Resisting the muddy notion of the ‘Inclusionary Other’: A re/turn to the philosophical underpinnings of Othering's construction

Abstract

Othering, as a philosophical construct with pernicious and violent consequences in practice, is a colonial creation for ill-gotten economic and political gain. The pivotal report, Reclaiming Power & Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls highlights the ongoing genocide of hundreds of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people in Canada (National Inquiry into Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls, 2019a). Making the direct link between the dehumanization of Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people within settler colonialism and the genocide, this report is an important and stark reminder of the devastating consequences of Othering and -as a response to the Calls for Justice to health service providers -compels a re-examination of Othering as a deliberate philosophical construction of colonial advancement. 1 Call for Justice 7.6 says, "We call upon institutions and health service providers to ensure that all persons involved in the provision of health services to Indigenous Peoples receive ongoing training, education, and awareness in areas including, but not limited to: the history of colonialism in the oppression and genocide of Inuit, Metis, and First Nations peoples; anti-bias and anti-racism; local language and culture and; local health and healing practices" (National Inquiry into Missing & MurderedIndigenous Women & Girls, 2019b). In the vein of education and awareness, the process of constructing the Other must be addressed, as Othering is upheld by ontological and epistemological 1 While the MMIWG report is specific to Canada, violence against Indigenous women as a tool of and propelled by colonialism is not unique to Canada (Kuokkanen, 2019).

Exposing othering in nursing education praxis

“…The application and exploration of “inclusionary othering” has been more elusive in the nursing literature generally, and this is also the case in nursing education research (Canales, 2010; Jacob et al, 2021; Krabbe, 2021). Just as with exclusionary othering, inclusionary othering risks remaining in the realm of individual action or engaging only with the other‐as‐different‐from‐self, rather than naming and deconstructing structural processes of othering.…”

“…Just as with exclusionary othering, inclusionary othering risks remaining in the realm of individual action or engaging only with the other‐as‐different‐from‐self, rather than naming and deconstructing structural processes of othering. This may be a deficit in the construct of inclusionary othering—or it may be inherent to the power and hegemonic norms within nursing education, and the broader social forces that bear on its practices (Krabbe, 2021). Nonetheless, connecting across differences or “engaging as Other to each other” has powerful potential within nursing education spaces and praxis (Canales, 2010, p. 30).…”

“…Our endeavors to identify contemporary instances of inclusionary othering in nursing education were largely unsuccessful. However, themes emerged that suggest inclusionary othering may be possible among and between nursing students across shared experiences of being in complex relationships with dominant norms (Adedokun et al, 2022; Canales, 2010; Krabbe, 2021). The power of nursing education norms, and their reliance on uniformity in everything from assessment notes to language to attire, suppress efforts toward exercising inclusionary othering as an “outsider from within,” but these studies suggest possibilities for finding “connection across difference” among “outsider” groups (Canales, 2000; M. L. A. Roberts & Schiavenato, 2017; Scherer et al, 2019; Walker, 2020).…”

“…In this paper, we will analyze the process of othering as it pertains to nursing education. While the concept of othering has been addressed in the nursing literature of the last 20 years (Canales, 2000(Canales, , 2010Jacob et al, 2021;Krabbe, 2021), there is scarce discussion of its manifestation in the practice of nursing education. We first explore the concept of othering, starting with some broad definitions of othering and then delineating its exclusionary, inclusionary, and structural manifestations.…”

Centering Black feminist thought in nursing praxis

“…Western nursing is dominated by whiteness 1 and femininity, overshadowing subaltern voices and silencing ontologies and epistemologies that do not abide by Western Eurocentric norms. This contributes to processes of “Othering” (Krabbe, 2021 ; Santos, 2018 ) that perpetuate racism and other forms of discrimination within nursing, particularly against nurses of color, and by nurses toward others, including patients (Jenkins & Huntington, 2015 ; Metzger et al, 2020 ; Neiterman & Bourgeault, 2015 ; Nortvedt et al, 2020 ; Tie et al, 2018 ; Truitt & Snyder, 2020 ; Walani, 2015 ). In turn, these ideological stances have problematic consequences in nursing discourse, clinical practice, education, research, and leadership.…”