othering
Making them "them"
Othering is the act of treating people as fundamentally different or alien, typically to exclude them from a group or deny them equal status.
It involves emphasizing distinctions—whether based on race, religion, nationality, or other characteristics—in ways that create an us-versus-them dynamic.
The politician's rhetoric relied heavily on othering immigrant communities.
The term appears frequently in sociology and cultural criticism to describe how dominant groups marginalize those they perceive as outsiders.
Preformed unfavorable opinion
- bigotryIntolerance toward differing views
- racismPrejudice based on ethnicity
- xenophobiaHatred of outsiders
- intoleranceUnwillingness to accept differences
bias · sexism · homophobia · casteism · classism · ableism · Islamophobia · antisemitism
Marking as disgraceful
- demonizationCasting as evil
- dehumanizingDenying inherent worth
- vilificationAbusive condemnation of someone
- scapegoatingUnfairly assigning fault to innocents
stereotyping · labeling · branding · objectification · disparagement · degradation · denigration · defamation
Relegation to powerless periphery
- ostracismBanishment from a group
- segregationForced separation by group
- isolationComplete separation from others
- rejectionDenial of acceptance
shunning · exile · banishment · expulsion · blackballing · displacement · ghettoization · quarantine
Non-native person
- strangerPerson not yet known
- immigrantOne who resettles abroad
- refugeePerson fleeing danger abroad
- exileBanishment from homeland
expatriate · newcomer · displaced person · migrant · nonnative · outlander · sojourner · minority
Way things contrast
- selfhoodIndividual identity, personhood
- subjectivityPersonal viewpoint coloring perception
- distinctivenessQuality of being distinguishable
- foreignnessQuality of being unfamiliar
strangeness · unfamiliarity · exoticism · peculiarity · alienness · differentiation · binary · essentialism
prejudice
Preformed unfavorable opinion
- bigotryIntolerance toward differing views
- racismPrejudice based on ethnicity
- xenophobiaHatred of outsiders
intolerance · bias · sexism · homophobia · casteism · classism · ableism · Islamophobia · antisemitism · chauvinism
stigmatization
Marking as disgraceful
- demonizationCasting as evil
- dehumanizingDenying inherent worth
- vilificationAbusive condemnation of someone
scapegoating · stereotyping · labeling · branding · objectification · disparagement · degradation · denigration · defamation · condemnation
marginalization
Relegation to powerless periphery
- ostracismBanishment from a group
- segregationForced separation by group
- isolationComplete separation from others
rejection · shunning · exile · banishment · expulsion · blackballing · displacement · ghettoization · quarantine · sidelining
foreigner
Non-native person
exile · expatriate · newcomer · displaced person · migrant · nonnative · outlander · sojourner · minority · outcast
difference
Way things contrast
- selfhoodIndividual identity, personhood
- subjectivityPersonal viewpoint coloring perception
- distinctivenessQuality of being distinguishable
foreignness · strangeness · unfamiliarity · exoticism · peculiarity · alienness · differentiation · binary · essentialism · categorization
- anthropologyanthropology, fieldwork, ethnography, social anthropology, cultural anthropology
- social psychologysocial behavior, conformity, social influence, attribution, groupthink
- alienationestrangement, social isolation, disconnection, exclusion, outsider
- cultural theoryideology, hegemony, discourse, deconstruction, postmodernism
- immigrant identityimmigrant experience, immigrant identity, dual identity, hybrid identity, hyphenated identity
- intolerantbigoted, biased, prejudiced, discriminatory, intolerant
otheringinclusion
Being made part
acceptance · embracing · welcoming · belonging · including
otheringhumanizing
Making more relatable
empathizing · humanization · recognizing · seeing · understanding
otheringunifying
Making disparate elements one
bridging · assimilating · integrating · merging · solidarity
other, another, others, otherwise, each other, otherworldly, othered, otherness, one another