Majority World
The term Majority World refers to countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, and Indigenous peoples. It is an alternative to terms considered to be derogatory such as "Third World" or "Developing World."
Terminology
[edit]The Bangladeshi photojournalist Shahidul Alam coined "Majority World" in the early 1990s. He wished to highlight the discrepancy when compared to Western countries, especially those associated with the G8, which represented a tiny minority of the world's population but exercised significant power over the rest of humanity. It sought to overcome the "West's rhetoric of democracy" focusing less on what a community has as opposed to what it lacks.[1][2]
The term was coined as an alternative to "Third World" or "Developing World," terms which reinforced stereotypes about poor communities and hide their histories of oppression and exploitation.[1] It challenges implicit hierarchies, between the "first" and the "third," or the need to be "developing."[3][4] It is also less arbitrary than "Global South," given that these countries are not always geographically located in the south.[5]
Related concepts
[edit]In 2003, the term "Global majority" was coined as a way to speak of those of Majority World heritage living in Western contexts.[6] This concept began to gain momentum in the 2020s in the midst of the Black Lives Matter protests, in contrast to racialized terms "ethnic minority," "Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic" in the United Kingdom,[7][8] and "person of color" in the United States.[9]
Usage
[edit]Shahidul Alam later established an organization named "Majority World" to bring to the foreground photographers from the Majority World.[10] The term has been used by academic journals like Amerasia Journal and The BMJ,[11][12] and media outlets like NPR[13] The term has also been readily used within Christianity, given the increasing recognition that the majority of the world's Christians are today found in the Majority World.[14]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Alam, Shahidul (January 2008). "Majority World: Challenging the West's Rhetoric of Democracy". Amerasia Journal. 34 (1): 89. doi:10.17953/amer.34.1.l3176027k4q614v5.
- ^ Leong, Russell C. (January 2008). "Majority World: New Veterans of Globalization". Amerasia Journal. 34 (1): vii–viii. doi:10.17953/amer.34.1.w73j740264225r95.
- ^ Shafaieh, Charles. "Shahidul Alam on the Majority World". Harvard Design Magazine. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
- ^ Lawrence, Salmah Eva-Lina. "The Majority World – what's in a phrase?". Philanthropy Australia. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
- ^ Silver, Marc (4 January 2015). "If You Shouldn't Call It The Third World, What Should You Call It?". NPR. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
- ^ Campbell-Stephens, Rosemary M. (2021). Educational Leadership and the Global Majority: Decolonising Narratives. Springer Nature. p. 4–6. ISBN 978-3-030-88282-2.
- ^ McGuinness, Alan (29 March 2021). "Boris Johnson told to 'scrap use of BAME label' as critics brand it 'unhelpful and redundant'". Sky News.
- ^ Sharman, Laura (29 March 2021). "Abandon redundant BAME label, race commission tells Downing St". The Times. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021.
- ^ Lim, Daniel (11 May 2020). "I'm Embracing the Term 'People of the Global Majority'". Medium.
- ^ "About Us". Majority World. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
- ^ "Amerasia Journal". Taylor & Francis. 3 (1). 2008.
- ^ Khan, Themrise; Abimbola, Seye; Kyobutungi, Catherine; Pai, Madhukar (June 2022). "How we classify countries and people—and why it matters". BMJ Global Health. 7 (6): e009704. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2022-009704. PMC 9185389.
- ^ Silver, Marc (4 January 2015). "If You Shouldn't Call It The Third World, What Should You Call It?". NPR.
- ^ "What is the Majority World?". Lausanne Movement. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
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