Identity: A social identity means how your identity is shown in society, and seen by others.

Ethnicity
1. Hybrid Identity
  1. Someones sense of who they are is a mixture of two or more influences.
  2. Seen most clearly within ethnicity, nationality and identity.
  3. Very common for second and third generation immigrants.
    1. Grow up in one culture but retain influences on their identity from their culture of origin.
  4. Labels to describe such hybrid identities have been developed.
    1. 'Brasian' - British and Asian.
    2. 'Blasian' - black and Asian.
  5. Also found in the white British population, due to the influence of immigration and global culture.
    1. 'white wannabes' - Nayak (2003) - white British males who dress, act and speak in a way that is influenced by black hip hop culture.
    2. 'Multicultural London English' often called 'Jafaican
      1. style of speech and accent used in particular areas of London by young white people, influenced by African-Caribbean speech and accent
      2. Product of the multicultural nature of parts of London, where mixed groups of white and black young people influence each other, creating a hybrid dialect.
2. Ethnicity is related to our culture as is made up of our religion, language, where we live, our origin, skin colour etc. These characteristics affect who we are and how we see ourselves.
3. In the UK we identify certain ethnic groups by their shared cultural characteristics although this is often problematic.
4. Second, third and fourth generation migrants and those of mixed race will also have a range of cultural characteristics making their identity more complex.
5. Ethnic identity intersects with other aspects of identity, making everyone's experience slightly different.
6. Ghumann (1999) found tradition, religion and family values played an important part in the upbringing of second-generation Asians in the UK and Asian children tend to be socialised into the extended family, with emphasis on duty, loyalty and religious commitment.
7. Gilroy (1993) looked at identity of young black people, arguing the use of the term 'Black Atlantic' to describe an identity which was not specifically rooted in the UK or their country of origin and was shared with young black people in the US. He argued the shared experience of racism can transcend differences in background and history to create a 'black' identity.
8. Hewitt (2005) considers the white 'backlash' against multiculturalism. Policies designed to achieve equality have been seen as unfair to the white community. A white working class person have often reacted with anger at perceived 'positive discrimination' in favour of ethnic minorities, feeling the need to defend their ethnic identity.
9. In contemporary UK society, expansion of the European Union means growing numbers of ethnic minorities are white, with an ethnic origin from Central or Eastern Europe. They may face similar issues relating to racism that immigrants from parts of Asia and the Caribbean faced in previous decades.
10. Cashmore and Troyna (1990) argue there will be tendency for ethnic minorities to 'turn inwards' and seek support from their own ethic community as a response to racism. Thus, religion and culture may be strengthened ad they become key sources of identity and support.
11. Winston James (1993) suggests the experience of racism unified the culture and identity of African-Caribbeans in the UK. There was cultural differences based on their island of origin and may have also been divided based on the darkness of skin, a hierarchy of colour imposed by colonialism. A shared oppositional culture grew, organised around the label 'black' as a resistance to racism.
12. Ethnic identities may be becoming more hybrid, as all people are influenced by each other's cultures and by the media.
13. Modood (1997) found generational difference over the issue of identity, second-generation ethnic minorities from both African-Caribbean and Asian background felt much more British than their parents.
14. Postnmodernists may argue that in a globalised and media-saturated society, identity is all about choice - everyone can create their own identity. The hybridity means ethnicity is becoming less clear-cut and less significant. However, some disagree saying that ethnicity and race are still sources of discrimination and hugely affect identity.
Gender
1. Gender identity is fluid and changing. It is socially constructed. The way women are seen and the expectations surrounding their appearance, behaviour and roles have all changed in the last 100 years. Male identity is also changing however. Traditionally there were clear ideas of what was meant by femininity and masculinity, but today there are many ways to be a woman or a man.
2. Biological View
  1. Wilson (1975) says the need to reproduces requires men to be more promiscuous. Women, however, need to nurture one child and stay faithful to the father f their child to esnsure his help in its upbringing.
