CR #5: The Every Day

Although Iris Marion Young says that there are traditional connotations to the word oppression, Young claims that there is no singular definition for oppression, but rather five categories that can be related to this idea: exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, cultural imperialism, and violence. Exploitation is when there is a “steady process of the transfer of the results of labor of one social group to benefit another” (51). Marginalization is an expulsion of a certain group of people to the sides or the margin by shaming them and not allowing them to participate. Thirdly, the idea of powerlessness revolves around the notion that power and authority has a large influence on how the world works. Young describes the fourth category cultural imperialism as to “experience how the dominant meanings of a society render the particular perspective of one’s own group invisible at the same time as they stereotype one’s group and mark it as the Other” (56). Lastly, violence, often physical, is a result of a victimization based on a person’s makeup or social identity. Young argues that existence of any of the five categories to a certain group makes them oppressed. Not all five categories are necessary, but at least one is validation to label oppression.

Ada Isasi-Diaz, on the other hand, defines oppression as interrelated causes leading to injustices (46). Diaz claims that people who are oppressed see oppression as injustice, and those who oppress see no value in the specific group of people. She also mentions five modes of oppression, very similar to that of Young’s: exploitation, marginalization, ethnoracism, powerlessness, and structural violence. These modes of oppression are all interconnected because they are all equal forms that make up structural oppression. When Diaz labels herself as “oppressed and impoverished” what she is really saying is that she knows that she is oppressed, but also at the same time struggles to be fully free from a structured injustice.

Lo cotidiano can be a method of interpretation or meaning, or a heuristic device. Some of the things that Diaz connects to this idea is that it is “the immediate space — time and place — of daily life (49), ” “embodied experiences (49),” and the “simple reality of our world” (50). Lo cotidiano thus becomes a way for Latinos and Latinas to understand one another and explain the elements of their realities. Therefore, this concept is necessary in order for Latinas in their grassroots to claim their voice. Not only is it necessary to provide a voice, but finding the lo cotidiano is important for any person to understanding the world and why it is the way it is. Diaz tells a story of a mother and a child she saw in the morning, in which Diaz tried to analyze the woman’s cotidianos. She noticed that the mother was disheveled, so the mother may have been so focused on her child that she could not focus on herself, therefore she values her child and her child’s future over her personal needs. Although many people may have immediately judged the woman from physical, cotidiano is about noticing, observing, and wondering what decisions that person had to make to get to that present moment they are in. This story is a great example for how to practice lo cotidiano. One way to observe cotidiano is to reflect on what my day looks like, what it takes to get me to each point of my day, and analyze my own factors. Then, I can start to analyze what I think a person may have had to do to get to that point in their day. One struggle with this analysis is that we should not always assume. We may predict reasons, but never impose assumptions on to the person. At my community partner, I can think about what the families may have done in the mornings to get to the playgroup. I’ve seen families drive to the center, children ride their bike while the parents walk, but I have never gone farther back to think about why they chose that mode of transportation or what else their morning may have consisted of. There are multiple moms with more than one kid, which I imagine makes the mornings harder. Now I can go to playgroup and think about what kinds of decisions the parents had to make in the morning to get to playgroup, and if there are any visible signs that could led me to analyze different ideas.