02/09/2020
Concept development | a sense of belonging
The term "belonging" is hard to characterize without a uniform definition. Belonging is seen as a multi-faceted and a dynamic concept. However, various studies have been conducted where intersectionality and fluidity, affective personal and socially negotiated experiences, environment and materials have been identified as consistent factors. Belonging is expressed through various social identities and is characterised by fluidity. If seen via distinctive socio-political roles and personalities (e.g. race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic class, sexuality), an individual is highly unlikely to consider himself as a part of any single one in particular but will look for belonging in ways that cut across a diverse bunch. These categories are socially built, challenged, and always advancing depending on historical, cultural and socio-political setting. This proves how belonging is such a dynamic and an ever-changing concept.
Seeking belonging is a process that is always in flux, especially as the groups people strive to belong to are also continually transforming. In various studies, belonging has been understood as holding an emotional dimension that goes beyond experiencing meaningful bonds with people. It is the feeling of being ‘at home’, a bond that resonates with self, feelings of being part of a larger whole. For people who stay away from home, feelings of nostalgia and affective spaces of home influence their perception of the term belonging and conceptualisation of what home means. Physical space, colour and material objects constitute another vital angle of belonging. Physical spaces are important landscapes of therapeutic restoration and to feel a sense of security.