What to know

Exoticizing is the process of portraying an individual, culture, or group as foreign, strange, or unnatural. The term is rooted in “outside” and signifies “other.” The “other” is seen as a canvas onto which a dominant culture projects its romanticized ideas of that other. 

The term is related to the concept of orientalism, coined by Palestinian American philosopher and scholar Edward Said. Of orientalism, Said said, “The Orient was Orientalized not only because it was discovered to be ‘Oriental’ in all those ways considered commonplace by an average nineteenth-century European, but also because it could be — that is, submitted to being — made Oriental.” As such, exoticizing goes beyond a simple description. It is a process of differentiating, making one group fundamentally different from another.

With an understanding of the power dynamics behind imposing one’s own perceptions onto another group, marketers can be intentional about doing the work to understand, learn about, and elevate the voices of consumers from diverse communities.  

Additional resources

• Orientalism (Khan Academy)
• Selling an ‘Unreal’ Hawaii (Honolulu Civil Beat)