Insider and Outsider Perspectives on Place (AQA A-Level Geography): Revision Notes
Insider and Outsider Perspectives on Place
Understanding insider and outsider perspectives
Familiarity with a place creates stronger personal connections and relationships with that location. When you feel you belong to a place and identify with it, you can be considered an insider to that place. The deeper this connection, the stronger your sense of place identity becomes.
An insider is someone who belongs to a place and identifies with it. The more profoundly inside you are, the stronger your identity with that place becomes.
"To be inside a place is to belong to it and identify with it, and the more profoundly inside you are the stronger is the identity with the place" (Relph, 1976)
The stronger your insider status, the more likely you are to oppose unwanted changes or developments in your local area. This is sometimes called Nimby behaviour.
Nimby is an acronym for "not in my backyard". It refers to local opposition to developments such as new housing estates, wind farms or fracking proposals.
Being "in place" and "out of place"
The phrase "a place for everything and everything in its place" suggests there is a particular order to how things should be arranged in the world. This concept also applies to people and their activities.
Cultural geographer Tim Cresswell argues that people, things and practices are often strongly linked to particular places. When these connections are broken, or when people behave in ways that don't match expected norms for a place, they can be seen as having committed a transgression.
Examples of feeling "out of place"
People and activities can be perceived as either belonging or not belonging in particular places:
Contrasting Experiences at Canary Wharf
Consider two different people in the same location:
- A business person may feel comfortable and "in place" at Canary Wharf in London
- A homeless person in the same location may feel they do not belong
This illustrates how the same place can make different people feel welcomed or excluded based on their social and economic circumstances.
Certain people may feel unwelcome in specific places, but who creates this feeling and why?
Historical and contemporary examples
Throughout history, various groups have been treated as outsiders or as being "out of place":
- Travellers
- Protestors
- Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people
These groups often faced stereotyped assumptions about the kinds of places they were associated with.
Gender roles have also been connected to specific places. For example, the stereotypical view that "a woman's place is in the home" was widely held in the early to mid-twentieth century. This societal expectation influenced the types of places where women felt comfortable and welcome.
How exclusion happens
Feelings of alienation can be reinforced through various means:
- Expected behaviours and norms associated with particular venues (such as expensive hotels or restaurants) may make people from disadvantaged backgrounds feel unwelcome
- Exclusionary rules like dress codes can reinforce negative perceptions
- However, for those familiar with the routines, rituals and traditions of a place, these same factors create feelings of welcome and belonging
Factors affecting perception of place
Personal characteristics and identity
A person's perception of place can be significantly influenced by their:
- Gender
- Race
- Ethnicity
- Religion
- Politics
- Socio-economic status
- Sexuality
These characteristics shape how comfortable and welcome individuals feel in different places.
Place attachment and belonging
People may develop strong attachments to places that hold significance in their lives.
Religious Significance of Places
Mecca in Saudi Arabia demonstrates how the same place can hold different meanings:
- For Muslims: The holiest of religious places, creating deep spiritual attachment
- For non-Muslims: Viewed more as an historical and cultural site rather than a religious destination
This shows how the same location can hold completely different meanings and levels of significance for different groups.
The role of experience
How Experiences Shape Perception
Positive experiences in a place can create:
- A sense of belonging
- Positive perception
- Strong attachment
Negative experiences create:
- Negative perception
- Limited attachment
- Feelings of exclusion
For instance, as we get older, our experiences of places change. The excitement you felt visiting a local playground as a child would likely differ from how you feel about the same place now.
Categories of place
Near places and far places
The terms "near" and "far" have multiple meanings when discussing places:
Geographical distance: They can refer to the physical distance between places
Emotional connection: They can describe how comfortable and familiar a person feels in a particular place
Some places feel more familiar than others, partly due to personal experience but also because of frequent media representation and exposure.
In today's globalised world, the key point is that geographically distant or "far" places do not automatically create feelings of strangeness or unfamiliarity. Thanks to modern culture, travel and media, distant places are no longer automatically uncomfortable or different.
Experienced places and media places
Experienced places are those places that a person has spent time in and visited personally. Media places are those that the person has only read about or seen on film.
The "reality" of a place can differ significantly from how it is portrayed by the media. This difference is most clearly visible in the portrayal of rural places, where media representations may not match the actual experience of visiting or living there.
This distinction reminds us that our understanding of places we haven't visited personally is shaped by media representations, which may not provide a complete or accurate picture.
Key Points to Remember:
- Insiders have stronger place identity than outsiders because of their familiarity with and belonging to a place
- People can feel "in place" or "out of place" depending on social norms, personal characteristics and experiences
- Personal factors like gender, race, religion and socio-economic status significantly affect how we perceive and experience places
- "Near" and "far" refer to both geographical distance and emotional connection to places
- There is often a significant difference between experienced places (visited personally) and media places (known only through media), with media representations not always reflecting reality