marginality
State of insignificance
Marginality is the state of being at the edge rather than the center—of society, a group, or a field of concern.
The term appears in sociology and economics to describe people or communities pushed to the periphery: the marginality of migrant workers in the economy.
It can also describe ideas or positions that remain outside mainstream consideration.
The related adjective is marginal.
Boundary or outer region
- edgeBoundary or sharpness
- borderOuter edge or limit
- boundaryLine marking a limit
- fringeOutermost edge or margin
outskirts · borderlands · hinterland · rim · threshold · liminal · frontier · backwater
Smaller part of whole
- subcultureGroup with alternative norms
- subalternJunior commissioned officer
- underrepresentedInsufficiently present in proportion
- diasporaScattered population sharing origins
indigenous · intersectionality · otherness · outsider · counterculture · deviance · nonconformity · alternative
Unjust differential treatment
- ostracismBanishment from a group
- segregationForced separation by group
- alienationState of being isolated
- isolationComplete separation from others
stigmatization · disenfranchisement · othering · scapegoating · ghettoization · displacement · apartheid · excommunication
Severe lack of resources
- disadvantagedLacking social or economic resources
- underprivilegedLacking usual social advantages
- precariousnessState of uncertain stability
- vulnerabilityOpenness to harm
impoverished · deprivation · underclass · low-income · unemployment · homelessness · disparity · hardship
Distant data point
- anomalyDeparture from the expected
- deviationDeparture from expected path
- aberrationDeviation from the norm
- irregularityDeparture from standard
exception · variance · edge case · tail · extremity · distribution · standard deviation · threshold
periphery
Boundary or outer region
fringe · outskirts · borderlands · hinterland · rim · threshold · liminal · frontier · backwater · buffer zone
minority
Smaller part of whole
- subcultureGroup with alternative norms
- subalternJunior commissioned officer
- underrepresentedInsufficiently present in proportion
diaspora · indigenous · intersectionality · otherness · outsider · counterculture · deviance · nonconformity · alternative · subversion
discrimination
Unjust differential treatment
- ostracismBanishment from a group
- segregationForced separation by group
- alienationState of being isolated
isolation · stigmatization · disenfranchisement · othering · scapegoating · ghettoization · displacement · apartheid · excommunication · banishment
poverty
Severe lack of resources
- disadvantagedLacking social or economic resources
- underprivilegedLacking usual social advantages
- precariousnessState of uncertain stability
vulnerability · impoverished · deprivation · underclass · low-income · unemployment · homelessness · disparity · hardship · slum
outlier
Distant data point
- anomalyDeparture from the expected
- deviationDeparture from expected path
- aberrationDeviation from the norm
irregularity · exception · variance · edge case · tail · extremity · distribution · standard deviation · threshold · noise
- postcolonialismorientalism, postcolonialism, subaltern, neocolonialism, mimicry
- othernessother, otherness, othering, stranger, foreigner
- queer studiesqueer theory, queerness, queering, heteronormativity, intersectionality
marginalitycentrality
Core significance or position
center · mainstream · inclusion · belonging · integration
marginalityprominence
Notable status or visibility
salience · visibility · recognition · fame · renown
- marginalized groupPopulation facing systemic exclusion
- marginalized communityGroup facing systemic exclusion
- marginalized communitiesGroups lacking social power
- marginalized voicesSpeakers from excluded communities
- marginalized populationsGroups excluded from mainstream society
marginalize, marginalia, marginalized, marginalization, marginalizing, marginalised, marginalise, marginalising, marginalises