Minority Identity
David Vitullo
Professor Sheen
POLS 306
10/22/11
Identity can be based on many different factors including, but not limited to; race, color, political presence and participation, and culture. The way one identifies themselves can be shaped by their political ideology, their group identity, their partisan identification, their voting behavior and their interest in group activities. However the way one person may see themselves may not be the way they are perceived by others. Ascribed identity can be described as the way that society, or other people impose on you. A factor that is heavily involved in shaping ascribed identity is stereotyping. Stereotyping is defined as assign a set of particular attributes to a person based on presumed membership of a certain group. Stereotypes usually involves simplifying a complex situation but have proved to be very effective in shaping what people in a particular group think of themselves. For example, in “Can We All Get Along?” a survey of black people showed that two thirds of the group surveyed believed that they shared a common political fate with other blacks in the United States. This shows the cohesion that occurs within groups of people based on something as simple as skin color. I use the term black because the book states that it describes an identity and status based on color. However, this group cohesion has proven by political research to strengthen a persons interest in political participation. The more that an individual identifies with members in their group, the more likely they are to take interest in candidates and policies that further the advancement of their group. Minority status is not just based on a numerical scale of how many people, whether it be whites, blacks, Latinos, Asians etc. are accounted for, but is classified more by the benefits and privileges offered to different groups. Historically, minority groups have been exploited by majority groups for economic gain. For example, the
Professor Sheen
POLS 306
10/22/11
Identity can be based on many different factors including, but not limited to; race, color, political presence and participation, and culture. The way one identifies themselves can be shaped by their political ideology, their group identity, their partisan identification, their voting behavior and their interest in group activities. However the way one person may see themselves may not be the way they are perceived by others. Ascribed identity can be described as the way that society, or other people impose on you. A factor that is heavily involved in shaping ascribed identity is stereotyping. Stereotyping is defined as assign a set of particular attributes to a person based on presumed membership of a certain group. Stereotypes usually involves simplifying a complex situation but have proved to be very effective in shaping what people in a particular group think of themselves. For example, in “Can We All Get Along?” a survey of black people showed that two thirds of the group surveyed believed that they shared a common political fate with other blacks in the United States. This shows the cohesion that occurs within groups of people based on something as simple as skin color. I use the term black because the book states that it describes an identity and status based on color. However, this group cohesion has proven by political research to strengthen a persons interest in political participation. The more that an individual identifies with members in their group, the more likely they are to take interest in candidates and policies that further the advancement of their group. Minority status is not just based on a numerical scale of how many people, whether it be whites, blacks, Latinos, Asians etc. are accounted for, but is classified more by the benefits and privileges offered to different groups. Historically, minority groups have been exploited by majority groups for economic gain. For example, the
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