
• Liberty, Property, Security, and Resistance to Oppression
• Feminism and Institutional Oppression
• Body Image and Women’s Oppression
• Adult Education Choices and Oppression of Muslim Women
• Identity and Oppression: Issues and Struggles
• Personal Choices: Immigrants Desperately Running Away From Conflict or Oppression
• Nonviolent Resistance: Best Way of Dealing With Oppression
• Capitalism, Globalization and the Perpetuation of Women’s Oppression: A Vicious Cycle
• Education Oppression and Social Intervention
• Apartheid: Systematic and Intention Oppression
• Mental Health Therapy and Social Oppression
• Liberation Theology: Saving People of Color From Oppression
• Citizen Journalism and Government Oppression
• Discrimination and Oppression Throughout History: Motifs and Reasons
• Oppression: Psychological Abuse and Nonviolent Resistance
• Cultural Oppression and Economic Exploitation
• Class Oppression: The Key to Social Control
• Church Oppression and the Heliocentric Theory of Galileo
• Economic and Sexual Oppression of Female Slaves
• Religious Oppression and Religious Persecution
• Social Class Discrimination and Economic Oppression
• Gender, Ethnicity, and Class as Parts of Systems of Oppression
• Critical Pedagogy: The Study of Oppression in Education
• Metaphorical and Literal Prison: The Concept of Oppression
• Gender Identity and Gender Oppression
• What Oppression Means?
• How Do Women Fight Inequality and Oppression?
• What Are the Types of Oppression?
• Did Colonialism Contribute Oppression?
• What Are Some Examples of Oppression in Education?
• How Did Black Oppression Begin in America?
• Who Is an Oppressed Person?
• What Was the Oppression of Slavery in the 19th Century?
• What Is Oppressive Behavior?
• How Gerda Weissman Klein Faced Oppression in the Holocaust?
• How Can Oppression Be Stopped?
• What Are the Side Effects of Oppression?
• What Are the Ways to Meet Oppression?
• How Can Childcare Workers Deal With the Effects of Oppression?
• What Is the Goal of Oppression?
• What Is Exploitation Oppression?
• Who Are the Targets of Oppression?
• What Are the Tactics of Oppression?
• How Can One Break the Cycle of Oppression?
• How Does Oppression Occur in Society?
• What Are the Privileges of Victims of Oppression?
• What Are the Key Elements of Oppression?
• Who Are the Victims of Oppression?
• What Is Differential Oppression?
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Home / Essay Samples / History / Slavery / Oppression

Oppression Essay Examples

The battle of oppression and critical race theory essay.

Within formal educational institutions, workplaces and society in general, people of colour are constantly experiencing oppression, as far back since the beginning of the colonization of the west. The commitment to social justice has substantially increased when comparing modern times, to the mid 20th century....

Military Bearing: Why We Need to Talk About It

“No one is more professional than I,” often uttered by many non-commissioned officers and countless soldiers in basic leaders’ course alike. That phrase sets the tone of your future leadership style to come. When said appropriately, it injects confidence, purpose and engraves an impression into...

Bob Marley and Fight Against Oppression

Individuals under oppression become aware of and critique oppressive systems that restrict humans to live in a state of passiveness and acceptance. The song “Get Up Stand Up” by Bob Marley was influenced by the upbringing in Jamaica, where they had to fight for respect...

The Importance of Unity

Oppression is the unjust treatment of a person or a specific group of people. Women experience oppression because the world is set up to where men are at the advantage and everyone else is at the disadvantage. Around the world, people who have lighter skin...

Exploring and Understanding What It Means to Be an Ally

Becoming an ally, I have instilled knowledge about ally and ally ship. In this journal, I am going to reflect on how to become an ally; how being an ally could shoulder responsibilities towards the oppressed group, and gain insight on being aware of the...

The Portrayal of Oppression in Native Son

The behavior expressed in Richard Wright’s Native Son provides us with a basis to realize our own faults in today’s society. The rampant prejudice within the novel’s society led to the mental and emotional shifting within the black community, seen specifically in Bigger Thomas. The...

A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen: Feminism Issues and the Oppression of Women

Feminism is both a belief and a movement that tries to define and establish the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes. It advocates women’s rights on the ground of the equality of sexes in all aspects of life. Feminism, as a literary revolution,...

The Common Household Prison in Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon

In Song of Solomon oppression takes on various forms, the most prevalent being racial oppression, or so it seems. The author Toni Morrison laces the oppression of women throughout the plot in a way that it is not clearly evident at face value, but is...

Gaming Culture Rises the Level of Verbal Abuse

Today, the gaming industry is one of the most popular industries in the world. According to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the 2018 total video game sales in America alone exceeded $43.3 billion, a record breaking year for the industry. The ESA report further states...

Worse than Slavery by David M. Oshinsky: Repressive Plantation System and Mississippi's Racial Injustice

Worse than slavery gives us a view of Mississippi's scandalous Parchman prison farm. A lot had gone down during this time of race relations that was for sure much worse in some ways than the kind that was abolished in 1865. The book clearly talks...

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