O Setshogelo, 49055275  

Blog Entry  

By placing the other or out-group in a position of relative inferiority and/or extreme alienation, othering is the process of creating and identifying the self or in-group and the other or out-group in reciprocal, unequal opposition (Brons, 2015).  

I attended a primary school with a predominantly white student population, where I observed that the white students got first preference when it came to majority of activities and favours, such as getting elected as prefects and being on the first team when it came to sports. So, as a child I would think to myself that, wow, the white students are so cool and special. At the end of the day, I would see that the black students were ‘othered’.  

Having read Wainaina (2005), my perception drastically changed. “Your African characters may include naked warriors, loyal servants, diviners and seers, ancient wise men living in hermitic splendour”, these words empowered me, expelling the “otherness” I harboured from a young age (Wainaina, 2005). It meant, we too, are powerful and unique.  

Throughout my primary school years, I had only one narrative, that “white students are superior”. I believed that narrative so much that I didn’t believe that the average black student could amount to anything, until my fellow classmate, Alex, got elected for Head Boy. Along with that election he also had 5 distinctions under his belt. I was shocked and in disbelief. Listening to Adichie’s (2009) beautiful TED talk, I remembered Alex’s story. I was a child, and my simplistic narrative reduced my people to a single narrative. Adichie (2009) emphasizes the importance of embracing multiple narratives to foster empathy, tolerance and genuine human connection.  

In summary, the process of "othering" can cause some groups within society to become marginalized and alienated. I saw directly how the narrative of superiority given to one group might undermine the worth and potential of another, and my personal experiences at a largely white primary school shed light on the detrimental repercussions of this process. 

Reference List 

Adichie, C. 2009. The Danger of a Single Story. TED. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg.  

Brons, L. 2015. Othering, An Analysis. [online] ResearchGate. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273450968_Othering_An_Analysis.  

Wainaina, B. 2005. How to Write about Africa. [online] Granta Magazine. Available at: https://granta.com/how-to-write-about-africa/.