When you think of the word family what comes to mind? It's a rhetorical question. When playing any type of sport you discover that with joining a team comes this special brotherhood one that is gained a family atmosphere. When joining a basketball team there are five starting position and one key position off of the bench to have an imprint of success you need to have commodity and togetherness.…
In Bonnie Tsui’s, Choose Your Own Identity, she discusses the flexibility that lays within racial identity. In Tsui’s essays she states that even though our race has such a huge roll in the way we make our political and societal decisions, racial identity has become fluid. In her mind, we are making a come back and prioritizing the importance of who we identify as, rather than focusing on what we are. In Tsui’s own words, “In a strange way, the renewed fluidity of racial identity is a homecoming of sorts, to a time before race - and racism - was institutionalized.” (Tsui, 2)…
Growing up in an old fashioned household with immigrant parents from the Middle East, I didn’t hear anything about anything that wasn’t traditional in relation to sexuality. I didn’t know anything of becoming transgendered. As I got older I learned more about it, and the reasons why people don’t feel comfortable as the person they were born. Watching “Becoming Chaz” showed me even more insight on the topic, showing his personal perception, and his journey changing from a woman to a man. After watching this film, I do believe that everyone is entitled to making their own decisions for what will make them happy, and I do agree that there should be a name for this difference in a person’s mind.…
After carefully reading each of the articles, I was able to grasp a better understanding of gender identity and the differences in male and female behavior. In the reading, Rachel Lowry explains how millennials are suffering greatly from an identity crisis. Although our digital identity is fragmented, Lowry suggests that our online personas mask our social identities. Deborah Blum explains the sex difference and behavior that a person undergoes in everyday life. Blum’s thesis suggests that a person’s childhood can reflect on how they will become as young adults. In Kevin Jennings' American Dream, he discusses some of the major cultural artifacts in that formed his social identity. Jennings had difficulty growing up as a homosexual in a conservative,…
An individual has no direct influence with the creation of his or her identity, however, identity is a factor of life that is constantly being added onto by the means of the environment, society, and life experiences. In the readings, “Why Is Everyone Focused on Zuckerberg’s Hoodie?” by Somini Sengupta, Alice Walker’s “Oppressed Hair Puts a Ceiling on the Brain” and “What Goes Through Your Mind: On Nice Parties and Casual Racism” by Nicole Chung ; society, personal barriers, and race had apparent effects on each respective author’s views on identity. Identity is not an exact formula, it is instead a constant battle between oneself and the outside world.…
It is important to note that most generally consider intersectionality as the convergence of two minority identities. The following analysis accepts this view and thus recognizes the Black gay man as an intersectional identity and not the White gay man. The experiences of the Black gay man are therefore the primary topic within the…
As a child I believed that someone’s physical appearance made them “different” from the next person, but that is not true. I could list plenty of things that describe my physical aspects as an African-American female. My skin is brown , my hair is kinky, and my lips are full. Unfortunately, those characteristics does not technically make me “different” from any other African-American female. Diversity can refer to someone's economic or geographical background, religion, and even their sexual orientation. In this manner, being African-American did not make me who I am, but being who I am made me African-American. People see me as an African-American female, but I am more than that. I am African-American. I am a female. I am homosexual.…
In order to understand how an individual constructs their identity, there has to be uniformity in the measurement of identity development through models. There is a lot of literature that is written on this subject. Biracial identity construct models have changed throughout history, reflecting…
I had read an essay titled “Act Like A Girl” by Dominique Freeman. The essay explores the issue of gender roles in our society and families. Freeman tells her readers of events in her life when her mother would force ideas of what a girl should look like and act like upon her. Freeman considered herself a total tomboy, which is the opposite of what her mother wanted her daughter to be. I know of many cases when women are not being accepted as who they really are because they do not fit into the stereotype of a “woman.” I had the idea of getting a male’s perspective of the issue. I wanted to interview a male who has experienced similar experiences with not being accepted because he was not the stereotypical “man.”…
There is a difference between a “transgender,” “transsexual,” and a “non-gender conforming” individual. A transgender is a person whose self-identity differs from their ascribed status. To clarify, an ascribed status is something that is assigned to a person at birth which cannot be altered such as skin color— in this case— sex; meanwhile, a transsexual is a person who willingly undergoes plastic surgery to actually alter their birth sex. A non-gender conforming person is someone who does not abide from society’s stereotypical views of how they should appear or behave based on what their ascribed status was originally. For example, in society the average female should appear as delicate as a porcelain doll with hair below shoulder length, pastel…
Categorizing or erasing an individual’s identity in today’s society based off of gender, religion, race, as well as sexuality is a common occurrence. It is difficult to grasp the concept of a society that is completely devoid of robbing an individual’s humanity or even falling victim to the process of stereotyping. Although, change is a must, will people follow through to obliterate the everyday stereotypes or fall blind to the assumptions that lurk through our society? Woman everyday must leap through the rings of insularity that shape our society’s expectations of how a woman “should be.” Therefore, women all have multiple identities that are shaped through either systems of power or oppression…
When someone hears the word “gay” or “queer”, they most often think of the middle class, Caucasian gay male. For my research proposal, I plan on studying what is very often overlooked in queer identity: the struggle of queer identity in the African American gay male. I am interested in studying this because I grew up knowing I was gay in a small, middle class town in rural America. I wish to argue how gay African Americans are restricted by Black stereotypes, gay stereotypes, acceptance with stipulations in the gay community and black community, racism in the gay community, homophobia in the Black community, perceptions of blackness and masculinity attitudes toward homosexuality and their effect on gay Black men living openly, homosexuality and religion (the black church), and media perceptions of Black homosexuality. The majority of the black community stated they wished to live restriction free lives. They are not able to fully be themselves in their daily lives and often have to assimilate to be accepted.…
The book by Jose Muñoz starts off by explaining the concept of Disidentification – illustrated by the play of Marga Gomez, who is a female playwright and a queer of color person. (Muñoz, 1999, p. 3). The author also talks of identity as something that does not exist easily – at least not for the sexual minority, but, on the contrary, is easily accessible for heterosexual individuals since even identity is largely rooted in stereotype. In fact, a large aspect of the discussion revolves around identity and its formation of the personality or the sense of Self. Muñoz mentions that most of pillars of queer theory come from experiences or studies directed towards white lesbians and gay men, but very rarely towards queer people of color. (p. 10).…
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.…
identity, and sexuality in general, are at the forefront of society issues. Naturally this is…