Chapter 9: Oppression: The Focus of Structural Social Work Flashcards
Structural social work contends that _________ is on the basis of all social problems
oppression
Most structural social work is carried out with or on behalf of ________ ______
oppressed groups
What is oppression, according to Barker (2003)?
“The social act of placing severe restrictions on an individual, group or institution. The oppressed individual or group is devalued, exploited and deprived of privileges by the individual or group which has more power.” (Barker, 2003)
What are the 2 natures of oppression?
- Group based
- Relational
What is group based oppression?
Disadvantages that are experienced by individuals because of their membership in a particular group.
Converse of oppression is ______
Privilege
What is privilege?
Advantages individuals experience because of their group membership
Oppression and privilege result from the social meanings that we ascribe to certain groups and their members that determine which group is ________ to the other
superior
What is relational oppression?
Oppression happens not just when there are different groups in society, but when one of those groups has a position of power that is used to maintain its dominant position at the expense of the subordinate or oppressed groups
What is essentialism?
The perspective that reality exists independently of our perception of it
What is constructionism?
The perspective that reality cannot be separated from the way a culture makes sense of it
What is the basis of oppression?
Difference
What is exploitation?
When the dominant group uses difference to maintain and solidify its privileged position
What is an example of exploitation?
Men are intellectually superior to women, thus, only men should hold positions of authority in society
What is denial?
When the dominant group denies the existence of difference
Not everything that frustrates or limits or hurts a person is ________
oppression
What are the three levels of oppression?
- Personal (thoughts attitudes, and beliefs)
- Cultural (shared values, norms)
- Structural (laws, policies, economics)
What are the 4 conditions of oppression (Cudd, 2005)?
- The harm condition: individuals are harmed by institutional practices (e.g. rules, laws, expectations, stereotypes, rituals, behavioural norms)
- The group condition: individuals suffer from harm in (1) because of thier membership (or perceived membership) in a social group
- The privilege condition: there is another social group that benefits from the institutional practice
- The coercion condition: there is unjustified coercion or force that brings about the harm
What is the myth of objective information?
It is possible for one group–the dominant group– to observe humanity objectively. The minority is biased for their own benefit
What is the myth of might is right?
The majority (or most powerful) rules even if it means tyranny over the minority
What is stereotyping?
Belief that all members of the group are the same
What is blaming the victim?
Saying that people are responsible for their own oppression
What is separation, competition, and hierarchy?
Human beings are competitive by nature and aspire to be ahead/above others
What is the myth of class?
Most people belong to middle class, which lives in ‘harmony’ with the higher class
What is the myth of equal opportunity?
Because civil and political rights have been equalized under the law (ex. Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms) it is believed that if one works hard enough and takes advantage of the opportunities (ex. education and employment) available to all, then one can succeed in life.
What are the 5 forms of oppression?
- Exploitation
- Marginalization
- Powerlessness
- Cultural imperalism
- Violence
What is marginalization?
The process by which groups are confined to the margins of society because the labour market cannot or will not accomodate them
What is powerlessness?
The inhibition against the development of one’s capacities, a lack of decision-making power in one’s life, and exposure to disrespectful treatment because of the status one occupies
What is cultural imperialism?
This form of oppression comes about when the dominant group universalizes its experiences and culture and uses them as the norm. The dominant group projects its experience and culture as representative of all humanity.
What is violence?
Almost all oppressed groups suffer systematic violence simply because of their group membership
What is memesis?
Imitating the behaviours or attitudes of the dominant group in an attempt to gain a slightly more privileged status
What is escape from identity?
Attempting to flee from target/subordinate status to another social group that has fewer social penalties
What is psychologically withdrawing?
Consistently adopting a cautious low profile about target/subordinate status as a way of decreasing visibility
What are guilt-expiation rituals?
Self-mutilating alterations
What is in-group hostility?
Comparing self to other target/subordinate members in hierarchical manner
What is socially withdrawing?
Behaving one way with a dominant group and another way with the subordinate group
Many definitions of social justice focus on _________ or _________ justice
distributive; redistributive
What does distributive justice focus on?
On the ways that resources, privileges and rights are distributed in society
Distributive justice seeks to redistribute resources in more _______ ways
equitable
What is the main problem with redistributive justice?
It ignores the social processes and practices which caused the inequality in the first place
There are limits to the redistribution of ___-______ things
non-material
To end oppression, we need to move beyond redistributive models of social justice, and we need to focus on procedural issues of __________ and ________ _______
participation; decision making
According to Mullaly and Dupre, society is just only if it contains and supports the _________ conditions necessary for the promotion of the universal value that everyone is of _______ _____
institutional; intrinsic worth
Social conditions would be just only if they enabled all people to meet their ______ and exercise ________
needs; freedoms
Social processes would be just only if they were _________ and all groups had a _____
inclusive; voice
Social practices would be just only if they were in accordance with how people would:
like themselves to be treated
Recognizing the limits of redistributive models of social justice directs us to look for more ________ solutions to deal with the causes (not just the effects) of _______
structural; oppression
Understanding the systematic nature of oppression avoids _______ the ________
blaming the victim
Only an awareness of the way that oppression is produced in everyday life will lead to ________ ____________
structural solutions
Understanding oppression will help social workers engage more meaningfully with the people we serve in ______________ raising and _________ activities
consciousness; normalization
