Throughout history, people have often used narratives in strategic and oppressive ways to benefit themselves and others. Some of these narratives, so powerful that they have even become what is considered to be “common knowledge” and are rarely ever debated or questioned. There are certain narratives told amongst society and cultivated from positions of power, that have become so popular that they have actually had the influence to privilege certain groups of people and under privilege others. This is dangerous for society and it is important that society is mindful and considerate of all the narratives they are told.

The narratives that have the power to advantage and disadvantage groups of people are usually spread by people in society who are in positions of power. “People and communities use stories to understand the world and our place in it. These stories are embedded with power - the power to explain and justify the status quo as well as the power to make change imaginable and urgent” (Schneider).

 If an authority figure, the media, or a dominant culture for example wants to achieve a certain goal or produce a certain response from their audience they will often use the power of rhetoric and narrative to manipulate a rhetorical situation in a way that benefits them. One of the main problems about this is that for something to be so beneficial to one group, it innately has to be less beneficial, or even sometimes harmful to another group.

This paper explores the levels upon which oppression operates on and both the advantages and disadvantages people are given by their corresponding contexts. In order to understand the true power and influence of narrative, we first must understand a few key terms. The first term is oppression. As Diane Goodman says, “One way to define oppression is as a system of advantage (privilege) and disadvantage (oppression) based on social group membership” (Goodman). The next terms we need to define are advantage and disadvantage, and how exactly they affect society directly.  

According to Goodman, “Some groups are advantaged––seen as superior, have greater social power, and receive unearned benefits, while other groups are disadvantaged––seen as inferior, have less social power, and face discrimination and violence” (Goodman). As Goodman has said, oppression is a continuous loop of advantage and disadvantage.

 Certain groups of people are advantaged and benefit from the power of narrative in society and certain groups of people are also disadvantaged by the same power of narrative that takes place in society. Oppression occurs on three different levels: individual, institutional and societal. 

The first level oppression functions on is individual. “The individual level includes both what individuals believe about themselves and how they are treated in interpersonal situations by others” (Goodman). On the individual level, people are oppressed through their personal interactions with others. They are also oppressed by the way they are judged and interpreted by society as individuals. People are as a result then oppressed by what these judgments by society cause them to conclude about themselves and their self worth. 

There are many different examples of individual oppression. “Individuals from subordinated groups are harassed and threatened verbally and physically and called derogatory names” (Goodman). The mistreatment these individuals endure from this oppression can affect how they view and value themselves as a person as well. It can also affect how they view their own social group and it’s members and how an individual interacts within his or her own social group. 

The next level of oppression is institutional. Goodman writes, “The institutional level entails the policies and practices of various institutions in society such as education, health care, business, government, housing, the legal system, banking, the media, and the military. An institutional power is oppressive if it limits people’s access to power, resources and opportunities” (Goodman). There are many examples of how institutions use the power of narrative to advantage and disadvantage certain groups of people. 

One example is that in the United States government, poor people are often disadvantaged by the fact that health care is less accessible to them and the quality of health care that is available to them is not of the best quality. In the United States government poor people are also disadvantaged by not being as privileged regarding education. 

Another example of how institutional oppression is displayed through the power of narrative is that in the United States children from poor families often attend schools that are insufficiently funded and therefore lack a lot of educational programs many other schools can provide. The narrative is told that poor people are not as important as more affluent people, and that because of this their education and health care does not matter as much as other economic class groups does and therefore they deserve the lowest quality health care and education. This issue is notably one of the most heavily debated upon in American politics as well. 

Goodman also states, “Often discussions of oppression reduce it to individual acts of meanness or discrimination. However, systems of inequality are more pervasive and institutionalized” (Goodman). Many times it is hard for individuals to see how oppression functions on an institutional level. 

The final level oppression operates on in societal. Goodman notes, “The cultural/societal level encompasses the norms, values, and ideology of the dominant culture, which are expressed through the standards of beauty, sex role and communication norms, and the holidays that are recognized and celebrated, and what qualities are valued and rewarded in society” (Goodman). 

On the societal level of oppression, the use of narrative is so powerful that it transforms certain ideas and beliefs into the universal norms and values of a dominant culture. 

An example of societal oppression is that in American culture, it is considered abnormal for men to act in a feminine way. Therefore, many men who choose to express femininity by doing things such as wearing makeup or dressing in feminine way, they are looked down upon and seen as different by society. This is because in American culture people have such strict gender roles and such a strong narrative that men are only supposed to be masculine and women are only supposed to be feminine. 

So, when the American society sees people moving out of their society assigned gender roles, it can make many society members feel uncomfortable. That uncomfortable feeling causes many members of society to discriminate against certain groups of people and label them with derogatory names and deem them as the outcasts of society.  

