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Xenophobia is a dislike and/or fear of that which is unknown or different from oneself. It comes from the Greek words ξένος (xenos), meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος (phobos), meaning "fear." The term is typically used to describe a fear or dislike of foreigners or of people significantly different from oneself, usually in the context of visibly differentiated minorities.^{[citation needed]}

General

File:Npdplakat2008.jpg

A political poster of the far right National Democratic Party of Germany. The text reads, "We're cleaning up" in German.

According to the Oxford Standard English Dictionary (OED), the word xenophobia consists of two parts: xeno (a combining form meaning "guest, stranger, foreigner") and phobia, ("fear, horror or aversion, especially if morbid"). Definition: A deep antipathy toward foreigners. Antipathy: Opposite of sympathy. ^[1]

The definition of xenophobia is both common and technical. The common parlance is: Unreasonable fear or hatred of the unfamiliar, especially people of other races.^[2] The clinical definition is: An irrational fear of members of a certain race foreign to one's own, often adjunct and secondary to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Also: One of the attitude groupings characteristic of The Authoritarian Personality. ^[3] Examples given were a white woman who was attacked by a black man, and had several of her vertebrae crushed. When she saw a black person, she would have panic attacks and just curl up on the sidewalk. This is considered xenophobia because it is irrational fear of members of another race. A Vietnam veteran witnessed Viet Cong skinning his fellow soldiers alive. He developed hatred of people with mongol eyelids. In both cases, the xenophobia was adjunct to PTSD. ^[4]

It is more broadly defined in the Dictionary of Psychology "a fear of strangers". ^[5] As defined by the OED, it can mean a fear of or aversion to, not only persons from other countries, but other cultures, subcultures and subsets of belief systems; in short, anyone who meets any list of criteria about their origin, religion, personal beliefs, habits, language, orientations, or any other criteria. While some will state that the "target" group is a set of persons not accepted by the society, in reality only the phobic person need hold the belief that the target group is not (or should not be) accepted by society. While the phobic person is aware of the aversion (even hatred) of the target group, they may not identify it or accept it as a fear.

A xenophobic person has to genuinely think or believe at some level that the target is in fact a foreigner. This arguably separates xenophobia from racism and ordinary prejudice in that someone of a different race does not necessarily have to be of a different nationality. In various contexts, the terms "xenophobia" and "racism" seem to be used interchangeably, though they can have wholly different meanings (xenophobia can be based on various aspects, racism being based solely on race and ancestry). Xenophobia can also be directed simply to anyone outside of a culture, not necessarily one particular race or people.

Xenophobia has two main objects:

The first is a population group present within a society that is not considered part of that society. Often they are recent immigrants, but xenophobia may be directed against a group which has been present for centuries, or became part of this society through conquest and territorial expansion. This form of xenophobia can elicit or facilitate hostile and violent reactions, such as mass expulsion of immigrants, pogroms or in other cases, genocide.

The second form of xenophobia is primarily cultural, and the objects of the phobia are cultural elements which are considered alien. All cultures are subject to external influences, but cultural xenophobia is often narrowly directed, for instance, at foreign loan words in a national language. It rarely leads to aggression against individual persons, but can result in political campaigns for cultural or linguistic purification. In addition, entire xenophobic societies tend not to be open to interactions from anything "outside" themselves, resulting in an isolationism that can further xenophobia.

References

^ Oxford Standard English Dictionary' (OED). Oxford Press, 2004, CDROM version.
^ Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, Dorset and Baber, Simon and Schuster, 1983
^ http://courses.ed.asu.edu/nelsen/edp530/pdf/Lect03Psychoanalysis.pdf
^ 17 U. Puget Sound L. Rev. 381 (1993-1994), From Agoraphobia to Xenophobia: Phobias and Other Anxiety Disorders under the Americans with Disabilities Act, John M. Casey
^ Dictionary of Psychology, Chapman, Dell Publishing, 1975 fifth printing 1979.

[1] Oxford Standard English Dictionary' (OED). Oxford Press, 2004, CDROM version.

[2] Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, Dorset and Baber, Simon and Schuster, 1983

[3] ttp://courses.ed.asu.edu/nelsen/edp530/pdf/Lect03Psychoanalysis.pdf

[4] 17 U. Puget Sound L. Rev. 381 (1993-1994), From Agoraphobia to Xenophobia: Phobias and Other Anxiety Disorders under the Americans with Disabilities Act, John M. Casey

[5] Dictionary of Psychology, Chapman, Dell Publishing, 1975 fifth printing 1979.

