othering + racialisation + intersectional lenses

othering + racialisation

Definition: A cultural and political process that defines who belongs (the “we”) and who doesn’t (the “Other”).
- Racialisation connects migration to colonial histories and hierarchies of value.

how othering + racialisation works

• The “Other” is imagined as: poor, threatening, uncivilized, dark-skinned, or Muslim.

• Re-uses colonial imagery of the “savage” or “barbarian.”

• Reinforces the superiority of the European self-image.
  
  

Examples:

• Media showing “masses” of Black men crossing borders (Melilla 2014).

“Spider-Man of Paris” (Mamoudou Gassama) — only accepted once he behaves heroically, showing conditional humanity.

intersectional lens of othering + racialisation

• Race: Black and Arab bodies over-represented as threats.

• Class: Poverty visualized as danger.

• Gender:

  • Men → violent, threatening.

  • Women → victims, deserving empathy (given names and backstories).

Why Images Matter

Visual media shape public emotions and legitimize policies.

theories on visual representation

• Roland Barthes: Photos seem objective (“presence certificate”) but are selective and ideological.

• Susan Sontag: Photos reduce reality; can desensitize or manipulate empathy.

Bleiker et al. (2013): Depending on framing, refugee images can humanize (individual faces) or dehumanize (anonymous crowds).

Key Idea:
The frame decides meaning—what is included/excluded signals who is worthy of compassion or fear.

CLASS, GENDER & RACE DIMENSIONS IN THE BORDER SPECTACLE

• race 

  • Migration tied to skin color and colonial stereotypes.

  • ex. “Invasion of savages” rhetoric.

• class 

  • Poor migrants seen as burdens or criminals.

  • ex. “Masses flooding Europe.”

• gender

  • Women presented as victims or exceptional heroes; men as threats.

  • ex. Mireille & Astan Traoré (given human faces); nameless male “invaders.”

• Overall Effect:
  Visual and political representations justify different treatments — compassion for some, violence for others.

CONSEQUENCES OF THE BORDER SPECTACLE

• Normalization of Violence:
  Deaths at sea, detention, and pushbacks become routine.

• Depoliticization:
  Migration seen as “security management,” not ethics or policy debate.

• Re-drawing of Global Color Lines:
  Reinforces a racial hierarchy where Europe = civilization and the Global South = chaos.

• Necropolitics (Mbembe 2003):
  States decide who lives and dies; migrants live in zones of exception.

Perpetual Crisis Narrative:
Every new arrival portrayed as emergency → justifies expansion of security powers