Social constructions: Are they oppressive or not?

[mcnishl]

Towards the end of class today, there was a confusion on Wittig's connection between social constructions and oppression. From what I understand, she is against social constructions that are oppressive but still in favor or those that are not oppressive. Eliminating oppressive social constructions such as the class of "men" and "women" would allow for a more ethical society. The question becomes how do we determine what social constructions are oppressive or not.

"This can be accomplished only by the destruction of heterosexuality as a social system which is based on the oppression of women by men and which produces the doctrine of the difference between the sexes to justify this oppression"

What other forms of social constructions does Wittig' define as oppressive or not oppressive?

[beckk]

I'm sure that Wittig would agree that race is a social construction that is oppressive. She suggests that the destruction of heterosexuality will stop the oppression of women. However, racial oppression would still exist with this destruction. It's hard to decide one type of constuction to destroy, when several others are interconnected and build on the oppressive social system.

[vegliam]

   Wittig states that a lesbian is not a woman in terms of economics, politics, and ideology. She also states that what makes a women is their relation to a man (162). In this specific instance it seems as though lesbian women are being oppressed in terms of their obligation. Due to the lack of socially acceptableness, lesbian women are deemed unwomanly by men as they don’t fulfill the average women’s requirements. This can be seen as oppression again in terms of social constructions due to gender differences.

[johnsond]

If you really think about it, all social constructions are oppressive as they are constructed by a societal "consensus' instead of by one's own nature. In some way, shape, or form, everybody is oppressed by the social constructions that coerce them into acting a certain way or not acting a certain way. Granted, there are forms that are more oppressive than others, but the reality is that they are all oppressive at least in some respect.

[godleskim]

I believe that it is safer to overstep and over analyze this point, to see how oppressive society actually is. For someone to be oppressed, they must not be in control, but rather lacking power and in some ways they are separated from society by their differentiation. Things such as race, gender, economic status, culture, nationality, and sexual orientation could be included in the discussion of oppressive institutions or social systems. I believe that it is a lot easier to show why the majority of our society is oppressive than to make a defensive argument as to why they are not.

[Aleasha Andrews]

I feel that any social construction that allows for one to be placed outside the of that reconstruction would be an oppressive social construction. I also do not believe that it is possible for a society to reach ethics within it unless there are multiple reconstructions, because there are too many issues to face with just one reconstruction. Finally, social reconstruction will always leave some group oppression so I believe that we must have a continuing reconstruction happening within the society in order to live ethically