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Xenophobia refers to the irrational or unreasoned fear of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange.[1][2] It comes from the Greek words ξένος (xenos), meaning "stranger," "foreigner," and φόβος (phobos), meaning "fear."[3]
Xenophobia can manifest itself in many ways involving the relations and perceptions of an ingroup towards an outgroup, including a fear of losing identity, suspicion of its activities, aggression, and desire to eliminate its presence to secure a presumed purity.[4] Xenophobia can also be exhibited in the form of an "uncritical exaltation of another culture" in which a culture is ascribed "an unreal, stereotyped and exotic quality".[5] Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action urges all governments to take immediate measures and to develop strong policies to prevent and combat all forms and manifestations of racism, xenophobia or related intolerance, where necessary by enactment of appropriate legislation including penal measure.[6]
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Definitions[edit]
Dictionary definitions of xenophobia include: deep-rooted, irrational hatred towards foreigners (Oxford English Dictionary; OED), unreasonable fear or hatred of the unfamiliar.(Webster's)[7]
A xenophobic person has to genuinely think or believe at some level that the target is in fact a foreigner. This arguably separates xenophobia from ordinary prejudice. In various contexts, the terms "xenophobia" and "racism" seem to be used interchangeably, though they can have wholly different meanings (xenophobia can be based on various aspects, racism being based solely on ethnicity, and ancestry). Xenophobia can also be directed simply to anyone outside a culture. Basically, a completely biased opinion regarding foreign matters.
Stereotypes arise from a fundamental human knowledge structure, the concept which generalizes prototypes from many instances. The problem comes when you start discriminating based on these stereotype in ways that counter accepted cultural values. Discriminating is the act where stereotyping is the thought process. When discriminating you start attributing good and bad evaluations of people based on that stereotype.
Two forms[edit]
The first is a population group present within a society that is not considered part of that society.[citation needed] Often they are recent immigrants, but xenophobia may be directed against a group which has been present for centuries, or became part of this society through conquest and territorial expansion. This form of xenophobia can elicit or facilitate hostile and violent reactions, such as mass expulsion of immigrants, pogroms or in other cases, genocide.
The second form of xenophobia is primarily cultural, and the objects of the phobia are cultural elements which are considered alien. All cultures are subject to external influences, but cultural xenophobia is often narrowly directed, for instance, at foreign loan words in a national language. It rarely leads to aggression against individual persons, but can result in political campaigns for cultural or linguistic purification. In addition, entirely xenophobic societies tend not to be open to interactions from anything "outside" themselves, resulting in isolationism that can further increase xenophobia.
Ways of acquiring[edit]
The following are ways one would develop a general, and more often a specific type of Xenophobia:
- Bad emotional experience with other groups or specific alien populist group.
- Rational, or, analytical reasons for the revulsion.
- Classical conditioning, that is when someone is conditioned to having a fear or repulse from aliens generally, or, from specific group. ways to instill it would be Dehumanization, mostly by propaganda, for example: a video containing group members shown distorted, erroneous, and in proportional phases of horror sounding.
- Imitating others, mainly these that are close to the individual, or, in many cases, societal norms of a nation.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/xenophobia?q=xenophobia
- ^ http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/xenophobia
- ^ Oxford Standard English Dictionary' (OED). Oxford Press, 2004, CDROM version.
- ^ Guido Bolaffi. Dictionary of race, ethnicity and culture. SAGE Publications Ltd., 2003. Pp. 332.
- ^ Guido Bolaffi. Dictionary of race, ethnicity and culture. SAGE Publications Ltd., 2003. Pp. 332.
- ^ Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, Part II para 20
- ^ Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, Dorset and Baber, Simon and Schuster
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