3. Functionalist View
  1. Parsons (1955) says females have and 'expressive role'. This is natural and based on their child bearing role, but its reinforced by socialisation. Men have an 'instrumental role; that of the breadwinner and protector. This is also natural, based on their physical strengthm and reinforced through socialisation. These roles are functional for the family.
  2. Most sociologists argue that gender identities are socially constructed, learned through socialisation but also changeable.
  3. Gender roles gives us collective consciousness.
4. Oakley (1981)
  1. Ann Oakley is a feminist who argues that gender roles are socially constructed through socialisation,
  2. Manipulation: Encouraging behaviour that is seen as stereotypically acceptable for the child's gender and discouraging behaviour that is not considered the norm.
  3. Canalisation: Parents channelling their child's interests into toys, games and activities that are considered the more for their gender.
  4. Verbal Appellation: Giving children nicknames or pet names that reinforce gender expectations.
  5. Different Activities: Encourage children to participate in activities around the home that reinforce stereotypes.
5. Social Construction of Gender Identities
  1. Feminists argue that gender identity is socially constructed by patriarchal society.
  2. Hey (1997) studied friendship groups among teenage girls and looked at the power the female peer group has over girl's behaviour, and how the norms of the female peer group are rooted in patriarchy and expectations of how girls should be.
  3. Mac an Ghaill (1994) looked at how boys learn to be mean in their peer groups at school, policing their own and other's sexuality. Hyper-masculinity was the main source of identity for the 'macho lads' identified by Mac an Ghaill, who valued the '3Fs'
6. Femininities
  1. There are a range of feminine identities in contemporary UK including the traditional and the less traditional; housewife and mother but also breadwinner and single mother. However, today, feminine identity is related to a passive or submissive role, associated with a lack of self-confidence and ambition. Feminists argue that this is learned through socialisation, and there is evidence to suggest that this may be changing.
  2. 'Laddishness' refers to masculine behaviour, typically involving sportiness, hardness, hanging out and not making an effort at school. Jackson (2006) found that some 'ladettes' also spent time drinking, swearing and disrupting lessons, for the fear of doing otherwise and being considered unpopular or 'uncool'. Denscombe (2001) looked at the increase in female risk-taking behaviour as being related to a 'ladette' culture, where young women want to be seen as anything but the stereotype of a woman.
7. Masculinities
  1. Connell (1995) argued there are a range of masculine identities, but the hegemonic masculinity (dominant, macho, aggressive) is the most common and the one which is reinforced most strongly. Other forms such as subordinate masculinity, which he links to homosexual males, and marginalised masculinity, which he inks to unemplpyed men, are present but not fully accepted as 'real' masculinity.
  2. Mac an Ghaill (1994) used the term 'crisis of masculinity' to refer to the insecurity felt by working class men. There has been a loss of the 'breadwinner' identity with the decline of traditional male industries.
  3. Canaan (1996) researched working class men in Wolverhampton. She questioned both those who were employed and those in long term unemployment and found interesting differences in their views of masculinity. Men who had jobs gave fairly predictable responses relating to fighting,d drinking and sexual conquests. However, the unemployed men said having a job was the most important thing, and that they felt emasculated due to their unemployment.
  4. Hegemonic masculinity and aggressive masculinity. Hegemonic is socially desirable (middle class).
8. Gender supports capitalism. Women reproduce, maintain and support capitalism because of gender role socialisation.
Class
1. A group who share a similar economic and social situation.
2. It will clearly affect the economic circumstances of an individuals upbringing, and related issues such as housing, health and schooling.
3. A social class develops similar norms and values, cultures and lifestyles.
4. Class identity can be seen as a product of socialisation, started in the family, and related to cultural characteristics such as education, occupation, lifestyle and taste.
5. Bourdieu (1984, 1986)
  1. Class fractions determined by varying degrees of social, economic and cultural capital.
  2. The ruling class has the power to shape which attributes are valued, and are in a position to pass on capital to their children.
  3. Cultural Capital: the knowledge, attitudes skills, education and advantages that a person has, which gives them higher status.
