"The Way They Look at You": Algerians, Ecuadorians and Indians Negotiate Otherness vis-à-vis Mainstream Europeans

• In Event: 2446 - Racism and Anti-Racism II: Space, Culture, and Meaning-Making

Abstract

Classical theories of social identity formation rely on a dual process of self-identification and perceived categorization by the outgroup. Moreover, when it comes to minorities and stigmatized individuals compared to mainstream society members, there is evidence suggesting that the former face more external constraints in the process than the latter. However, little attention has been paid to the lived experiences of: a) feeling oneself being categorized by the out-group; and b) the negotiation of this perceived external identification with one’s internal self-concept. This paper seeks to address this gap by exploring a specific frame that emerges in migrant narratives of life and acculturation in the destination country - the ‘mainstream gaze’ and its relation to othering. Findings suggest that though the role of the gaze may be interpreted differently across individuals (e.g. more or less malign) and may have different outcomes for the self-concept and group identity (e.g. reaffirming one’s ethnic or national identity of origin or one’s quest for ‘authenticity’), the concept deserves more systematic attention in the study of minority-majority relations. The paper is also concerned with the role of the gaze in analytical studies of othering and the overall significance of visual cues in perceptions of inter-group communication. It focuses on the role of the gaze in its symbolic and physical dimensions as shaping processes of exclusion and marginalization.

Author

• Maricia Fischer-Souan, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid