Othering and ethics of belonging in migrants' embodied healthcare experiences

Abstract

AbstractAt a time when national identities are being reasserted in Western Europe alongside moral and intellectual visions of a cosmopolitan order more inclusive than nationalism, what does belonging mean for immigrants who are non‐Europeans, particularly for women from South Asia, Africa and the Middle East? Based on the lived experiences of 23 women of diverse backgrounds, who are first‐generation immigrants, regarding their experiences while accessing the healthcare system in Zurich, Switzerland, I illustrate through migrant experiences how Othering and belonging are experienced within the web of chaotic meanings and social space one navigates. By employing a phenomenological–sociological approach, I present how embodied migrant experiences can capture the experiences of being an 'Other', as well as how moral emotions such as shame and humiliation can influence one's moral self and its significance to everyday moral discourse. While much of the academic discourse around belonging focuses on a place and its related connectedness to one's racial, gender and ethnic identity, here, I analyse cosmopolitanism's possibilities through Othering/belonging experiences within the healthcare context, and beyond. I conclude this paper with the key contributions of the ethics of belonging to the normative discourse on migration health.