Concept of Othering

Wing Young Huie's photo, "Schalmer Flying Horse," taken in 2001 features a woman sitting alone on a public bus or subway.  The women is the focus of the image, which creates emphasis and contrast between her and the blurred bodies that stand in the foreground. Contrast is also created from the picture being black and white, the woman's shirt is a pure white against the dark black seats.  The artist captured the feeling of loneliness, which is communicated through her facial expression.  The concept of "othering" is present in this photograph since the woman in focus is in the background of the image, which creates a sense that she is separated or alienated from the rest of the crowd.  Huie furthers this concept by having the focus of the image, dressed in white, surrounded by two blurred figures, dressed in darker clothing, again creating the sense of separation. 

Simular to Huie's photograph, "Schalmer Flying Horse," Margaret Atwood's novel, The Handmaid's Tale, also captures the concept of "othering."  Atwood creates this concept through gender stereotypes, by the creation of the different classes. Women were assigned as Wives, Handmaids, Marthas, Econowives, or "unwomen."  Women that could bear children became Handmaids, while those who could not became Marthas.  Those who revolted against the new society became "unwomen" and forced to do manual labor.  The use of the neologism, "unwomen," captures the concept of "othering" because the "unwomen" were separated from the rest of Gilead's society.  The different classes were divided by colors and rules that banned certain behavior among the classes creating a division amongst the population and furthers the concept of "othering" throughout Atwood's novel.