The Other is an individual who is perceived by the group as not belonging, as being different in some fundamental way. Any stranger becomes the Other. Perceived as lacking essential characteristics possessed by the group, the Other is almost always seen as a lesser or inferior being and is treated accordingly. The Other in a society may have few or no legal rights, may be characterized as less intelligent or as immoral, and may even be regarded as sub-human.
Otherness takes many forms.
The Other is not necessarily a numerical minority. In a country defeated by an imperial power, the far more numerous natives become the Other, for example, the British rule in India. Similarly, women are defined and judged by men, the dominant group, in relationship to themselves, so that they become the Other. The group which is defining the Other may be an entire society, a social class or a community within a society, a family, or even a high school clique or a neighborhood gang. The outsider frequently overlaps with the Other, but they are not identical.