(no subject)
"One of the most characteristic and ubiquitous features of the world as experienced by the oppressed people is the double bind situation in which options are reduced to a very few and all of them expose one to penalty, censure or deprivation. For example it is often a requirement upon oppressed people that we smile and be cheerful. If we comply, we signal our docility and our acquiescence in our situation. We need not, then, be taken note of. We acquiesce in being made invisible, in our occupying no space. We participate in our own erasure. On the other hand anything but the sunniest countenance exposes us to being perceived as mean, bitter, angry or dangerous. This means at the least, that we may be found 'difficult' or unpleasant to work with, which is enough to cost one one's livelihood; at worst being seen as mean, bitter, angry or dangerous has been known to result in rape, arrest, beating, and murder. One can only chose to risk one's preferred form and rate of annihilation." -- Marilyn Frye The Politics of Reality: Essays on Feminist Theory