The Bird Cage

At first when I read this article I did not agree with Frye's notion that women are in bird cages. The fact that there is no way to get out of the cage and no matter what you think, do or say, can keep you out of the cage was something hard for me to grasp. But thinking further it is a frightening truth. Each bar is a different idea or truth of the oppression of women as a whole. If they dress a certain way, there is a bar and that bar is also connected to one that is about not dressing a certain way, connected to a bar about the workplace about education about parenting or peer interactions. No matter how far apart these bars seem to be they all connect at the top of the cage. Like a network. Barriers are not able to be skipped in one way and not another the bird cage metaphor is brought up again looking at the wires like a blockade how they all become connected at the top they are all as equally restrictive

One must look at the idea of oppression like a cage or a structure

Frye calls into attention that when women don't feel like they are living up to their assigned traits that they are not human, there is a notion of feeling unwanted or unreal. To feel as if you aren't a real woman is oppression in itself. She also says that when someone dresses unfeminine it shows to the world that they don't care about themselves. She isn't promoting the idea simply stating that it is the norm. So, the days that I just want to wake up and roll out of bed I am more manly? But what I like most at least at Juniata is that if you dress up or wear a dress people ask you why you look so nice or why are you wearing a dress and make a bigger deal about it. However, in reality wearing dresses is much more convenient than wearing pants and a shirt . Anyway that's besides the point.

I believe that the drive behind all of gender inequality is in the language, the definitions of things. For Frye that is no exception she says, the definition of oppression used to mold things to restrict prevent things motion mobility mold immobilize. in defining women as oppressed that makes it so there will be no chance to mobilize or break out of the mold. I sincerely hope that is not true. However, when one does break from the mold their femininity will be questioned etc. but does that still mean that they are oppressed?