On “Othering”

“What should people do with their hatred?” (p. 418), asks Kathy Pogue-White in her seminal article, “Surviving Hating and Being Hated,” originally published in 2002, and reprinted here. The articles in this issue explore the experience and sequela of “othering” and of being “othered,” the phenomenon that sometimes—in fact, all too often—results in hating and/or being hated.

We’re talking about the otherness in our social lives, our personal lives, our professional lives, and in our consulting rooms. How, we wonder, do we talk about our differences—racial, religious, gender, sexual, political, and more—with all the emotion and complexity that these differences can provoke? How do we find a common ground to speak and interact with one another without rage, defensiveness, and shame?

We need to find a way. Othering or being othered, as we know it, can cause strife, unhappiness, self-doubt, self-hatred, rage, and other destructive outcomes. At its worst, othering is at the root of today’s wars between Israel and Gaza, Russia and Ukraine, as well as at the core of other conflicts around the globe: the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America (Geneva Academy: Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, 2023).

Yet, we didn’t start planning this issue with these latest clashes specifically in mind: We began with a 2022 clinical meeting at the William Alanson White Institute (WAWI) inspired by Pogue-White’s 2002 article. Two WAWI candidates, one White, the other Jamaican, presented their experiences of hating and being hated, of being othered because of who they are, who they think they are, or how they are seen. We invited these presenters, Anna Vitale and Sheri-Ann Cowie, to expand on their thoughts, reflecting on how Pogue-White’s article led them to consider their lives and ways in which they too have misunderstood, or have been misunderstood by, people who differ from themselves.

The issue expanded when Lois Oppenheim contacted us about a symposium she had organized for the New York Psychoanalytic Society and Institute (NYPSI), also in 2022. There, in a meeting with Oppenheim as commentator, speakers Leon Hoffman and Paula Christian-Kliger explored how a dialogue might evolve between White analysts and analysts of color within the psychoanalytic community. We thought that the papers from her symposium would further enrich the topic that was starting to take form.

Four additional manuscripts arrived serendipitously. These articles fit into the emerging theme, rounding out the issue.

Gal Katz, another candidate at WAWI, offered us his interesting manuscript in which he uses a Lacanian and Winnicottian lens to explore the nuances of our experience of race and other differences. Through clinical examples, he looks at how interpersonal space can become a potential space in which a social given and constraint can open into vitality and possibility. He asks, “How can one become not exactly what one is?”

Ira Moses, also from WAWI, sent us his thoughts on Sullivan’s “detailed inquiry” (Sullivan, 1954), a modality he always recommends, but especially for the times when the patient’s and therapist’s race or culture, for example, differ. He cautions against making assumptions about the other, instead deeply inquiring about the patient’s real experience and how that experience might be better understood by both therapist and patient.

Through our Taylor and Francis portal came two contributions:

The first is Janna Sandmeyer’s wonderful article exploring her Jewishness and the ways that feelings of both victimization and privilege inform her interactions with others, including patients. This article highlights the subtleties that characterize our unique identities and experiences as well as the way others see us and the attributions they make. It’s important to note that her timely piece was written before the events of October 7, 2023.

Finally, there is Judy Roth’s thoughtful and moving submission. In her inspiring article, she shares her personal experience on October 7, as well as her ongoing efforts to establish a dialogue among Israelis and Palestinians. Roth explores the ways in which we are all implicated in this affliction called othering, where we cannot hear, see, or begin to understand the other side.

It is no surprise that we end this issue, highlighting October 7 and the war in Gaza, as we see images and hear stories pouring in from the Middle East every day. The events of that day, and the war it engendered, are so relevant to our theme: othering, or (in this case) hatred of the other. Here, we are left with Pogue-White’s question from more than 20 years ago (2002/this issue): “What should people do with their hatred?” We bring the question to you, in the sincere hope that it will not only enhance psychoanalytic thinking, but also help create more open and productive dialogue about our differences in years to come.

Thank you for reading.

Susan Fabrick, LCSW

Ruth Livingston, Ph.D.

Co-Editors-in-Chief

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)