monstrousOther

The monstrousOther is a conceptual term used in cultural and literary studies to describe the depiction or construction of a person, group, or entity as monstrous in order to define social boundaries and exercise power. It arises when difference—whether racial, gendered, sexual, religious, or cultural—is framed as a threat to the established order, making the “Other” legible as danger, deviance, or chaos.

The concept draws on monster theory and poststructural critique. In Jeffrey Jerome Cohen’s Monster Theory, the monster is a cultural artifact that reveals and negotiates collective fears; postcolonial theory further analyzes how the imperial gaze constitutes colonized peoples as monstrous to justify domination. Psychoanalytic readings emphasize the fear of transgression, the uncanny, and the split between self and other.

In practice, the monstrousOther appears across genres and media: Frankenstein’s creature as the Other within humanity; vampires, werewolves, or aliens as projections of sexuality, disease, or colonial threat; the monstrous feminine or other queerness; and contemporary horror that uses monsters to critique social norms. The term also encompasses how nations or institutions cast certain populations as existential dangers to national identity or public order.

Scholars examine how the monstrousOther operates to police boundaries, annex marginalized subjects, or reveal hidden anxieties. Critics also warn against essentializing the Other or equating monstrosity with marginality; instead, they emphasize the political work of representation and the potential for subversion by reinterpreting monstrosity.