In the second half of the nineteenth century, Latvians, like several other non-dominant nations that were part of large European empires, actively argued for their status as a nation and fought for the right to be equal partners in economy and politics and for the recognition of their culture. The process of constructing an ethnic identity involves not only inclusion, but also the formation of boundaries and exclusion, defining characteristics in the public space that separate the group Us from Others, that is, other members of society as well as complete strangers. Groups offering ethnographic and freak shows stopped by the Russian imperial city of Riga with guest performances, arousing interest in the local public. The performers exhibited at ethnographic shows were the different others against the background of local others, and Latvians viewed them with more compassion than sense of superiority.

在19世纪下半叶，拉脱维亚人与其他大型欧洲帝国的一部分非主要国家一样，积极主张自己的国家地位，并争取在经济和政治上成为平等伙伴的权利，并为拉脱维亚人争取权利。承认他们的文化。建立种族认同的过程不仅涉及包容性，而且还涉及边界和排斥的形成，定义了将我们群体与他人（即社会的其他成员以及完全的陌生人）区分开的公共空间的特征。提供民族志和怪胎表演的团体被俄罗斯帝国里加市停下来进行客串表演，引起了当地公众的兴趣。在民族志节目中展出的表演者是不同人的映衬当地他人，并与拉脱维亚比的优越感更加同情他们观看。