Social Invisibility: meaning, concept, examples

George Alvarez 17-10-2023
George Alvarez

We are all afraid of something, whether it is due to trauma or a negative idea formulated about what we fear. However, we must always seek knowledge and overcome adversity in order to live in society. Social Invisibility Its meaning, definitions, and possible causes and consequences.

Finally, in an objective way, we will break the paradigms and mistaken locutions about the subject, with the glimpse of enriching our worldview, our culture and collective reason; follow our post and expand your knowledge!

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Social Invisibility: Meaning

"I don't feel sad about anything, I'm always on drugs. I'm a thief. I steal because nobody gives me anything. I steal to live. If I die, another one like me is born. Or worse, or better. If I die, I'll rest. There's a lot of scum in this life".

The above line, taken from the documentary Falcão Meninos do Tráfico, evokes exactly a feeling caused in those who suffer with social invisibility .

In short, the concept of social invisibility has been applied to socially invisible beings, whether due to indifference or prejudice. This fact leads us to understand that this phenomenon affects only those who are on the margins of society.

The concept of social invisibility

Invisibility consists in the characteristic of an object not being visible, which in the case of humans would consist in the fact that visible light is neither absorbed nor reflected by the object in question.

As for the social bias, there are several occurrences of invisibility: economic, racial, sexual, age, among others. This is what happens, for example, when a beggar is ignored in such a way that he becomes just another object in the urban landscape.

However, this has led us, as a society, to existential voids never before perceived or dealt with.

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A void of meaning

Considering the overly automatic and apathetic way in which society has conformed to custom, we are often unaware of the details that enrich our daily lives and give meaning, fill our lives.

With this, one wonders how many times we have passed the cleaning lady in our school without noticing the color of her eyes or hearing a murmur; indeed, how many times have we not even noticed the cleaning lady?

Finally, they are elements that do not interest us and do not concern us, because they do not make up our affective pairs, therefore, they mean nothing. They enter the statistics as one more way of discrimination, which is increasingly inserted in society.

Elements we are not interested in

As said, we are selective and we end up not noticing something if, in fact, it does not arouse our interest or empathy.

In somatic fact, such a theme brings us a series of questions about marginalization, social exclusion, and its psychic incidences.

To this end, the relationship between the situation of non-recognition and the subjective and identity processes will bring us to the understanding of marginalization under Freud's vision of the pulsional economy.

Marginalization

From this point on, we will make considerations about exclusion, thinking about the social bond and its close relationship with the narcissistic-identity development.

For this purpose, The understanding of marginality can be referred to a division between inside and outside, to a contrast between those who are included and those who are excluded from the social order, in a situation of social invisibility .

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We can think of exclusion as a cleavage mechanism that is defensive and at the same time perverse.

The narcissism of small differences

According to Freud (1930), this narcissism allows anger to be directed outwards, towards those who do not belong to the same community, the same race, the same religion, etc. And this anger can flare up without limitations.

For the boy who came out of anonymity, from the interview narrated above, his conduct gained unfolding beyond his momentary visibility. Tragically, especially in the media spotlight, an irrational sense of justice prevails.

As an outcome, there is a hate speech and ease toward the death or rotting of bandits, in jail for example, on the part of society in general.

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And so we arrive at the dead end of poverty

Marginal, excluded, rapist are generalizations that reduce the subject and impose an identity that overshadows any other. The marginal goes from adjective to noun, a category.

Thus, identity is constructed between the individual and the social: personal identity is always linked to the cultural, to the social bond, to the values and beliefs that constitute the subject and are at the same time constituted by him.

Therefore, recognition is what names the subject not only to others, but to himself. The impossibility of recognition and group and social inscriptions threatens the narcissistic-identity development, reducing the identity references and, therefore, the creative possibilities of existence.

The identifying references

In sequence, a social bond that sustains affiliation, belonging to a group, recognition, is fundamental. Every group, every community needs its myth of origin, its place in the genealogy.

It is this family heritage, this story "that institutes the genealogical order, that sanctions our belonging, that founds our identity".

In summary, in exclusion, there is a rupture in the social network due to isolation, poverty, violence, hunger, unemployment, etc. It is not only about objective precariousness, but an impoverishment of the social bond, of the symbolic inscription.

The marks left by social invisibility

Referring to the above, the consequence of all this is a deep narcissistic wound, which does not heal easily.

Thus, besides the marks related to material and cultural deprivation and vulnerability linked to insecurity, instability, and exposure to borderline situations, social exclusion is marked by marginalization, an active and reiterated process of attack on the processes of affiliation and identification.

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In conclusion, if we take such processes as part of the human condition, sustained on the relationship between intimate space and social space, we understand that economic poverty unfolds into symbolic poverty of the ability to modify the environment and to find ways of inclusion, causing the social invisibility .

Therefore, we need the knowledge and initiative

Knowledge is the main weapon of a successful person in all areas of life, which is why it is important to seek emotional and rational empowerment in search of answers and a better life.

Thus, in the case of social invisibility The excluded is the one who is not seen, is not recognized, does not belong, and this impossibility of being seen makes it difficult to create answers that allow some kind of productive inclusion. Become a Certified Professional in Clinical Psychoanalysis! Access our 100% online course and thrive together with people who overcome prejudice and achieve clear goals.

George Alvarez

George Alvarez is a renowned psychoanalyst who has been practicing for over 20 years and is highly regarded in the field. He is a sought-after speaker and has conducted numerous workshops and training programs on psychoanalysis for professionals in the mental health industry. George is also an accomplished writer and has authored several books on psychoanalysis that have received critical acclaim. George Alvarez is dedicated to sharing his knowledge and expertise with others and has created a popular blog on Online Training Course in Psychoanalysis that is widely followed by mental health professionals and students around the world. His blog provides a comprehensive training course that covers all aspects of psychoanalysis, from theory to practical applications. George is passionate about helping others and is committed to making a positive difference in the lives of his clients and students.