"Other" theory (racial and ethnic relations)
The "Other" theory in racial and ethnic relations critically examines the dynamics of identity and difference, particularly in the context of dominant and marginalized groups. Developed by sociologists and cultural critics, this theory identifies the "other" as a representation of difference, often applied to non-White individuals in societies where White people have historically held power. This construct leads to the exoticization and appropriation of the "other," allowing for a complex interplay between admiration and domination.
One prominent aspect of "othering" is observed in fashion, where the appropriation of styles associated with marginalized groups can create a superficial connection, as noted by scholars like Cornel West. Furthermore, the theory addresses how such identification can blend into a sexualized perception, exemplified by bell hooks' concept of "eating the other." This notion suggests that dominant groups may fantasize about the sensuality and vitality attributed to marginalized identities, even as it perpetuates stereotypes and distances them from true understanding.
Ultimately, the "Other" theory highlights the duality of attraction and repulsion in these interactions, revealing how such perceptions can contribute to systemic racism and violence. Understanding this theory is essential for grappling with the complexities of racial relations and the legacies of historical subjugation.
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"Other" theory (racial and ethnic relations)
The “other” theory has been advanced by sociologists and cultural critics of racial and ethnic relations, including American historian Winthrop Jordan. In this theory, the “other” represents the totality of difference, the race that is apart from the self and therefore can be exoticized, appropriated, and dominated. Because White people have historically been the dominant group socially, politically, and economically in North America, the other refers to non-White people. “Otherness” is a psychological and social construct that assumes various forms. The three most typical expressions of the other theory are seen in fashion, sexual imagining, and projected images of aggression.
On the level of fashion and style, White identification with the other is represented by what scholar Cornel West calls “the Afro-Americanization of White youth,” which refers to young men who sport dreadlocks, baggy jeans, and backward baseball caps. For young women, the markers of this identification include cornrow hairstyles and big gold earrings, though these markers are less distinct in the popular imagination.
Fashion is a benign form of “otherizing,” or fetishizing, and may or may not lead to a more sexual imagining of the other, referred to by cultural critic bell hooks as “eating the other.” In this instance, the salient experience in the confrontation with the other is the desire for sexual pleasure and domination. The difference is seductive not only because of historical myths about the more primitive, sensual, and sexually uninhibited nature of Black people but also because, as some scholars describe it, “the other is coded as having the capacity to be more alive, as holding the secret that will allow those who venture and dare to break with the [incapacity for happiness] and experience sensual and spiritual renewal” (Bell Hooks, Black Looks: Race and Representation, 1992). Once otherness and whiteness converge, physically and spiritually, in the White imagination, the abhorrent history of subjugation and exploitation of dark others by White people is magically obviated. White people can not only experience the other, they can become the other.
Amid this racial transcendence, how does the creation of the other in the White imagination lead to racism and racial violence? Encounters with the other invite both a vicarious engagement with primitive desires and a further psychological distancing between the White person and the dark other. When an individual from the dominant group believes that an individual from a minority group is so different from themselves that the minority group member’s humanity is unrecognizable (a central justification for slavery was that Africans were not human), then fantasies have free rein. For while the other is perceived as having liberating, primitive qualities, the repugnant side of racial mythmaking, fed by images in popular culture of the Black male “thug,” is the notion of the dark other as more aggressive and violent. Historically, the dominant group has responded to the perceived threat of violence with swift, preemptive violence.
Bibliography
Fitzgerald, Kathleen J. Race and Society: The Essentials. Sage, 2021.
Hall, Stuart. The Spectacle of The Other. Word Press, 1997, seminar580.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/hall-the-spectacle-of-the-other-pdf.pdf. Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.
Hooks, Bell. Black Looks: Race and Representation. South End Press, 1992, aboutabicycle.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/bell-hooks-black-looks-race-and-representation.pdf. Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.
"Race and Racial Identity." Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History & Culture, nmaahc.si.edu/learn/talking-about-race/topics/race-and-racial-identity. Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.