Now that we have defined oppression, advantage and disadvantage, and the levels of oppression, we can discuss more concrete examples of how oppression has been enabled by the power of narrative and rhetoric.

The first historical example of the power of narrative I would like to discuss took place in Canada in 1989. In 1989, The Jesuit Centre for Social Faith and Justice released a manual instructing people on how to assess a rhetorical situation to get the desired outcome from their audience. This manual specifically mentioned a framing technique called “naming the moment.” 

The manual defines naming the moment by asserting that, “There is a particular relationship of actors, of events, of forces that affect your actions at this point in time. They limit what we can do right now but they also offer possibilities for action. To make the best use of this moment, we need to understand how the different forces come together at this time, at this ‘conjecture’” (Barndt). By utilizing naming the moment, the manual suggests that readers can communicate their message in the most effective way that will help produce the desired audience response they are looking for. 

Another example I would like to discuss is the “Unite the Right” Rally in Charlottesville Virginia. On August 12, 2017 white nationalists, neo-confederates, and Ku Klux Klan members gathered in Emancipation Park in Charlottesville, Virginia. The protest was said to be in response to the scheduling of the removal of a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee in the park.

 However, many protestors at the rally dressed in KKK uniforms, carried torches and weapons, and shouted racial slurs and physical threats towards African Americans.  One protestor in particular was Ku Klux Klan leader Richard Wilson Preston. Preston, “…wearing a load-bearing vest, with a pistol on one leg and extra magazines on the other, turns way from the argument and walks away. Before reaching the edge of the frame, he turns back, drawing a pistol and shouting “Hey, ni***r.” The man then fired a shot, before turning around, holstering his weapon and rejoining the march” (Freeman). It is the racist narrative surrounding African Americans that enabled Wilson to do these things.

This horrible protest, and every other racist actions or events are all enabled by the old racist narrative told throughout society that African American people are not equal to white people. Because there is a racist narrative that African Americans are not equal to white people, African Americans are able to be discriminated against by things like the racist “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville.

Another display of oppression through the power of narrative is the oppression of the LGBTQ community. From August 17 to September 3, 2017, Hurricane Harvey devastated the Southwest. After this devastation, many people were left upset and scared. Many Christian people in particular thought the hurricane was religiously rooted. “A number of Christian leaders have blamed LGBT people for causing Hurricane Harvey. Despite overwhelming evidence that supports climate change as a factor in the devastating storm and subsequent flooding, a handful of evangelical leaders have ludicrously suggested the LGBT community are to blame” (Pasha-Robinson). Because of the religiously linked narrative society tells us that homosexuality is a sin, and that homosexuals are sick and not equal to heterosexuals, people of the LGBTQ community are able to be discriminated against by society. 

Women are oppressed using the power of narrative in the American capitalist society. “The oppression of women is visible, observable effect (e.g., in the labor market, in socioeconomic stratification, the domestic division of labor, the bureaucratic authority structures, etc.) of underlying relations between men and women” (Gimenez). Women are not equal to men in many ways in the American capitalist society. The narrative told by society that women are not equal to men, that they are not as smart as men and not as powerful as men, has allowed for women to be treated unfairly in society, especially capitalist societies. Women are seen as subordinate and therefore are not paid as much as men for doing the same jobs.

Women are also oppressed by their context through sexual harassment. Gretchen Carlson, a former American TV personality says, “When I was in my 20s, I endured a series of horrifying encounters. Once, a high-powered executive stuck his tongue down my throat during a meeting he’d scheduled under the guise of helping me “get into TV”” (Carlson). Because women are objectified and seen as inferior in the American male dominated society, sexual harassment is considered acceptable. 

The most recent example of women’s oppression through sexual harassment is the Harvey Weinstein scandal–– Harvey Weinstein; a powerful movie producer, has recently been accused of sexual harassment and rape by many different women. This scandal has revealed that there is a serious problem of sexual harassment in Hollywood.  “Young actresses are mistreated in all sorts of ways by powerful men who can dangle jobs or access to exciting parts of show business. I think a lot of people are mistreated and they don’t realize how badly they’re being mistreated” (Kaufman and Rottenberg). Women in Hollywood are sexually harassed and oppressed by the male dominated culture of Hollywood because their context labels them as weak and disposable, especially because of how many young women aspire to be actresses in their industry. 

The use of narrative is a very powerful rhetorical tool. Narrative can be used to produce a desired audience response or opinion, while also giving an advantage to certain groups of people and a disadvantage to other groups of people. The power of narrative is used to aid in individual, institutional, and societal oppression. Because of this power, individuals must always be mindful and critical of the narratives they are told to ensure they are not contributing to the oppression of any groups of people.
