Oppression Olympics

Oppression Olympics is a characterization of marginalization as a competition to determine the relative weight of the overall oppression of individuals or groups, often by comparing race, gender, socioeconomic status or disabilities, in order to determine who is the worst off, and the most oppressed. The characterization often arises within debates about the ideological values of identity politics, intersectionality, and social privilege.[1][2][3] The term became used among some feminist scholars in the 1990s. The first potential recorded use of the term as a way to theorize comparing oppression was by Chicana feminist Elizabeth Martínez in a conversation with Angela Davis at the University of California, San Diego in 1993. Martínez stated: "the general idea is no competition of hierarchies should prevail. No 'Oppression Olympics'!"[4]

  1. ^ Daring, C. B.; Rogue, J.; Shannon, Deric; Volcano, Abbey, eds. (2013). Queering Anarchism: Addressing and Undressing Power and Desire. AK Press. ISBN 978-1-84935-121-8.
  2. ^ Dhamoon, Rita Kaur (March 2011). "Considerations on Mainstream Intersectionality". Political Research Quarterly. 64 (1): 230–243. doi:10.1177/1065912910379227. JSTOR 41058336. S2CID 144053022.
  3. ^ Francis, Stoyan (January 28, 2016). "Oppression Olympics: The Dark Side of the Rainbow". Between the Lines. Retrieved July 4, 2022.
  4. ^ Martínez, Elizabeth; Davis, Angela Y. (1994). "Coalition Building Among People of Color". Inscriptions. 7: 42–53. Retrieved July 4, 2022.