Context Presentation – Othering during the COVID-19 Pandemic (Week 13)

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Othering has existed on an international level for many years in politics, economics, social cultures, and many other areas. One common place that this discrimination can be seen that is not frequently talked about is in healthcare, particularly in global health issues. During the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the marginalization of “other” groups became more evident in both stereotypes regarding the nature of the disease and the eventual disbursement of vaccines and vaccination status.

First, Asian-Americans were almost immediately stereotyped in early 2020 as the cause of the disease and experienced much discrimination based on the appearance because of the origin of the virus. Research has shown that as the pandemic grew and cases rose, the marginalization and negative attitudes towards Asian Americans grew significantly. Despite the strength of this association, Asian Americans did not cause this virus and have no connection to its origin. However, many people try to form this association to have an Othered group to blame and look down upon to make themselves feel better.

This discrimination based on ethnic appearance resembles many of the attitudes Muslim Americans felt after 9/11 that are also reflected in The Reluctant Fundamentalist. As Changez navigates his life as a businessman in New York City after the attack, he sees America in a new light from the harassment and slurs he experienced. His idealized view of the country turned just as quickly as the attitudes of many Americans did. Many Muslim Americans have stated that they continue to feel this discrimination and hate ever since the attacks. Similar to this situation, Asian Americans have no actual connection to the COVID-19 virus. However, the are Othered by many Americans based on this appearance and trying to associate a connection that does not exist. It will be interesting to see if this bias and association continues for years to come.

Work Cited:

Dionne, Kim Yi, and Fulya Felicity Turkmen. “The Politics of Pandemic Othering: Putting COVID-19 in Global and Historical Context.” International Organization, vol. 74, no. S1, Dec. 2020, pp. E213–30. Cambridge University Press, https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818320000405.
OHCHR | Racial Discrimination and COVID-19. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/Racial-discrimination-COVID.aspx. Accessed 14 Nov. 2021.
“Two Decades after 9/11, Muslim Americans Still Fighting Bias.” AP NEWS, 7 Sept. 2021, https://apnews.com/article/September-11-Muslim-Americans-93f97dd9219c25371428f4268a2b33b4.

5 thoughts on “Context Presentation – Othering during the COVID-19 Pandemic (Week 13)”

  1. I really love how you compared the Othering that happened on a global scale after 9/11 to the Othering that has occurred within these past couple of years due to COVID-19. Both are great examples of discrimination of ethnic appearance following a major world event, and it’s important to see the situation repeating itself.

  2. This is an interesting and relevant connection. I think you could also point out how government responses to both of these issues exacerbated (if not instigated) this discrimination. Thanks for sharing!

  3. I really enjoyed the connections you made between these topics. The pandemic has brought a lot of ‘othering’ and racism, especially in the healthcare system. Thank you for talking about this!

  4. Thanks for providing more insight to this topic! I have many Asian American friends who have told me first hand how they have noticed the increase in prejudice against them since the start of the pandemic.

  5. I agree with you that discrimination in the healthcare system is not talked about enough. COVID has drawn more attention to this matter. Overall, great job at explaining this topic.

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