Class Oppression Definition of Terms

The third one is an article by Lara Gerassi, titled ―A Heated Debate: Theoretical Perspectives of Sexual Exploitation and Sex Work‖. In her writing, Gerassi reviews and discusses some theories which provide the explanation of how sexual exploitation and sex work likely happen to women on macro perspective and structural level, related to economic condition and status. One of the theories she mentions is Marxist feminist, to help explain how the sexual exploitation and sex work likely happen to women. The political system and economic system in a male-dominated society does not support women fully to gain their equality. In a male-dominated society, it is men who take control of the political and economic system. ―The patriarchal organization of both government and society has provided a social context for the widespread sexist acceptance of hierarchy, thereby excluding women from the public sector, higher education, structural labor forces, and religious institutions.‖ Gerassi, 2015: 2 In this context, it is clear that women‘s proper place is designated to be at home, while the men‘s proper place is outside the home. Women are subordinated to men and this factor continues to support the dependency of women on men in the economic context. This dependency gives men such a more power to control women sexually or non- sexually because to be dependent needs women‘s subordination. ―Thus, assaults occur primarily because of institutionalized male privilege, as men believe it is their right to enact violence against women‖ Gerassi, 2015: 2. In addition, the act of exploiting or assaulting women has possibility to happen since men are seen more independent and powerful in patriarchal society. Garassi states that Marxist feminist agrees that capitalism oppresses wome n to be in lower class than men‘s class since they will live under patriarchy and economically are not independent. Class difference and dependency force them to allow men to take their power away from them. In addition, women use their sexuality, in some cases like being a prostitute, sex worker, and other related works because they need to survive. Womens sexuality and sexual energy is appropriated by the men who buy or control the sexual services exchange i.e., pimps just as any workers energy is appropriated to the capitalists for their profits, leading to alienation of ones bodily capacities and very bodily being. Gerassi, 2015: 3 Therefore, women would likely experience alienation due to the possibilities of men as capitalists to take profits from women as workers. The exploitation, whether in domestic or public sphere, can happen because of the contribution of the class oppression in economic system.

B. Review of Related Theories

In this part, the writer discusses the theories applied in the thesis to answer and analyze the problems formulation.

1. Theory of Character and Characterization

Theory of character and characterization is applied to the thesis because this theory is important to reveal and identify the persons being told and engaged in the story for a better and deeper analysis. A character is a person, can be the major or minor, who is being told and engaged throughout the story. As it is written by M.H. Abrams in A Glossary of Literary Terms: