Being an Outsider

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.