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# On Insiders (Emic) and Outsiders (Etic): Views of Self, and Othering

## Details

**Authors** Young

**Year** 2005

**Publisher** Systemic Practice and Action Research

**Discipline** Sociology

[Read it at the publisher](https://doi.org/10.1007/s11213-005-4155-8) 
10.1007/s11213-005-4155-8

## In authors' words

### What they set out to do (purpose)

Looked at the concepts of "insiders" and "outsiders"

### What they found (results)

Being an insider is giving oneself an identity, however the insider needs to be aware of how they are percieved by others. Being an outsider is directly related to the concept of the other, specifically, it is not having an identity. One is part of no groups, no community. One creates thier identity based on their relationships with the other throughout their life. Identities also shift based on the context one is in.

## Commentary

### In short

Taking into account the insider and outsider concepts leads to better research and conclusions. Being metacognitive about your identity and other aspects of your life can help with personal development.

### In more detail

This type of manipulation typically starts with a stated boundary between insiders and outsiders, us and them, etc. Young 2005 articulated the act of distinguishing ideas by defining the two terms “insiders” and “outsiders.” “Insiders” (or Emic) was said to be linked to the concept of the self, or and more specifically is, “the situation of one’s self within a group, experience and/or community.” Interestingly, she also noted that the act of being an insider also included the ability to understand how the self is perceived by others. The “outsider” was said to be related to the concept of the other, and was explicitly defined as, “the situation of one’s self without a group, experience and/or community.” She wrote that one can become an outsider based on several possible criteria from a multitude of factors including, race, gender, ethnicity, social class, and even personal domains. Insider and outsider concepts have greatly influenced a process called Participatory Action Research (PAR), which was designed to lift up and give a voice to oppressed or disadvantaged peoples rather than serve to keep helping the people with more social, financial, and political power. The use of insider and outsider perspectives in the PAR process allows for better (more inclusive) research and conclusions, problem solving, and social change.

Another significant part of Young’s paper focused on identity, using herself as an example, she offered that a person’s identity has to be created, and is created through their person’s insider/outsider placement in various aspects of their life. On top of that, there are infinite possible identities such that new identities can be “discovered” as more people in a society begin to identify themselves as something not previously thought of as an identity. Gender identities are an example of this phenomenon. This is exemplified within the creation of labels and the addition of recognition of the person, thing or group that is not the identity. This often happens through either the creation of government programs, social movements, and general ideas of societal acceptance. Note also that identities change over time as perceptions and societal implications or consequences shift. They also change as the individual grows developmentally and chooses a new identity. Additionally, as the individual’s context changes, their identity shifts. One can identify as one thing while at school and another while at home with their family. One’s identity is influenced by how prevalent the “other” is in their context. Young offers that the current mental model about identity is that identities are rigid and stagnant, while the opposite is true. Identities are flexible, constantly changing, and adjusting due to a variety of factors. Most importantly, the implication of these ideas is that when one explicitly deals with identities (especially the hidden ones), the act of “othering” is greatly reduced. As more and more identities are accepted, people personalize all the “thems” that they had marginalized previously. This paper explicates the societal importance of awareness of our identity/other Distinctions, and also the effect of metacognition on one's identity and other Distinctions.

**Patterns it shows** D

**How to cite this** Young (2005). On Insiders (Emic) and Outsiders (Etic): Views of Self, and Othering. Systemic Practice and Action Research.