Editing Racism (section)

=== Othering ===
{{main|Othering}}
Othering is the term used by some to describe a system of discrimination whereby the characteristics of a group are used to distinguish them as separate from the norm.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mountz |first=Alison |date=2009 |title=Key Concepts in Political Geography |publisher=Sage |page=328}}</ref>

Othering plays a fundamental role in the history and continuation of racism. To [[Objectification|objectify]] a culture as something different, exotic or underdeveloped is to generalize that it is not like 'normal' society. Europe's colonial attitude towards the Orientals exemplifies this as it was thought that the East was the opposite of the West; feminine where the West was masculine, weak where the West was strong and traditional where the West was progressive.<ref name="Said, Edward 1978 pp.357">{{cite book |last=Said |first=Edward |author-link=Edward Said |date=1978 |title=Orientalism |title-link=Orientalism (book) |location=New York |publisher=[[Pantheon Books]] |page=357}}</ref> By making these [[generalization]]s and othering the East, Europe was simultaneously defining herself as the norm, further entrenching the gap.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gregory |first=Derek |date=2004 |title=The Colonial Present |publisher=[[Blackwell publishers]] |page=4}}</ref>

Much of the process of othering relies on imagined difference, or the expectation of difference. Spatial difference can be enough to conclude that "we" are "here" and the "others" are over "there".<ref name="Said, Edward 1978 pp.357"/> Imagined differences serve to categorize people into groups and assign them characteristics that suit the imaginer's expectations.{{sfn|Said|1978|p=360}}