Challenging Oppression and Confronting Privilege

by Mullaly, Bob

• ISBN13: 9780195429701
• ISBN10: 0195429702
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-10-01
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Oppression is experienced by anyone who does not fit the profile of the dominant group in Western societies-people of colour or with disabilities; women; gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons; the young and the old; the poor. Privilege is the inverse to oppression, given to us by society if wepossess those characteristics that society values, such as being male, white, heterosexual, affluent, and non-disabled. In the second edition of Challenging Oppression and Confronting Privilege, Bob Mullaly examines in detail the many forms that oppression can take, at the personal, cultural, andstructural (or institutional) levels and explores their relationship to privilege in society. Using this framework, he outlines the anti-oppressive approaches and practices that social work must adopt if it is really to assist those on whom an inferior variety of citizenship has been imposed. Healso discusses what privilege has to do with social workers and presents a number of activities that confront and challenge privilege to make a difference with their practice.

Author Biography

Bob Mullaly is Senior Scholar in the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Manitoba.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. vi
Preface	p. vii
Theoretical and Conceptual Considerations	p. 1
The Imperative of Theory	p. 1
Social Problems: The Great Paradox of the Helping Professions	p. 3
Order and Conflict/Change Perspectives	p. 8
Critical Social Theory	p. 16
Critical Social Work Theory	p. 19
Modernism and Postmodernism	p. 21
Major Concepts Associated with Oppression/Anti-Oppression Framework	p. 24
Conclusion	p. 32
Critical Questions for Discussion	p. 32
Further Readings	p. 33
Oppression: An Overview	p. 34
Diversity, Difference, and Oppression	p. 34
Social Work Approaches to Difference	p. 37
The Nature of Oppression	p. 38
Oppression as a Social Justice Issue	p. 44
The Genealogy of Modern-day Oppression and the Politics of Identity	p. 48
The Dynamics of Oppression	p. 53
Forms of Oppression	p. 55
Personal, Cultural, and Structural Levels of Oppression	p. 61
Conclusion	p. 63
Critical Questions for Discussion	p. 64
Further Readings	p. 65
Oppression at the Personal Level	p. 67
Normalizing Gaze and Objectified Bodies	p. 67
Acts of Oppression at the Personal Level	p. 68
Effects of Oppression on the Individual	p. 73
Surviving Oppression: Responses of Oppressed People at the Personal Level	p. 83
Critical Social Theory and Personal Oppression	p. 88
Conclusion	p. 89
Critical Questions for Discussion	p. 90
Further Readings	p. 91
Oppression at the Cultural Level	p. 93
Introduction	p. 93
Culture (the 'Poor Cousin' in Social Work)	p. 96
The Dominant Culture	p. 98
Popular/Mass Culture	p. 101
Critical Social Theories of Culture	p. 102
Stereotypes as Cultural Expressions of Oppression	p. 110
Language and Discourse as Mechanisms of Oppression (and Anti-Oppression)	p. 114
Social Work and Cultural Oppression	p. 118
Conclusion	p. 123
Critical Questions for Discussion	p. 124
Further Readings	p. 125
Oppression at the Structural Level	p. 126
Introduction	p. 126
Social Relations and Oppression	p. 127
The Politics of Difference	p. 135
Economic Relations and Oppression	p. 138
Political Relations and Oppression	p. 144
Effects of Structural Oppression	p. 150
Social Determinants of Health	p. 154
Conclusion	p. 156
Critical Questions for Discussion	p. 158
Further Readings	p. 158
Internalized Oppression and Domination	p. 160
Introduction	p. 160
Psychology of Oppression	p. 160
Inferiority and Internalized Oppression	p. 162
The Master-Slave Paradigm	p. 163
False Consciousness	p. 167
Other Perspectives on Internalized Oppression	p. 172
Psychology of Liberation	p. 178
Internalized Domination	p. 179
Conclusion	p. 184
Critical Questions for Discussion	p. 185
Further Readings	p. 186
The 'Web': The Multiplicity, Intersectionality, and Heterogeneity of Oppression	p. 188
Introduction	p. 188
Multiple Identities and the Persistence of Domination and Oppression	p. 189
Models of Multiple Oppressions	p. 191
Intersections of Oppression: An Analysis	p. 198
Heterogeneity within Oppressed Groups	p. 203
Conclusion	p. 217
Critical Questions for Discussion	p. 218
Further Readings	p. 218
Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice at the Personal and Cultural Levels	p. 220
Introduction	p. 220
Anti-Oppressive Practice at the Personal Level	p. 222
Anti-Oppressive Practice at the Cultural Level	p. 242
Challenging the Organization	p. 252
Conclusion	p. 256
Critical Questions for Discussion	p. 257
Further Readings	p. 258
Anti-Oppressive Social Work at the Structural Level and Selected Principles of Anti-Oppressive Social Work	p. 259
Introduction	p. 259
Anti-Oppressive Practice at the Structural Level	p. 259
Selected Principles of Anti-oppressive Social Work Practice	p. 272
The Constructive Use of Anger	p. 282
Conclusion	p. 284
Critical Questions for Discussion	p. 285
Further Readings	p. 285
Unpacking Our Knapsacks of Invisible Privilege	p. 287
Introduction	p. 287
The Nature of Privilege	p. 288
Dynamics of Privilege	p. 292
Why Dominant Groups Do Not See Privilege as a Problem	p. 296
A Taxonomy of Everyday Examples of Unearned Privilege	p. 299
Social Work and Privilege	p. 308
What Can We Do?	p. 311
Conclusion	p. 318
Critical Questions for Discussion	p. 319
Further Readings	p. 320
Notes	p. 322
References	p. 328
Index	p. 343
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