Use Your Difference to Make a Difference

14How Allies Can Use Their Privileges and Limit Othering

A question I get asked often is “Now that I have acknowledged my privilege, how can I help? How can I be an ally?” The answer is to understand the different waves of oppression, as well as limiting othering. Allies are people from dominant groups who actively work to tear down oppression, and oppression has to do with forces that use power dynamics to limit opportunities and growth for people of different groups by systematically taking away their identities and power.

Sociologist Yiannis Gabriel describes othering as the process of casting a group, individual, or object into the role of the “other” and establishing one's own identity through opposition to and, frequently, vilification of this other. According to him, the problems of the twenty-first century come down to othering. And he's right! Othering is the direct opposite of creating a culture of belonging. It promotes tearing other people down and is segregation by design. Even though as humans we have a tendency to categorize people based on their differences, the power to assign meaning to what being different is resides with us. If we engage in othering, we promote alienation and the effects of that. Othering creates disadvantages in institutions. It makes it less likely for people to gain access to opportunities like mentorship and promotions. It also makes people feel devalued.

The fact of the matter is that it is profitable to be divisive. The news cycle—even ...