Other

In phenomenology, the terms the Other and the Constitutive Other each identify a cumulative, constituting factor in the self-image of a person - the acknowledgement of being real. As such, the Other is dissimilar to and the opposite of the Self, of Us, and of the Same.Otherness, the characteristics of the Other, is the state of being different from and alien to the social identity of a person and to the identity of the Self. Another way of describing "The Other" is to portray oneself at the centre of focus and "The Other" on the outside.

In Waldo Tobler’s first law in geography, he stated that everything is related somehow to everything else but things in closer proximity are more related than other things that are further apart. This means that when two things are further apart they share less association than things that are closer in proximity. This law can be applied when discussing the process of "othering" in different ways.

A cultural example of othering is when individuals that identify closely with their own ethnic or religious beliefs begin to gain the mentality that those who are different from them are problematic. This can lead to extreme separation, alienation, and exclusion of the person or of people that is seen as different or unusual to the typical lens of one's societal views. Othering can be described as discrimination of people or a population that is different than the collective social norm; since they are different they are also seen as deviant or in need of being cultured by the group that is othering them.