Name: Bhakti Naik

Professor’s Name: Kranti Saran

Course Name: Mind and Behaviour

Oppressing through Restrictions and The Bird Cage Analogy

The birdcage analogy, given by Michael Frye helps to interpret female oppression
and its distinction from ordinary harms because of its characteristic of targeting people who
are a part of a group rather than individually. To do so, it uses the example of how women are
expected to be nice all the time. The original analogy given by Marilyn Frye in 1983, a blog
explaining Frye’s views regarding oppression by Bell Rowen and an article explaining
oppression by Caroline González have been used to build the argument.
The birdcage analogy compares a bird trapped in a cage to women who face
oppression. It explains that one or two barriers of the cage seem trivial individually.
However, looking at the entire cage, at all the bars at once, makes us realize how the bird is
being oppressed through trapping. Similarly, a macroscopic view of the entire system of
barriers placed on women, helps understand how it’s an entire system oppressing women.
(Frye). It implies how like birds that are meant to ‘fly’, are kept trapped; women as well are
being deprived of their right to live ‘freely’ (Caged bird metaphor). For example, women are
always expected to be nice. This may seem harmless with a microscopic view. However, a
macroscopic view of things will allow one to see how it is not trivial like expecting everyone
regardless of their gender identity to be kind. It is harmful because a woman is not allowed to
question and speak up for herself. She is presumed to be someone less important, occupying a
lower hierarchal position than men. Frye also argues that it isn’t tolerated when she tries to
question things imposed on her since ages. Sometimes resulting in heinous crimes like rape
and murder committed against her.
Oppression differs from ordinary harms, because it is targeted towards a particular
group, whereas ordinary harms are just unintentional harms that occur to someone
individually. They are not intended towards a person because the person belongs to a certain
group.(Bell). To relate this again to the example of women expected to be nice; if this was
questioned by a man instead, he would be seen as a rational and courageous. And him later
on getting hurt accidentally while playing a sport would be just him getting hurt. The harm he
suffers here is only an ordinary harm. Because it is not the result of some structural system
leading to his suffering. A question that can be raised here is what if women being expected
to behave a certain way, indicates that they are instead seen as special, better than men. But
this is also a part of the larger system of oppression, its feature of exotifying a certain group
in order to exclude that group. (González-Scott)
Thus, the birdcage analogy helps us understand how for understanding
oppression, we need to perceive it as a broad system of interrelated parts. This is also the
reason why oppression is different from ordinary harms. Because oppression is a system that
targets groups.(Frye)
Word count: 503
Works Cited:
1) Bell, Rowen. “Marilyn Frye's ‘Oppression.’” Prezi.com,
prezi.com/p/llyeqafexguh/marilyn-fryes-oppression/
2) “Caged Bird Metaphor.” TV Tropes,
tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CagedBirdMetaphor.
3) “Oppression by Marilyn Frye - Free Essay Example.” PapersOwl.com, 28 Mar. 2022,
papersowl.com/examples/oppression-by-marilyn-frye/.
4) ---. The Systemic Birdcage of Sexism - Community Peacemaker Teams.
cpt.org/wp-content/uploads/US20-20Bird20Cage20of20Sexism-11.pdf.
5) González-Scott, Caroline. “Tools for Social Change: The Five Faces of Oppression.”
Leadership for Educational Equity, educationalequity.org/blog/tools-social-change-
five-faces-oppression.