Systematic =/= Systemic, but here, in case you didn’t know, oppression is typically discussed as being three parts: individual, institutional, and systemic. Systemic means of or relating to a system (here we might say an ideology). Systematic implies a pattern within a system. These are different things.
I find this breakdown in relation to racist oppression to be incredibly helpful in explaining these three parts:
“Racism is both overt and covert, and it takes three closely related forms: individual, institutional, and systemic. Individual racism consists of overt acts by individuals that cause death, injury, destruction of property, or denial of services or opportunity. Institutional racism is more subtle but no less destructive. Institutional racism involves polices, practices, and procedures of institutions that have a disproportionately negative effect on racial minorities’ access to and quality of goods, services, and opportunities. Systemic racism is the basis of individual and institutional racism; it is the value system that is embedded in a society that supports and allows discrimination.”
Individual Oppression: overt acts by an individual which cause death, injury, destruction of property, denial of services, or opportunity.
Institutional Oppression: involves policies, practices, and procedures of institutions that have a disproportionately negative effect on the group’s access to and quality of goods, services, and opportunities.
Systemic Oppression: the basis of individual and institutional racism - a value system that is embedded in a society that supports and allows discrimination.
academic.udayton.edu/race/2008electionandracism/raceandracism/racism02.htm
Others break this into four parts, thus:
Four Levels of Oppression/”isms” and Change:
• Personal: Values, Beliefs, Feelings
• Interpersonal: Actions, Behaviors, Language
• Institutional: Rules, Policies, Procedures
• Cultural: Beauty, Truth, Right
www.vanderbilt.edu/oacs/wp-content/uploads/Understanding-Privilege-and-Oppression-Handout.doc
Oppression’s definition however, OFTEN references systematic occurrences which is not the same as systemic.
Here’s more standard definitions which are mutually agreed upon “academically” and which largely reflect reality. You’ll notice that these are dictionaries of social work, or sociology.
The Social Work Dictionary, ed. Robert L. Barker defines oppression as: “The social act of placing severe restrictions on an individual, group or institution. Typically, a government or political organization that is in power places these restrictions formally or covertly on oppressed groups so that they may be exploited and less able to compete with other social groups. The oppressed individual or group is devalued, exploited and deprived of privileges by the individual or group which has more power.” (Barker, 2003)
The Blackwell Dictionary of Sociology has an excellent definition of social oppression: “Social oppression is a concept that describes a relationship between groups or categories of between groups or categories of people in which a dominant group benefits from the systematic abuse, exploitation, and injustice directed toward a subordinate group. The relationship between whites and blacks in the United States and South Africa, between social classes in many industrial societies, between men and women in most societies, between Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland - all have elements of social oppression in that the organization of social life enables those who dominate to oppress others. Relationships between groups and relationships between groups and social categories, it should not be confused with the oppressive behavior of individuals. A white man may not himself actively participate in oppressive behavior directed at blacks or women, for example, but he nonetheless benefits from the general oppression of blacks and women simply because he is a white man. In this sense, all members of dominant and subordinate categories participate in social oppression regardless of their individual attitudes or behavior. Social oppression becomes institutionalized when its enforcement is so of social life that it is not easily identified as oppression and does not require conscious prejudice or overt acts of discrimination.” One of the purposes of the exercise we’ll do is to help use better identify the feelings that oppression produces in us and in our clients. (Johnson, 2000b)
Oppression: Charlton (1998: 8) states, “oppression occurs when individuals are systematically subjected to political, economic, cultural, or social degradation because they belong to a social group…results from structures of domination and subordination and, correspondingly, ideologies of superiority and inferiority.” (Charlton, 1998)
Oppression: Johnson (2000: 39) recognizes that “for every social category that is privileged, one or more other categories are oppressed in relation to it. The concept of oppression points to social forces that tend to press upon people and hold them down, to hem them in and block their pursuits of a good life. Just as privilege tends to open doors of opportunity, oppression tends to slam them shut.” (Johnson, 2000a)
www-personal.umich.edu/~mdover/website/Oppression%20Compendium%20and%20Materials/Definitions%20of%20Oppression.pdf
So there are two different things being addressed here.
One: what is the systemic oppression which exists? We may call this heterosexism - an ideology which largely privileges cis-heterosexual sex and cis-heterosexual relationships in various value systems. This creates an atmosphere which allows for people to support and allow discrimination. Cissexism and Heterosexism affects everyone, but specifically targets for discrimination people who are seen as in “polar opposition” - people who are not cisgendered (trans or similar nonbinary people) or people who are gay/same-similar-multi gender attracted. Can systemic discrimination affect asexual people? Sure - but discrimination is not oppression - which requires power to back up the discrimination. Just like how men can be negatively affected by misogyny and sexism - they aren’t the targets, but they may receive blowback. Importantly, systemic oppression is about collective, ideological action which causes oppression. Systemic oppression is Social Oppression - defined above by the Blackwell dictionary.
Two: What is the systematic subjection of oppression which is experienced?
Do cishet aces experience institutional discrimination, abuse, or exploitation? Are they regularly subordinated to a privileged portion of society due to their asexuality? Are there formal or covert laws or regulations in place to control or limit them? Are there policies, practices, or procedures in place to limit, control, or prevent the existence of cishet asexuality? Are Cishet aces devalued, exploited for labor, deprived of privileges? Are cishet aces denied services or opportunity, are they murdered, injured, or subject to loss and destruction of property for their asexuality and nothing else? Are they denied goods and services due to their asexuality, and nothing else? Do political organizations organize against asexuals - do they have million dollar or multi-million dollar organizations who work to promote laws, policies, publications, and other lobby concerns against asexuality in specific? Are asexuals - at a widespread rate - denied health care, social services, employment, economic opportunity, access to food, and housing - because of their asexuality, and nothing else?
www.nasco.coop/sites/default/files/srl/Types%20of%20Oppression.pdf Do any of these examples of individual, cultural, or institutional direct and indirect forms of oppression ring true?
The answer is that no, cishet asexuals do not experience systematic oppression.
And no one has changed the goalposts.
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