  4. Economic Capital: economic resources (cash, assets)
  5. Social Capital: resources based on group membership, relationships, influences and support.
  6. Cultural capital is the most significant for Bourdieu. Parents transmit attitudes and knowledge needed to be successful. Those with high cultural capital will be in a position to accumulate other forms of capital as well.
  7. The power of the ruling class that allows them to define the knowledge and skills that are valued, ensuring they are in the best position to aquire them, giving them an unfair advantage
6. When judging a social class you make look at a persons money/income, their lifestyle/leisure/hobbies and their occupation.
7. The upperclass are those with inherited wealth. They operate a 'social closure' meaning their education and leisure is seperated and partially invisible to the rest of the population. This group is waning in numbers and power, and the new 'super rich' (achieved) status are now much more significant.
8. The middle class are the majority of the population. They are associated with those with professional or managerial careers. They are likely to have been university-educated and own their own homes. However, these features apply to more of the population as the access to them has spread. Fox (2004) highlights the differences within the middle class (upper middles, middle middles, lower middles) It is unlikely that everyone who's middle class shares a similar experience or identity.
9. The working class was traditionally made up of manual workers and those with trades. Hutton (1995) says the decline in trade union memberships and the manufacturing sector has eroded the working class identity. The working class are often romanticised as hard working and straight talking,. Skeggs (1997) studied working class women who were embarrassed by how others judged them due to their working class background. Women made strenuouse effort to show they were 'respectable'.
10. The underclass is a controversial term and is unlikely that many people identify themselves as a member. It was firstly used who identify those who lacked opportunities and were at the very bottom of society. It is now used in a negative way to describe those who rely on benefits and are blamed for their situation due to their own choices. Governments are unsurprisingly concerned about this group and groups such as NEETs (young people not in education, employment or training). These groups are portrayed in a negative way in the media on shows such as 'The Jeremy Kyle Show' , 'Shamless' and 'Benefits Street'.
11. Pakulski and Waters (1996) suggest a shift from production to consumption in the definition of identities - now defined by what we buy, not what we do. Offe (1985) says fewer individuals share a common, unifying experience of full-time work which used to shape the culture of social class. We are all able to create our own identities regardless of the social class of our family or job we have at one time.
12. Contemporary UK gives choices and opportunities to everyone. The media also gives access to an endless range of information and cultural experiences, breaking down many social and class-based barriers that may have used to exist.
13. Not everyone would agree that society today is as class-free as it seems. Social class background remains the most significant indicator of outcomes such as education and there is a lot of evidence suggesting a difference in culture and lifestyle between people from different social and economic backgrounds.
Age
1. Only aspect of identity for which we will all experience the changing effects.
2. Age is often looked at as a stage in the life course. The problem with looked at these stages is that the ages at which they start and end vary and individuals will also differ.
3. Childhood
  1. In some cultures, childhood is not seen as a period of innocence, dependence or vulnerability. Instead children would be working and sometimes fighting as armed soldiers. Marriage may be considered at the age of 12/13 for girls.
  2. We have a contradictory view with childhood in the UK. In the media, children are portrayed as either vulnerable victims or delinquents.
  3. It is a held view that children 'grow up' more quickly today but actually until the mid-twentieth century, childhood lasted for a shorter time. People were usually working and even having families of their own before their eighteenth birthday.
  4. Postman (1982)
    1. Childhood emerged only when the spread of literacy enabled adults to better shield children from various aspects of adult life, so the 'innocent' child was created.
    2. The emergence and spread of media has brought about a decline in childhood and threatens, to bring about its disappearance.
4. Youth
  1. Youth is socially constructed as a period of transition from childhood to adulthood and a time of rebellion/resistance.
  2. Some cultures have no concept of youth, childhood ends one day and adulthood begins.
  3. Margaret Mead (1928) argued 'storm and stress' associated with youth is culturally specific and not found in all cultures.
5. Young adulthood and middle age
  1. Young adulthood is normally characterised by career and family. Most people form relationships, have children and establish their careers, often moving into their own homes and becoming independent.
