The concept of oppression has two different levels: the first as an action in which the person or several of them are submitted by others, on the other hand, as a sensation in which the person presents a psychological discomfort.
The idea of oppression in any of its manifestations has the following dynamic: there is something or someone that causes a negative effect on another individual and this effect can be humiliation, physical or psychological abuse, an abusive situation, etc.
psychosomatic process
Psychosomatic is understood as the mental situation that affects the body. This is what happens, for example, in certain cases of depression, when the individual’s soul situation is manifested by physiological reasons (lack of appetite, energy and physical discomfort in general). This psychosomatic mechanism is applied to the concept of oppression. Let’s think about a heartbreak that causes a state of sadness, melancholy and that finally ends in a physical feeling of oppression.
lack of freedom
Anyway, the human being needs to feel free internally as well as externally. For example, if in a dictatorial regime the use of the internet is not allowed , in this way, there is no freedom of expression and it is not possible to carry out certain actions. This situation creates an obvious oppression in society as a whole . Faced with the lack of political or social freedom , there are a number of possible responses: accepting humiliation; openly oppose submission or fight it in some way (for example, in hiding or in exile).
Other forms of oppression
In addition to psychosomatic or political oppression, there are other ways to experience a sense of inner unease. In the case of bullying or school harassment, the victim is pressured and humiliated, since then oppressed. Something very similar happens in cases of abuse of women, with harassment at work and generally in any situation of abuse of power.
fighting oppression
Throughout history, all sorts of battles against various forms of oppression have taken place. When slavery spread as a customary practice, some voices emerged. Most revolutions are precisely intended to fight a regime based on oppression of the people. The demand for women’s suffrage and the struggle for women’s rights has been another form of battle against oppression.
