outsider

An outsider is a person who does not belong to a particular group, community, or social circle. The term can describe someone who is excluded, marginal, or by choice remains apart from a given setting, whether a local club, a workplace, a social class, or a culture. In sociology, outsider status often arises from differences in ethnicity, nationality, class, gender, disability, or nonconformity, and it may be temporary or persistent. Outsiders may experience stigma, surveillance, or inclusion through selective integration, and they can also offer alternative perspectives that challenge group norms.

Outsider art is a related but distinct use of the term. It refers to visual art created outside the boundaries of official culture, typically by self-taught artists or those not trained within conventional art institutions. Since mid-20th century, the concept has highlighted works that resist mainstream categories and institutions, though it has also been debated for romanticizing marginality or obscuring commercial factors.

In everyday language, outsider can describe someone who runs for political office without party backing, a contestant who lacks ties to established networks, or a player who joins a team as a newcomer. The label can carry both descriptive and evaluative connotations and is applied differently across cultures and subcultures, sometimes as a badge of authenticity, other times as a sign of exclusion.

Related concepts include outsider art and, in music, outsider music, which refers to recordings produced by artists outside mainstream channels. The meaning of outsider remains fluid, reflecting who is included or excluded in a community at a given time.