Lacan and the Psychology of Othering: Identity, Desire, and the Big Other

Jacques Lacan’s psychoanalytic theory provides a foundational lens through which to understand the psychological mechanics of othering, linking self-awareness, identity formation, and unconscious conflict to the construction of “the Other.” At the heart of his framework lies the influential Mirror Stage theory, which posits that individuals first come to recognize themselves not through internal certainty, but through an external image—one that appears coherent and idealized, yet ultimately alien. This early moment of misrecognition becomes a lifelong template for how identity is formed: through contrast, projection, and relational fragmentation. Lacan’s insights illuminate not only how individuals develop a divided sense of self but also how societies manage collective anxieties by projecting undesirable traits onto external groups, constructing “Others” as a means of psychological and cultural regulation.

---

The Mirror Stage: The Origin of the Internal Other

Jacques Lacan’s theory of the Mirror Stage marks a seminal moment in psychoanalytic thought, identifying a pivotal phase in early childhood development when the formation of identity first begins to take root. Occurring between six and eighteen months of age, this stage begins when an infant recognizes its reflection in a mirror and misidentifies the image as a coherent representation of itself. The reflection appears whole, stable, and autonomous—qualities the infant lacks due to its physical immaturity and disjointed sensory experiences.

This encounter initiates what Lacan describes as a fundamental misrecognition (méconnaissance), in which the infant internalizes an image of self that is both idealized and alien. Lacan names this illusion the Ideal-I or imago—an aspirational version of the self that the subject will unconsciously pursue for the rest of their life, yet never fully become. The mirror image thus becomes the first "Other": a projection that feels intimately familiar while remaining perpetually out of reach.

The significance of the Mirror Stage lies in its revelation that identity is not constructed in isolation but is always mediated through external representations. This moment instills a lifelong psychic tension between the fragmented, subjective self and the seemingly unified Other—a dynamic that produces a persistent sense of lack. In Lacan’s framework, this initial split between self and image becomes the prototype for all future experiences of alienation, desire, and the symbolic formation of identity.

---

Desire and the Big Other: The Social Mirror of the Self

Lacan expands the psychological framework of the Mirror Stage into the realm of culture and language through his concept of the Big Other (l’Autre). Unlike the mirror image, which is tied to the visual formation of identity, the Big Other refers to the symbolic order—the vast network of social norms, linguistic codes, cultural ideologies, and institutional authority through which subjectivity is constructed and regulated. It is not a person, but a structural presence: the invisible audience that authorizes meaning and shapes the field of human desire.

In Lacanian theory, desire is not driven by innate biological need but is mediated by the desire of the Other. We come to want not what we naturally need, but what we perceive others as wanting or valuing. This triangulation of desire—between the self, the Other, and the object—creates a loop in which fulfillment is always deferred. The Big Other becomes the internalized voice of social expectation, the imagined observer who judges, interprets, and ultimately defines the subject’s place within the symbolic order.

As a result, the subject is never the sole author of their own desire. Instead, they are caught in a cycle of misrecognition, constantly performing for a gaze that is everywhere and nowhere at once. This dynamic reinforces Lacan’s core proposition: that the subject is fundamentally divided, always lacking, and always seeking completion through the imagined validation of the Other.

---

Othering as Social Projection

Lacan’s theory of othering transcends the confines of individual psychology to illuminate how entire societies construct identity through opposition. Just as the individual forms a sense of self by misrecognizing an external image in the mirror, social groups forge cohesion by projecting disavowed traits, fears, and contradictions onto an external “Other.” This process creates a symbolic boundary between “us” and “them”—a structure essential for maintaining cultural and political identity.

In this framework, othering functions as a collective defense mechanism, whereby communities manage internal anxieties and unresolved tensions by displacing them onto marginalized or outsider groups. These groups are cast as inferior, threatening, irrational, or morally corrupt—not because of who they are, but because of what the dominant group refuses to acknowledge within itself. The Other becomes a scapegoat for the community’s own instability and sense of lack.

This mechanism operates subtly but powerfully across history and institutions, from racial and religious stereotyping to the demonization of political dissent. By externalizing what is repressed internally, societies reaffirm a myth of internal purity, coherence, and superiority. In Lacanian terms, the social Other is a screen onto which a community projects its own fragmented image, distorted, denied, and weaponized.

Ultimately, this insight reveals that othering is not simply a social or political strategy, but a deeply rooted psycho-symbolic operation, integral to how individuals and nations alike organize meaning, justify power, and preserve illusions of unity.

---

Examples of Societal Othering in Lacanian Terms

Lacanian psychoanalysis helps unpack how symbolic authority, desire, and misrecognition shape societal patterns of exclusion. Below are key examples of how collective identity and cultural power are maintained through mechanisms of othering:

Racial and Ethnic Stereotyping

Dominant cultural groups construct racial and ethnic “Others” as bearers of negative traits—violent, lazy, hypersexual, criminal—projecting disavowed anxieties and historical guilt onto marginalized bodies. These stereotypes become fixed signifiers in the symbolic order, reinforcing fantasies of moral and intellectual superiority. In Lacanian terms, the racialized Other is a mirror for the dominant group's unconscious fears, rendered legible through social discourse.

