ethnic oppression.
Our intention is not to deny the reality of these forms of oppression but rather to provide a starting point for those new to the recognition of group membership and social positionality.
All major social group categories (such as gender) are organized into binary, either/or identities (e.g., men/women). These identities depend upon their dynamic relationship with one another, wherein each identity is defined by its opposite. The category “men” can have no meaning without an understanding of a category called “women.” Not only are these groups constructed as opposites, but they are also ranked into a hierarchy. This means that one group (men) is positioned as more valuable than its opposite (women). The group that is positioned as more valuable—the dominant group—will have more access to the resources of society. The group that is positioned as less valuable—the minoritized group—will have less access to the resources of society. The terms used to describe these relationships of inequality between dominant and minoritized groups usually ends in “ism.” Figure 5.1 illustrates the historical and current relationships between some of these key social groups in Canada and the United States and the term for that specific form of oppression.