Being an Outsider

Abstract

Places that pride themselves on their sense of community and belonging can be very lonely places for those who do not fit in. These issues of inclusion/exclusion are illustrated in accounts of experience of growing up with a sense of being an outsider, including stories of growing up with a disability in a town where it is assumed you will not therefore be able to cope with mainstream schooling; growing up LGBT in an area with strong conservative religious views; being a foreigner in a segregated and low paid form of employment; trying to keep away from low level criminal activity in a neighbourhood where this has become the norm. These themes are explored in relation to segregation; stigma; racism; and the meaning of difference.