This photo was taken by Wing Young Huie and can be found on his site under the "Eat" gallery, which was published in 2012 in Minneapolis, MN. The black and white photo is title-less but some simple observations can be made about it. It depicts three white men in an old fashion diner. The man in the middle is the focal point of the photo and is a slightly overweight, older man who is leaned back in his chair, laughing. The man to his left seems to be pondering something or maybe simply waiting for his meal. And the man to the rights face is not in view but he appears to be reading the menu. It is interesting to note that at the angle and timing of the image, all three men seem to be alone in the diner. Though we can infer that the man in the middle is with someone because of his laughing action. It is also interesting that they are all men, and it appears they are all of the same race. This leads the audience to believe that this is the overwhelming majority of the population in the location that the photograph was taken, and that this social group can commonly be seen in public. I also noticed that none of these customers have any food in front of them and that leads the audience to wonder why. (Maybe no one can decide what to order, or the service is really slow, or these men just go there to hang out.)
In this image, Wing Young Huie shows othering in a few ways. First, the subjects of the photograph are all of the relatively same demographic; white male. The art seems to purposefully exclude females if they were in the room, by the angle at which it was taken. This is a form of othering because as a female, I see them as something "other" than me. A second way she shows othering is how all the men are spread out in the diner. All of them have their backs turned towards each other which shows a lack of trust or friendship. There is no conversing between these men, which separates them. This made me think about an example of othering from "The Handmaid's Tale." In the book, when handmaids go on shopping trips into town, they are not allowed to communicate with fellow handmaids unless they use prescribed language, which eliminates all personal opinions or input. Handmaids also avoid eye contact (because of their headpiece but nonetheless) similar to how the men are avoiding interaction in Huie's photo. Therefore, handmaids are "othered" from other handmaids, along with being separated from the rest of society. Women are often othered from men in the book, as well. For example, only men are allowed to read or write in Gilead, while only women can be present at Birthing Days. A large amount of the othering seen in the book is based off common gender role stereotypes.
Word Count: 500
Works Cited:
Wing Young Hue http://www.wingyounghuie.com