Gender and Sexuality Norms

Traditional gender binaries and heteronormativity are maintained by casting LGBTQ+ identities, nonbinary individuals, and gender-nonconforming people as deviant or unnatural. These identities threaten the illusion of symbolic coherence and provoke anxiety within the normative structure. The queer or nonconforming subject is thus positioned as a destabilizing Other—representing the excess or ambiguity the symbolic order seeks to repress.

National Identity and Xenophobia

National identity often depends on an imagined homogeneity, which is safeguarded through the construction of foreignness as a threat or contaminant. Immigrants, refugees, and neighboring nations are cast as Others who disrupt the symbolic fantasy of national unity. Xenophobia, in this sense, operates as a psychic projection—a defense against internal instability masked as patriotic self-preservation.

Each of these examples illustrates how Lacan’s framework exposes othering not as a rational assessment of difference, but as a symbolic necessity for identity construction—one that often leads to structural violence, exclusion, and systemic inequality.

---

The Architecture of Meaning: Language, Law, and the Unconscious

For Lacan, the Symbolic Order is not simply a set of cultural rules—it is the very structure through which subjectivity and social reality are produced. It encompasses language, law, kinship, and ideological systems, and operates as the unconscious framework into which every individual is born. Entry into the Symbolic occurs through the acquisition of language, a process that both enables subjectivity and institutes a fundamental alienation: to speak is to submit to a pre-existing network of signs that precedes and exceeds the self.

This linguistic initiation has far-reaching consequences. Once within the Symbolic, individuals no longer operate from pure instinct or unmediated desire; instead, they come to understand themselves—and others—through signs, codes, and roles. Identity becomes a matter of position within language, not essence. One is named, categorized, and differentiated before one can speak.

Importantly, this symbolic differentiation is the breeding ground for othering. Social labels such as “criminal,” “refugee,” “welfare queen,” or “terrorist” are not neutral descriptors—they are ideological inscriptions that encode fear, control, and exclusion. These signifiers function as symbolic shorthand for difference, reducing complex human lives to socially legible caricatures.

Lacan argued that this linguistic order inscribes itself into the unconscious, shaping desires, fears, and self-perception without conscious awareness. The Other is thus not merely someone outside the self—it is a symbolic placeholder embedded within the very structure of meaning-making, allowing societies to sustain fantasies of coherence by displacing instability onto marked bodies.

In Lacanian terms, language doesn’t just describe the world—it constructs it. And in constructing it, it draws lines between us and them, self and Other, acceptable and abject. The unconscious becomes the echo chamber of these symbolic boundaries, reinforcing them even when they no longer serve ethical or rational ends.

---

Influence and Legacy

Jacques Lacan’s theories have resonated far beyond the confines of psychoanalysis, leaving a lasting impact on contemporary thought across various disciplines. His work reshaped critical theory, continental philosophy, feminist psychoanalysis, and postcolonial studies, offering new lenses through which to interrogate power, identity, and the unconscious mechanisms of exclusion.

Thinkers such as Judith Butler have applied Lacan’s concepts to the performativity of gender, arguing that identity is always constructed through iterative social scripts and external recognition. Slavoj Žižek employs Lacanian frameworks to critique ideology and late capitalism. At the same time, Homi K. Bhabha draws on Lacan to explore the ambivalence of cultural identity and the psychic tensions within colonial discourse.

In literature and film, Lacanian influence emerges in works that stage conflicts between the self and its image, or that confront the alienating gaze of institutional or symbolic authority. From the fragmented consciousness of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis to the dystopian surveillance state of Orwell’s 1984, from the replicant identity crisis in Blade Runner to the psychological descent in Black Swan, Lacanian echoes shape narratives where identity is fractured and the Other is inescapable.

This intellectual legacy continues to evolve, with Lacanian theory serving as a toolkit for scholars, artists, and critics seeking to unpack the invisible architecture of desire, language, and social division.

---

Conclusion

Lacan’s psychoanalytic theory of othering exposes the mirror beneath identity, revealing that who we are is always mediated, always observed, and always constructed in relation to something else. From the infant’s first encounter with its reflection to the social machinery of law, language, and ideology, Lacan unveils a world in which the Other is not outside us, but within the very systems that make us legible.

By connecting individual psychology to collective behavior, Lacan illuminates how othering functions not as a social tactic, but as a deeply embedded psychological structure—one that governs how we imagine ourselves and how we exclude others. In doing so, he forces us to confront the ethical implications of our desire for coherence, stability, and a sense of belonging.

Ultimately, Lacan’s theory is not just about recognizing the Other—it’s about recognizing ourselves in the act of othering. And that recognition, however unsettling, is the first step toward dismantling the illusions that sustain exclusion and imagining a more conscious, critical form of subjectivity.