Marilyn Frye

Marilyn Frye (born 1941) is an American philosopher and radical feminist theorist. She is known for her theories on sexism, racism, oppression, and sexuality. Her writings offer discussions of feminist topics, such as: white supremacy, male privilege, and gay and lesbian marginalization. Although she approaches the issues from the perspective of justice, she is also engaged with the metaphysics, epistemology, and moral psychology of social categories.

Frye is the author of The Politics of Reality (1983), a collection of nine essays which has become a "classic" of feminist philosophy. She is also a lesbian, and much of her work explores social categories—in particular, those based on race and gender.

Education and career Frye received a BA with honors in philosophy from Stanford University in 1963 and a PhD in philosophy at Cornell University in 1969. She wrote her dissertation, titled Meaning and Illocutionary Force, under the supervision of Max Black. Before going to Michigan State University in 1974, she taught in the philosophy department at the University of Pittsburgh. From 2003 until her retirement, Frye was University Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University; she also served as Associate Dean for Graduate Studies of the College of Arts and Letters. In 2008 she was the Phi Beta Kappa Romanell Lecturer.

Purple Frye was the President and co-founder of Purple, a Michigan non-profit organization beginning in 2013. The organization was dissolved in 2023.

Research and publications Double bind In her chapter entitled "Oppression" in the book Feminist Frontiers, Frye discusses the idea of the double bind in gender. This double bind refers to "situations in which options are reduced to a very few and all of them expose one to penalty, censure or deprivation". Frye applies this principle to gender and the dilemma women often face in her discussion of oppression. For example, it is neither socially acceptable for a woman to be sexually active nor for her to be sexually inactive and labelled a "man-hater" or "uptight". This absence of choice permeates so thoroughly into women's day-to-day life that even small things like how they choose to dress or talk are criticized. Frye acknowledges that men face issues as well, but differentiates the issues of men and women.

Birdcage analogy The birdcage analogy is Frye's way of visualizing oppressive forces and the way they affect women. As Frye tells it, each individual barrier women face can be thought of as a single bar of a cage. The woman in this analogy is the stagnant bird. When looking at a singular bar, it appears that the bird has the ability to fly away. It is when the observer steps back that they would see multiple bars working together to keep the bird contained within the cage. The meaning of the analogy is that multiple barriers are interacting with each other to keep individual women oppressed.

Intra-feminist critiques Marilyn Frye has emphasized in the past her concern with disengagement among feminists. She critiques those who categorize themselves as "good feminists" in an attempt to maintain moderacy or avoid the more radical, controversial feminists. She also argues that feminists should consider and include the "feminist forbearers" and the "contexts" of their work when writing, in order to create a sort of vital "genealogy of feminist thought."

Race Frye has written extensively on what it means to be white in her essays "On Being White" and "White Woman Feminist." In "White Woman Feminist," Frye states that despite a desire to fight systemic and institutional racism through "analysis and decision"- that is, identifying her role within a racist system and resisting it- she has come to realize that her "competence to do it [is] questionable." Frye argues that white women are not capable of accurately analyzing or making authentic decisions on racism, instead advocating for an acknowledgement of white helplessness. Furthermore, Frye writes that being white is not "a biological condition," but instead "being a member of a certain social/political category" which is "impossible to escape."

Female anger In The Politics of Reality

Awards and distinctions Frye was named Distinguished Woman Philosopher of the Year by the Society for Women in Philosophy in 2001. Frye was recognized with a Distinguished Faculty Award while working in the Department of Philosophy at Michigan State University in 2002. Frye was chosen as Phi Beta Kappa's Romanell Professor in Philosophy for 2007–2008. The annually-awarded Romanell Professorship "recognizes the recipient's distinguished achievement and substantial contribution to the public understanding of philosophy." Recipients of this award also offer a series of lectures open to the public; Frye's series was entitled "Kinds of People: Ontology and Politics."