Insiders and Outsiders

INSIDERS AND OUTSIDERS

Who are the insiders?

* people who conform

* behave according to the accepted rules

* members of society

* only insiders in their own group

Insider clubs and societies

Freemasons, Scouts, Guides, Trade Union, Working Men's Club,

Gentlemen's Clubs, ...

* own rules of behaviour for its members

* protect the interests of their members

* sometimes expensive to join

The changing image of the insider

* insider today Ðo maybe outsider tomorrow

* changing its views of what is and what is not acceptable

What is normal for society?

every society has its own rules or norms which govern the way it expects ist members to conform

* laws to protect members

* rules for sexual behaviour

* accepted norms of dress and social behaviour

* anyone not conforming may be considered abnormal or an outsider

* boundaries are ill-defined / surprisingly wide

Who are the outsiders?

gypsies, hippies, homeless, punks, jews, homosexuals, lepers, travellers, unmarried,...

* individuals or part of a minority group

* eccentrics, protesters Ðo chosen to be outsiders

* people who are depending on alcohol, drugs or gambling Ðo are forced into becoming outsiders because the standards of their behaviour are not accepted

* members of certain religious or racial minority groups

* others become outsiders because of some disability or disease

Ðo lepers:

* have been shunned and avoided

* have an illness which could spread to others

* were herded together in groups and driven from town to town

* were forced into becoming outsiders because of physical diseas

Acting the part of the outcast

* expect a cripple to be crippled

* become suspicious and insecure if they fall short of these expectations

Fear and hostility

* afraid of losing the job

* be ashamed

* want to hide the disease

Single parents

* are seen as outsiders

* people think they would get more money from Social Security than people who go to work

* not all single parents are getting what they are entitled to, simply because they don't know their rights

* are often happier without partner

The childless

* because ot infertility

* seem to regard themselves as failures

* modern medical research has helped many couples

* hurts them tremendously

Role reversal

* has been traditional for men to be the breadwinner and for the wife to stay at home to look after the children

* these roles are being reversed by young couples

* this may be because the job market is such that it is easier fot the woman to get a job

* other people think men who look after children would be odd

Illegitimacy

* in the past children who were born to unmarried parents were regarded as outsiders by society and law as well

* illegitimacy is not viewed in the same way in all countries

(iceland: 6% of all first born children are born outside of marriage - mothers

and babies are accepted)

The unmarried

* not so long ago: woman of 30 years plus who had not married Ðo "old maid"

* image of a rather unhappy, unfulfilled person

* today unmarried woman are seen to be leading successful and enviable lives

AIDS - the new sexual plaque?

AIDS - Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

* doctors

are desperatly traying to fight the disease

are striving to educate the general public

refuse to perform biopsies on AIDS victims

* victims are vulnerable to infection

* people of 20 or 30 years are dying from this disease

* they are often spurned

* they are showen no sympathy

* people say it would be difficult to know what to do with the sufferers