Identity

Identity

Concept
1. how you see yourself
2. how others see you
3. what has formed your identity
4. primary socialisation
5. what defines your personality
6. gender
7. age
8. peer group
9. What we choose to consume
Aspects
1. ethnicity
  1. ethnic minorities see their ethnicity as a more significant aspect of their identity
  2. social class can be seen as more significant to those of an ethnic minority
2. sexuality
  1. homosexuals seeing their sexuality as a more significant aspect of their identity
  2. Sexuality and Identity
    1. Quinn (2001)
      1. studied same sex marriage of tribes. Native American tribes celebrated same sex marriage- although they till have a male and female role between them
      2. Also found that some sub-Saharan African people have man-boy marriages. The boys are called boy-wives and have the same responsibilites as female wives. once th boy becomes a man, he becomes a warrior and chooses his own boy-wife
    2. The Kinsey Reports (1948, 1953)
      1. found that homosexual encounters was much more common that expected.
      2. when it was still considered a mental illness; 37% of men had had a homosexual experience
      3. 4% were exclusively homosexual
    3. Homosexuality was once considered a mental illness/ illegal
      1. certain rights have changed this and now it is more acceptable to be in a homosexual relationship/ civil partnership.
      2. Studied show that a homosexual behaviour does not lead to a homosexual identity
        Sexual identification is a strange and complex thing. some people can be openly gay, but not sexually. and vice versa- engage in same sex activites but not identify as gay.
        Weeks (1991)
        as homosexuality is not accepted by many, it is often the case that people are not sexually attracted to the same sex but identity with them more and therefore connect more as they're in the same subculture
        Plummer (1996)
3. age
  1. seems to be significant with women as looking attractive is seen as a feminine trait
Hybrid identities
1. a mixture of two or more influences
  1. ethnicity
    1. Blasian; Black and Asian
    2. Brasian; British and Asian
  2. nationality
    1. eg; British Muslim. combining the cultures to form a hybrid identity
2. White people being influenced by black hip-hop culture
3. Resistance
  1. seeking help within the ethnicity group
  2. racism in cultures makes them turn inwards
Changing ethnic identities
1. second generation ethnic minorites from African-caribbean backgrounds tend to feel more british than their parents
  1. They still saw their ethnic origin as a key part of their ethnic identity
  2. Modood (1997
2. post modernists argue; with gloablisation, identity is a choice
  1. some would argue ethnicity is becoming less significant with the ability to pick and mix identities
National Identity (NI)
1. "NI is socially constructed through symbols"
  1. Anderson (1983)
2. changing national identities
  1. Britain is stuck between becoming more American or more European in the global world
  2. its a struggle to find relevant British traditions so its harder to distinguish a British identity
    1. british identity varies with the increase of globalisation
Gender and Identity
1. it is fluid and changing
  1. womens and mens roles have changed over the past century
2. defining masculine and feminine traits are now difficult as they're no longer clear
3. Gender as Social Construct
  1. nature/nurture
  2. The Biological view
    1. Men are supposed to be promiscuous to reproduce. "spread the seed" Women need to nurture the children and stay faithful to the father
      1. Wilson (1975)
  3. The Functionalist view
    1. Females have the expressive role; based of their childbearing role. Men have the instrumental role; the bread winner, to provide for the family.
      1. both roles reinforced by sociolisation
      2. Parsons (1955)
  4. social construction of gender identities (SCGI)
    1. Feminism; argue SCGI is constructed by patriachy
    2. at school boys are taught how to be men
      1. Mac an Ghaill (1994)
    3. peer groups shape how boys and girls are going to act from an early age
      1. in study of friendhsip, among teenage girls it was found how power can affect a girl's behaviour. and how it can root from patriachy/ expectations
        Hey (1997)
4. Femininity
  1. Anne Oakley
    1. Children are socialised into their genders.
      1. Manipulation
        encouraging sterotypical behaviour to teach children the norms of their gender
      2. Canalisation
        channelling the childrens toys, games and activites to match their genders
      3. Verbal Appellation
        giving children nicknames that rienforce gender roles. eg; little princess/ my brave soldier
      4. Different activities
        engouraging children to participate in gender stereotypical games or activies
social class
1. "a group who share the same economic and social situation"
2. does class still affect identity
  1. we are now defined by wht we buy, not what we do. we are consumers in a globalised society. we are more individual, we have our own norms and values,
    1. Pakulski and Waters (1996)
Stages in the Life Course
1. Age
  1. can vary for some people
  2. they can be seen as socially constructed
  3. identity is affected by changing ages
  4. Changing Age Identities
    1. post modernists argue there are many aspects of being able to change age identity
      1. living longer
      2. working longer-
      3. anti-ageing products
    2. changing aspects are showing that age is fluid and becoming less significant
    3. media images of ageing can have negative stereotypes but as the population age, they become more positive.
      1. Featherstone and Hepworth
2. Childhood
  1. children were working in factories until the nineteenth century
    1. children were seen as an economic asset
      1. the infant mortality rate was very high during the pre- industrial and the industrial society, therefore the children needed to work to earn for the family, they wasnt seen as innocent precious beings as there was a high chance they wouldnt be around for that long
  2. children weren't always seen as innocent
    1. children were just seen as young adults
  3. childhood emerged when adults thought it was better to shield children from negative aspects of life
    1. Postman (1982)
3. Youth
  1. socially constructed bridge between childhood and adulthood
  2. some cultures have no youth.
    1. Hamar Tribe; childhood ends one day, they have a ceremony, and adulthood begins.
  3. 'strom and stress' which is associated with youth culture is not specific in other cultures (questioned methodology)
    1. Margaret Mead (1928)
  4. youth adulthood and middle age
    1. young adulthood norms
      1. families
      2. careers
      3. independance
      4. owning propety
    2. middle age
      1. gain of power, higher status than young or old
        Bradley (1996)
      2. loss of youth, closer to old age- sometimes leads to mid-life crisis
4. Old Age
  1. questionable to when it starts- 65?(retirement) or later?
  2. media often portrays old people negatively which makes them feel like that themselves
    1. Corners (1999)
  3. they feel like the burden generation
Disability and Identity
1. negative stigma
  1. it becomes the master status- people only see the disability and not other characteristics (boy/girl. young/old)
    1. people with the disability also learn to see themselves as their impairment
2. the way disabled people begin to label themselves also turns into negative language 'dis-abled' 'dis-formed'.
  1. this can lead to 'formed helplessness'- a way disabled people internalise the idea they are less capable of changing a situation
  2. Zola (1982)
3. also argued that disabled people have the ability to construct a self identity that accepts their impairment
  1. so they themselves as a person first, then their impairment as characteristics
  2. Murugami (2009)

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