Reliance on Oppressive Structures in Kindred

One of the main things I took away from Ms. Rodems' Gender Studies class was the idea that power and privilege in one group is inhrently reliant on the usbjugation and oppression of another group. For example, the allocation of resources to a wealthier, whiter school district is inherently reliant on the devaluation and underfunding of poorer school districts with a greater black population. Therefore, in order to get rid of those existing oppressive power structures, it is not enough to empower the oppressed population - one must also work to remove privlege and discomfort the existing privileged population in order to achieve any form of equality (tax the 1%!).

Reliance on oppressive structures is a theme that's explored pretty in-depth throughout the course of Kindred. Butler plays with the idea of reliance on oppressive structures by having Dana's very existence hinge on keeping her crazy, abusive, slave-owning ancestor alive and well. In order for her to survive, she must become complicit in the various horrors perpetrated by Rufus and his family, bearing witness to a host of abusive behaviors while doing nothing, since it may harm her own well-being.

However, Butler is taking a different angle than the one I mentioned earlier. Dana is reliant on oppressive power structures and stands to gain from them during her time travel, to the point that the one time she makes a concerted effort to break from them, she literally loses an arm. However, at the same time, Dana herself is a victim of the oppression, which raises a question I had never thought of. To what extent are the lives of oppressed reliant on their oppressors and what implications does it have? It's obvious that those in power would stand to gain something from an oppressive structure, but is it possible that the oppressed are somehow reliant on the same structure as well?)

(It is worth noting, however, that Butler could still be exploring the reliance of privilege on oppressive structures. Since Dana is an educated middle class woman, Butler could be trying to point out that her white ancestry is what enabled her to reach this place of privilege. However, that's not the option I'll be exploring.)

In terms of oppressed groups being reliant on their oppressors, the first example that comes to mind is culture. Now, I'm obviously not saying that Western civilization brought culture to brown and black people (since I'm neither a fifty-year-old white man from the 1800s nor a neo-nazi on a Reddit forum), far from it. Instead, what I am suggesting is that integral parts of the cultures of colonized and enslaved peoples come about as a result of their horrific interactions with their oppressors.

For an example, look at Indonesian culture. Indonesia has often been a beacon for democratic rebellion, priding itself on  However, the origins of that push for democracy arose out of their subjugation by the Netherlands. One of the country's most central values would not have been possible if they had not been colonized. Indonesia is also a heavily Muslim country and prides itself on that as well. However, the spread of Islam throughout the archipelago frankly would not have been possible without the trade network developed and maintained by their Dutch rulers. And yet, just to add another contradiction to the mix, Islam itself was often used as a symbol of rebellion against Western colonialism in the 20th century.

Another example, and one more relevant to Kindred, is Black American culture. Jazz evolved from slave hymns. A vast majority of black Americans follow Christianity, which was introduced to African slaves as a way to . The culture, though not inherently evil on its own, originates and is therefore somewhat reliant on the oppressor.

Butler could be suggesting that, no matter how much you may try to separate yourself from a horrifying and oppressive power structure, you will never truly be able to. You try to succeed and escape poverty, you have to play the rich man's capitalist system. You turn to religion to escape that system, but that very religion was introduced to you by your oppressor. You embrace only your race, your culture, and yet it's the white man that decides that your race is a thing at all. No matter how much we may despise these systems they are a part of us, like an arm we can't bear to lose.