From “Othering” to Understanding

This summer, Galvanize Action and FrameShift joined forces to test and refine messages that address othering: the action of distancing or excluding some people from the group one identifies with. Increasing social cohesion and decreasing othering are important facets of repairing our democracy! We want to create even more effective programming that fosters empathy, disrupts fear-based narratives, and moves women from “us versus them” to “all of us are in this together.” 

Through a series of 90-minute interviews with Egalitarians, Centrists, and Pragmatists, FrameShift helped us test a few different approaches and explored participants’ emotional reactions to them. Let’s dive in and check out five research-informed narrative approaches that might move women from othering people to understanding them.

1. Openness
Some of the women we spoke to came from families that aren’t quite as open-minded as they strive to be. They feel proud of being more open than their parents, and they remember trying to push back against mom or dad’s old-fashioned ways. But now that these women are all grown up, it’s their own children (and the friends of their children!) who are pushing them to do better. We will continue to explore this narrative!

The moms we heard from want to do better, and they really don’t want to be rejected by their kids or grandkids over an inability to grasp more socially-progressive points of view. Openness and a desire to stay connected with kids are strong motivators, especially with concerns about family estrangement entering mainstream conversations.

Relatedly, the concept of “my child’s friend” is a strong way to build empathy with some ideologically-moderate women. For example, they might not understand gender beyond the binary, but they sure love and care about the children in their life! Telling stories of “the other” through the lens of “my child’s friend” is a great way to inspire empathy.

2. Understanding
Here’s something we can all agree on: it feels bad to be judged. Many of the women we heard from have been judged unfairly, and that stings! By acknowledging the unfairness there, we can help women avoid passing judgment on others. 

In this example message, we acknowledge that it feels bad to be judged, then we invite women to pause, think, and apply their abundant empathy to immigrant families, who they may not immediately see as part of their in-group.

Most of us know how it feels to be judged unfairly by others. It sucks. When that happens to me, I wish other people would hear me out before they make assumptions. So I don’t want to do that to anyone else. If I don’t know anything about someone’s life – like the new family on our block who doesn’t speak English – I’d want to learn more from them directly rather than making assumptions.

3. Calling Out the REAL Threat to Fairness
Economic anxiety is a major barrier for some Centrists and Pragmatists. They’re likely to believe in meritocracy and are typically high in “just world view,” the idea that the world is fair and everyone can achieve equal outcomes if they just work hard enough. This makes them more likely to blame whoever they see as “the other,” which often includes immigrants, instead of blaming the “hardworking” wealthy people they aspire to be like.

In this narrative structure, we attempt to shift blame and call out the real threat to fairness: corporations and billionaires who don’t pay their fair share. The newest Galvanize Action ad does a great job of this!

Here’s a real example of a Facebook comment we got on this ad to illustrate how hesitant some people are to blame corporations and the wealthy, highlighting the need for long-term programming to shift perspectives! ➡️

4. Resilience
Everyone has needed to be resilient at some point. Stories of resilience can make “the other” feel relatable though both shared struggles and shared joy in the face of obstacles. In this example message, it’s clear that hard work doesn’t guarantee economic success (tackling that “just world view” barrier) and that we’re all stronger together. 

It’s hard in America right now! Most people are struggling these days, and we’re all hustling to move forward. It’s everyone: people who have jobs or don’t, people who have kids or don’t, people who are born here or not. I mean, my immigrant neighbor works harder than anybody I know. And we’re all trying to figure out great ways to save. The other day I was talking to a neighbor about where to get cheap groceries, and before you know it, she’s sharing this TikTok about 16 ways to use a can of tomatoes. We all gotta keep going, and we can at least choose to show up for one another.

Merit is a strongly-held value for women in our audience, and especially for the Pragmatists. They hold a lot of views about who “deserves” economic support and who does not. That often turns into blaming their out-group due to beliefs that “we” are working hard and deserve help but “they” are making bad choices or taking shortcuts. This often shows up as harmful anti-immigrant bias, which is what the message above is subtly challenging.

But nearly everyone is struggling right now. Instead of feeling like some people are working hard (and therefore “deserving” of a social safety net) while others are not playing by the same rules, we want our audience to see that we’re all in this economy together.

5. Positive Impacts on Others
Women in our audience strongly value caring for other people and they want to do the right thing. This narrative helps us understand that doing something kind for others is a win-win. It’s not just a nice feeling, it’s a nice feeling that does something! When women in our audience do something kind, they feel effective, important, and valued. For a group that tends to be lower in self-esteem and civic self-efficacy, this feeling of agency is important! They already have superpowers: their everyday accomplishments and compassion for others. By focusing on the positive impact they can and do create in the world, we can build on that and encourage bigger civic actions!

Keep an eye out for some of these themes in future Galvanize Action messaging, and in programming from our outstanding partners!

Want to learn more about encouraging civic action (and how YOU can help)? Start here.

Want to brush up on why building social cohesion and decreasing othering matters? Read more here!