PROBIOTICS FOR BELONGING P = Connections may be felt towards People or Places. R =Belonging is expressed through the Representation of Relationships. O = Only in the context of acceptance and understanding of difference can an individual feel that he/she belongs. B = People may encounter Barriers to belonging. I = Belonging is an Instinctive need in us all. O = Being an Outsider allows individuals to challenge a group. T = Attitudes to belonging change over Time. I = Belonging gives an Individual the potential to enrich a group. C = The individual may Choose to belong or not belong, often dependent on Context. S = Only the individual can determine whether or not he/she belongs – Self-perceptions are important.

People and Places Individuals may develop important connections to both people and places. Family and friends are an example of how connections between people are important in providing a feeling of belonging in a person’s life by conveying both acceptance and understanding. Individuals may also have a strong connection to their country of origin which forms a key part of their identity. Individuals may forge connections to particular sites, such as the childhood home, a regular holiday location or the site of a significant event in the individual’s history or culture.

Representation of people and Relationships The representation of people and their relationships within texts is determined by the text types and language forms and features. Composers employ language and visual techniques in order to fully convey an individual’s sense of belonging or not belonging. A crowded composition might speak of connections, whilst a lot of white space or open composition may reinforce a feeling of social isolation.

Only with acceptance and understanding A feeling of belonging is present only when there is the perception of acceptance and understanding. Limitations and conditions suggest partial acceptance. An individual cannot feel a sense of belonging whilst his free will and those aspects that form his self-identity are denied. Eg. The Assimilation policy of 1950s Australia towards the aborigines denied the indigenous Australians a sense of belonging due to the restrictions on cultural practices and State control of the individual.

Barriers to Belonging Barriers to belonging may be social, economic, emotional or physical. Such barriers may be caused by governments, other individuals, by a fact of geography or physical ability/disability or by the emotional unwillingness of the individual themselves. The context of the relationship to person or place may prevent feelings of belonging. (Refer to previous example where the social and political context prevented Aboriginals from belonging to Australian society).

An Instinctive need in us all After food and shelter, belonging is an essential individual need (see Maslow’s heirarchy). Our desire for acceptance and understanding underpins many of our actions. Sometimes an individual’s identity is bound in their desire to be seen as separate, to not belong; sometimes the individual must isolate him/herself from one group in order to gain acceptance to another.

Outsiders can challenge a group Belonging to a group conveys implicit acceptance of the rules governing the group (conformity). Challenging the group may force one outside the group (ostracism). Outsiders to a group may challenge the group as a result of a different perspective, whether this is due to the objectivity or greater emotional distance experienced as an outsider.

Attitudes to belonging change over Time As individuals and their contexts change, so too do their attitudes to belonging change. Attitudes to belonging are organic rather than fixed. A group’s approach to belonging may also change where enough individuals within the group shift their thinking and agitate for a change to the collective attitude. Kevin Rudd, as Prime Minister of Australia, was able to make his “Sorry Speech” in Parliament in 2008 because Australians had agitated for this to happen. This marks a profound change to Australian attitudes since the 1950s.

Individuals have the potential to enrich a group Acceptance and understanding allows individuals the freedom and security to participate in and contribute to the group; to do so extends their feelings of membership to the group. This participation and contribution by the individual has the potential to enrich the group by producing positive change and growth. The individual has the power to share an alternative view of the world which may awaken other members of the group to different ways of seeing and being.

Choosing to belong or not – Context dependent Individuals may choose to belong or not to belong. Whilst we recognise why someone would want to belong, we are often confused by an individual’s desire not to belong. Reasons not to belong generally reflect a conflict between the individual’s personal values and context, and those of the group to which the individual seeks to remain separate. In some cases, being separate from one group ensures membership to another group. Alternatively, the individual’s self-identify may be one founded on “separateness”.

Self-perceptions are crucial Only the individual can decide whether or not he/she belongs. This will invariably depend on their own sense of self-worth and the success of the other person or group in conveying acceptance and understanding. Individuals with low self-esteem or those who have a negative view of the world, will find belonging a more elusive experience than those for whom self-confidence is plenty and the world appears predominately positive.