Preview

Identity

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1872 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Identity
How do you believe Identity is formed?

Identity cannot be formed and defined in one category; it is defined in many ways. Our Identity is formed by our race, culture, language, belief and environment. Sarah Morris described,” Every thing around what and us shapes who we became we believe about other and ourselves.” (1) In the book Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria? (2) Shows that identity is formed by the following category: objects possessions, creations, interests, friends, family, work hobbies, practices, habits, choices, values, beliefs, appearance and ethnicity. I agree that identity is formed in the entire category list above together to shape up who we are. However finding who we are is not easy but the more we find out about our self the better we know who we are.

To begin with, identity is basically the question “ Who am I?” Tatum, 2003, p.18, himself writes, “ The answer depends in large part on who the world around me says I am.” (3) I think this is true because people view other people feedback and suggestion to help us learn more about who we are. One category that affects who we are is our race. Parham, Thomas A, Helms, Janet E article The Influence of Black Students racial identitudes on preferences for counselor’s race writes, “ Racial self-designation (e.g., black, Negro, Afro-American) was not associated with preferences for either Black or white counselors.” In other words, everyone defined themselves differently, and by knowing what race you are it will affect your life. Another example is when you apply for a job or anything; there is a race box where you have to put yourself in one category. The race you check may affect you from getting accepted or not. Therefore, one way identity could be defined is your race.

Another category that defined your identity is culture. Culture identity is a person’s background and how you can refer to a person. This also means where you are from, what language

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Identity is something that defines an individual. There are many different aspects that help a person understand and shape their identity. For example, their race, gender, family, personality, and culture are all things that could make up a person's identity. Identity can either be assigned or can be chosen. Personality and race are two different aspects that define a person's identity. While one is the identity you choose and the other is one you assigned the day you're born. Both of these identities bring many obstacles in life just like many people, I faced those obstacles as well. It is important to understand how the intersection of identities such as personality and race can create challenges.…

    • 1620 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The meaning of identity is not easily defined. Identity generally refers to the stable defining characteristics of a person that makes them an individual.…

    • 1226 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The identity plays a key role in our lives, it represents how we humans think of ourselves. Identity is a person's conception and expression of their own and others' individuality or group affiliations such as cultural Identity. Identity of a person is the characteristics that distinguish that person from others. To put it simply, is meant to find out who you are.…

    • 459 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Six Degrees Of Separation

    • 1004 Words
    • 5 Pages

    There are many ways to understand the term, but overall it is the concept of who we are. For example, Martin and Nakayama define identity as statements or terms we use to identify ourselves or others use to identify us (Martin). These identities we hold, or others hold for us, are created in part by our individual personality, in part by the groups we are members of, and in part by the others judging us, or outside forces like the media. (Martin). There are even different perspectives on how identity is constructed. The one I will focus on is the Interpretive perspective, which believes identity is formed in communication with others (Martin). Two ways identity is formed are ascription and avowal. Ascription is when others classify you or assign characteristics to your identity, while avowal is when you do this…

    • 1004 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Identity is what defines us as a person. Everyone one earth has a unique identity. I made a collage of images called an identikit. The images on the identikit represent what kind of person we are or a side of us we want to show people. My identikit shows the hip-hop side of me. My identikit has images such as a break-dancer, which shows the power of hip-hop and headphones, which represents the soul of hip-hop. There are three assumptions that come to mind when finding your identity. The first one is that we are born with an identity, for example our gender shows what person we are. The second one is that our culture shapes our identity. The third is if the identity was shaped by the personal choices you made in your life. All three…

    • 309 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    or personality of an individual”, which is undoubtedly true. Firstly there is culture, in other…

    • 2150 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Identity

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “We know what we are, but not what we may be” (William Shakespeare). Identity is something that people create for themselves. They are born with certain characteristics, but they can create their own identity. An example of how a person can loose their identity is shown by Elie throughout the book Night. On the other hand, Taylor Swift is a massive star, but she stays true to her identity throughout her career. An example of how a person can change their identity is shown by Michael Oher from The Blind Side. Here, he was able to have his identity changed for the better with the help of a woman and her family.…

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Best Essays

    Lillie defines Identity as formed through experiences of, and identification with, certain events, rituals, social institutions and symbols of culture(s) in which an individual was raised and lives. In short, identity is not a given or static; it is an evolving construction within each of us. (Lillie, 1998)…

    • 1732 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Identity: the fact of being who or what a person or thing has. Identity is something every living human has. Identity is who you are as a person. As a person what are you. I as a person have gone through almost anything I could possibly go through. Anything thrown at me, I have overcome. I’ve gone through growing up with divorce, switching schools often, and having little money. No matter how hard things have gotten I've found a way to find the good. My identity is a fighter.…

    • 861 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    What is identity and how is it that we are socially defined by this one word? This term is so much more complex than the simple idea people give to it, the idea that identity is what makes us who we are. Individuals are made of what makes them themselves, nothing else. Our values, ideas, and beliefs make us who we are. Certain factors that also make a person who they are usually include their families, cultures, and people that they associate with. To try to centralize someone’s identity is impossible because no one has just one thing that makes them who they are. Creating one’s identity is a continuous labyrinth of ideas, likes, dislikes, and other factors that somehow end at one person and affect their whole character. Having read Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama over the summer, I found out how he formed his true identity through the knowledge he gained of the different events and episodes of his life. Some people find out who they are at a very young age, but for others it becomes a constant struggle to find out the true person that they are; and even after finding it, it isn’t easy to sustain. Your true identity is something that can never be taken from you; it is yours and yours alone. Barack’s story is not unlike mine, yet he has had to go through a lot more than I did, but we all have our own path and our own obstacles to overcome.…

    • 2809 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Social Identity Theory

    • 1184 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Within the discipline of Psychology there has been much research focused upon the complex issue of Identity. Several approaches have been developed but this essay will discuss two of the more prominent theories - Psychosocial and Social Identity Theory - and explain how these have developed our understanding of the issue.…

    • 1184 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Identity can be explained in many ways, maybe some people can say that identity is alike to your personality. Either you're known to be someone great in this world or known just by family, friends, neighbors and they can explained a personality of you. Your identity is up to you, you create it, you do what's best for yourself to become someone, to be someone in this world. Educate yourself that's the best way to really find your true calling, there's a reason why they have so much to offer in high schools. They show clubs, sports, the schools even have ROP classes, point is they set us up to find…

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Identity

    • 1573 Words
    • 7 Pages

    My parents had emigrated from Samoa to New Zealand to make a better life for them; settling into a foreign country, was a bit over whelming for my mother, learning a new language was frustrating, but in time, she managed, developing new skills that would help her to maintain a lifestyle here and also her obligations back home. My mother also found the culture particular difficult, trying hard to adapt in this new environment. My mum raised in a society where tradition and religion values were strong in her upbringing, there seemed to be none here in her newfound community. My mother had to learn to adapt to the change. My father on the other hand had no problems at all, leaving the values that he once lived by meant nothing to him now, as his newfound passion was working and spending his money on alcohol which lead to physically abusing my mother.…

    • 1573 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Language and Identity

    • 871 Words
    • 3 Pages

    First of all, Identity is the belief as “who we are and how we are” which we all have as individuals and it is based on many fundamental factors such as Ethnic group,…

    • 871 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Identity

    • 6730 Words
    • 27 Pages

    ‘Where are you really from?’: representation, identity and power in the fieldwork experiences of a South Asian diasporic…

    • 6730 Words
    • 27 Pages
    Powerful Essays