  2. Middle age associated with those in their forties and fifties.
  3. Bradley (1996)
    1. A higher status than youth or old age, middle aged people are running the country and hold power at work.
    2. Also seen as a negative time, as 'youth' is lost and old age come closer. It is sometimes associated with negative ideas, such as 'mid life crisis' and 'empty nest syndrome'
6. Old Age
  1. UK culture admires youth and the beauty of youthful bodies. In contrast, ageing bodies represent ugliness and degeneration. Older people have been socialised into this view themselves.
  2. Corner (1999) The language used by older participants about their own identity was mostly negative, reflecting that used by media and popular culture. They described the problems of old age for society and the 'burden' if the ageing population. They were concerned with becoming a 'burden' themselves and the dominant stereotype they present was of being a time on ill-health and dependency in later life.
7. Hockey and James (1993) - Growing Up and Growing Old
  1. Children are seen to lack status of person-hood and are separated from the public, adult world and are confined to 'specialist places' for children, such as schools. They are the opposite of adults - dependent, innocent, vulnerable - and needing care and control.
  2. Link age and childhood and argue they are socially constructed in a similar way - lost 'person hood' . Terms such as 'gaga' are related to babies, and the elderly are also seen as helpless and needing care. This concept is called 'infantilisation'
  3. In their research in a retirement home, clients were treated like children and their privacy was taken away. They were assumed to be quite innocent and this created a self-fulfilling prophecy. They argued in most cases is was not based on medical needs.
8. Featherstone and Hepworth (2005) argue the media's images of ageing, which create neaative stereotypes, can also create new identities.
Sexuality
1. Area of social life that society, and especially the media, seems obsessed with.
2. Sexual identity tends to be more significant for those who are not hetreosexual.
3. Weeks (1987)
  1. not many would say 'I am hetrosexual' in relation to their identity.
  2. 'I am gay' or 'I am lesbian' makes a statement about belonging and your relationship to dominant sexual codes.
4. McIntosh (1996) - The Homosexual Role
  1. In western cultures, the role of homosexual male involves certain expectations of cultural characteristics.
  2. The homosexual role may include effeminate mannerisms, higher voice and attention to appearance.
  3. Once a male accepted the label or identity of 'homosexual' he will start to fulfill these expectations, so the label creates the behaviour.
  4. Married men who see themselves as 'straight' but still admit to attractions to males, but do not exhibit any other 'signs' of homosexuality.
  5. Males she studied who were 'out' did fulfill all of the expectations of the homosexual role.
5. Historically, homosexuality was considered a mental illness that needed to be cured and even a criminal offence in the UK.
  1. Attitudes have changed significantly in British society over the last 50 years, but in some parts of the world homosexuality is still illegal, and homosexuals are till denied basic human rights in some places.
6. Reiss (1961)
  1. Young male prostitutes regarded themselves as hetrosexual, despite having sex with men for money, and they actively despised the men as a way of netrualising the behavioud
7. Plummer (1996) - partially supports McIntosh
  1. Homosexuality is a process and discussing the 'homosexual career' where a male who has accepted the label ill seek out others and join a subculture, in which stereotypical characteristics become the norm.
8. It is not actually sexual attraction that creates the 'homosexual' acceptance and internalisation of the identity of 'homosexual'
9. Rich (1980)
  1. Women's sexuality is oppressed by men in patriarchal society, through marriage, sexual violence and the sexual objectification of women.
  2. Most women are not necessarily inherently hetrosexual, but that this is forced upon them, and lesbian existence is quite distinct from homosexuality in men.
10. Cross-cultural evidence suggests that a distinct homosexual identity is not apparant in all cultures, and that a sexual encounter between two people of the same sex is not uncommon, but also not necessarily defined as 'homosexual'.
11. In the UK, attitudes to homosexuality have, at least publicly, changed enormously in the last 30 years, which is likely to have a big impact on sexuality and identity.
12. Homosexuality is no longer classified a 'condition'; ages of consent for sexual intercourse was equalised in 2000, and the Equality Act 2010 makes it unlawful to discriminate against any individual on the grounds of sexuality.

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Identity: A social identity means how your identity is shown in society, and seen by others.

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