Word Choice – What is a Word for ‘Being Forced into Submission’?

paraphrasingword-choice

I have a quote in my essay but I don't remember where I got it from, so I need to remove and paraphrase it. Here's my original sentence:

The belief that, as Christian women, queens should behave meekly is a reflection of the “submissiveness that a male-dominated Church and society imposed on women.”

I'm trying to rewrite it as:

The belief that, as Christian women, queens should behave meekly is a reflection of the Church and society's [word for "forced submission"] of women.

Does "coercion" work here? If not, do you have any other suggestions?

Thanks!

Best Answer

You need to know how it will be received in your local context as there can be a different perception of acceptability dependent on the culture. From Lexico:

subjugation noun

[mass noun]

The action of bringing someone or something under domination or control.

  • ‘the colonial subjugation of a country by means of brute military force’
  • ‘the fear of human subjugation by technology’

[count noun] [an act of subjugation]

  • ‘conquests and subjugations that we think are long forgotten’

Here is a biblical example, also from Lexico:

  • "Eve's deception by the serpent has been used to justify the subjugation of women in the Judeo-Christian tradition."
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