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@@ Line 9: / Line 9: @@
 ==General==
-[[Image:Npdplakat2008.jpg|thumb|200px|left|A political poster of the [[far right]] [[National Democratic Party of Germany]]. The text reads, "We're cleaning up".]]
+[[Image:Npdplakat2008.jpg|thumb|200px|left|A political poster of the [[far right]] [[National Democratic Party of Germany]]. The text reads, "We're cleaning up" in [[German]].]]
 According to the ''Oxford Standard English Dictionary'' (OED), the word '''xenophobia''' consists of two parts: ''xeno'' (a combining form meaning "guest, stranger, foreigner") and ''phobia'', ("fear, horror or aversion, especially if morbid"). Definition: ''A deep antipathy toward foreigners''. ''Antipathy'': Opposite of ''sympathy''. <ref> Oxford Standard English Dictionary' (OED). Oxford Press, 2004, CDROM version. </ref>
-The definition of xenophobia is both common and technical.  The common parlance is: Unreasonable fear or hatred of the unfamiliar, especially people of other races.<ref> Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, Dorset and Baber, Simon and Schuster, 1983 </ref>  The clinical definition is: An irrational fear of members of a certain race foreign to one's own, adjunct and secondary to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Also: One of the attitude groupings characteristic of The Authoritarian Personality. <ref> http://courses.ed.asu.edu/nelsen/edp530/pdf/Lect03Psychoanalysis.pdf </ref>  Examples given were a white woman who was attacked by a black man, and had several of her vertebrae crushed. When she saw a black person, she would have panic attacks and just curl up on the sidewalk. This is considered xenophobia because it is irrational fear of members of another race. A Vietnam veteran witnessed Viet Cong skinning his fellow soldiers alive. He developed hatred of people with mongol eyelids. In both cases, the xenophobia was adjunct to PTSD. <ref> 17 U. Puget Sound L. Rev. 381 (1993-1994), From Agoraphobia to Xenophobia: Phobias and Other Anxiety Disorders under the Americans with Disabilities Act, John M. Casey </ref>
+The definition of xenophobia is both common and technical.  The common parlance is: Unreasonable fear or hatred of the unfamiliar, especially people of other races.<ref> Webster's New Universal Unabridged Dictionary, Dorset and Baber, Simon and Schuster, 1983 </ref>  The clinical definition is: An irrational fear of members of a certain race foreign to one's own, often adjunct and secondary to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Also: One of the attitude groupings characteristic of The Authoritarian Personality. <ref> http://courses.ed.asu.edu/nelsen/edp530/pdf/Lect03Psychoanalysis.pdf </ref>  Examples given were a white woman who was attacked by a black man, and had several of her vertebrae crushed. When she saw a black person, she would have panic attacks and just curl up on the sidewalk. This is considered xenophobia because it is irrational fear of members of another race. A Vietnam veteran witnessed Viet Cong skinning his fellow soldiers alive. He developed hatred of people with mongol eyelids. In both cases, the xenophobia was adjunct to PTSD. <ref> 17 U. Puget Sound L. Rev. 381 (1993-1994), From Agoraphobia to Xenophobia: Phobias and Other Anxiety Disorders under the Americans with Disabilities Act, John M. Casey </ref>
 It is more broadly defined in the ''Dictionary of Psychology'' "a fear of strangers". <ref>Dictionary of Psychology, Chapman, Dell Publishing, 1975 fifth printing 1979. </ref> As defined by the OED, it can mean a fear of or aversion to, not only persons from other countries, but other cultures, subcultures and subsets of belief systems; in short, anyone who meets any list of criteria about their origin, religion, personal beliefs, habits, language, orientations, or any other criteria. While some will state that the "target" group is a set of persons not accepted by the society, in reality only the phobic person need hold the belief that the target group is not (or should not be) accepted by society. While the phobic person is aware of the aversion (even hatred) of the target group, they may not identify it or accept it as a fear.
-As with all [[phobias]], a xenophobic person has to genuinely think or believe at some level that the target is in fact a foreigner. This arguably separates xenophobia from [[racism]] and ordinary [[prejudice]] in that someone of a different race does not necessarily have to be of a different [[nationality]]. In various contexts, the terms "xenophobia" and "racism" seem to be used interchangeably, though they can have wholly different meanings (xenophobia can be based on various aspects, racism being based solely on [[Race (classification of human beings)|race]] and [[ancestry]]).
+A xenophobic person has to genuinely think or believe at some level that the target is in fact a foreigner. This arguably separates xenophobia from [[racism]] and ordinary [[prejudice]] in that someone of a different race does not necessarily have to be of a different [[nationality]]. In various contexts, the terms "xenophobia" and "racism" seem to be used interchangeably, though they can have wholly different meanings (xenophobia can be based on various aspects, racism being based solely on [[Race (classification of human beings)|race]] and [[ancestry]]). Xenophobia can also be directed simply to anyone outside of a [[culture]], not necessarily one particular race or people.
 Xenophobia has two main objects:
@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 The first is a population group present within a [[society]] that is not considered part of that society. Often they are recent [[immigration|immigrants]], but xenophobia may be directed against a group which has been present for centuries, or became part of this society through conquest and territorial expansion. This form of xenophobia can elicit or facilitate hostile and violent reactions, such as mass expulsion of immigrants, [[pogroms]] or in other cases, [[genocide]].
-The second form of xenophobia is primarily cultural, and the objects of the phobia are cultural elements which are considered alien. All cultures are subject to external influences, but cultural xenophobia is often narrowly directed, for instance, at foreign [[loan words]] in a national language. It rarely leads to aggression against individual persons, but can result in political campaigns for cultural or linguistic purification.
+The second form of xenophobia is primarily cultural, and the objects of the phobia are cultural elements which are considered alien. All cultures are subject to external influences, but cultural xenophobia is often narrowly directed, for instance, at foreign [[loan words]] in a national language. It rarely leads to aggression against individual persons, but can result in political campaigns for cultural or linguistic purification. In addition, entire xenophobic societies tend not to be open to interactions from anything "outside" themselves, resulting in an [[isolationism]] that can further xenophobia.
 ==See also==