“Asylum seekers”, “boat people” and “illegal immigrants”: Social categorisation in the media

Abstract

This paper is concerned with representations of people entering Australia to request asylum. The study critically analyses the role of social categorisation in descriptions about these people, drawn from texts available through the Australian print media. The aim is to examine constructions that constitute marginalising practices toward people who request asylum in Australia. It is argued that traditional approaches to social categorisation have a number of shortcomings, particularly in the context of an examination of potentially marginalising discourse. A discursive psychological approach is adopted for the purpose of analysing certain categorisations and identifying the social actions they constitute. Sample extracts are drawn from media articles and specific categories examined include ''illegal immigrants'', ''boat people'', and related category labels. It is argued that certain types of categorisation can support and encourage specific actions and, in particular, specific marginalising practices.

Refugee or Migrant Crisis? Labels, Perceived Agency, and Sentiment Polarity in Online Discussions

“…Labels such as "refugee" and "migrant"-being employed for different purposes and evoking different connotations-become social categorization devices, not only demarcating "the population" from the "other," but also distinguishing between those who are deserving from those who are considered less-deserving and potentially a threat to be rejected (Foucault, Bertani, Fontana, Ewald, & Macey, 2003;Foucault, Senellart, Ewald, & Fontana, 2007). Furthermore, such lexical selectivity has been shown to distort public perceptions of refugees and migrants alike (Hier & Greenberg, 2002) and shape specific actions including marginalizing practices (Fairclough, 2000;O'Doherty & Lecouteur, 2007).…”

“…There are many examples of studies investigating media use of frames and labels on migration issues (e.g., Haynes, Devereux, & Breen, 2008;Horsti, 2007;Roggeband & Verloo, 2007;Roggeband & Vliegenthart, 2007), as well as examples of studies investigating their effects (e.g., Augoustinos & Quinn, 2003;Brader, Valentino, & Suhay, 2008;Brewer, 2001). However, in this study, we take a different approach by uncovering the use of labels in social media and the sentiment surrounding these labels, with the understanding that certain labels are employed for different purposes and can evoke different connotations (O'Doherty & Lecouteur, 2007). Thus, we draw a parallel between the various labels attributed to this recent crisis by laypeople in social media and the various sentiments associated with each label.…”

“…These labels and others like them constitute social categorizations, that are discursively and socially constructed (Augoustinos, 2001). Because "language, thought, and actions are inextricably linked" (Hardy, 2003), labels surrounding migrants and refugees, and their implied categorizations, may consequently explicitly or even subliminally encourage specific actions, including marginalizing practices (Fairclough, 2000;O'Doherty & Lecouteur, 2007). The examination of marginalizing discourse is of great importance in a time of high people mobility across borders (Hopkins, Reicher, & Levine, 1997;O'Doherty & Lecouteur, 2007).…”

‘New Zealand passport holder’ versus ‘New Zealander’? The marginalization of ethnic minorities in the news – A New Zealand case study

“…They concluded that white people largely drew on the mass media for their information on immigration and discrimination more than their own experience. Later studies have pursued the relationship between the media and discourses of racism (Campbell, 1995;Van Dijk, 1991;Wilson and Gutiérrez, 1985), recognizing that media texts are responsible for disseminating discourses of the homogeneity of out-groups (O'Doherty and Lecouteur, 2007). Van Dijk, too, found in his analysis of people's everyday talk in interviews that they often referred to the media when 'expressing or defending ethnic opinions ' (1989: 201).…”

Playing at the edges: use of playground spaces in South Australian primary schools with new arrivals programmes

“…In many instances this is due to discrimination from within the broader community, which is fed by media and political rhetoric in which refugee communities are depicted as "ghettos" that are intentionally isolated from mainstream communities (for examples of analysis of this rhetoric, see O'Doherty and LeCouteur, 2007;Perera, 2007;Sidhu and Christie, 2002). Indeed, such rhetoric was seen in comments made in 2007 by then Immigration Minister Kevin Andrews regarding the supposed failure of African refugees to integrate into the broader Australian community, and the subsequent media response to this (Due, 2007).…”