The Concept of Identity PDF

25/10/2024 The concept of Identity 1 What is identity? 2 Johanna Bartolo 1  25/10/2024 Identity...

25/10/2024 The concept of Identity 1 What is identity? 2 Johanna Bartolo 1  25/10/2024 Identity How individuals or groups see and define themselves. How others see and define them too. (reputation). Jenkins (2008): “identity involves knowing who we are, knowing who others are, them knowing who we are, us knowing who they think we are”. Not the same as personality. 3 Personality is about psychological aspects of a person’s character (whether s/he is introverted or extroverted, tense or laid-back, selfish or generous. Personality tends to be more fixed. Identity is more fluid and changeable. 4 Johanna Bartolo 2  25/10/2024 Why is identity important? By establishing our own identities and learning about the identities of other individuals and groups we come to know what makes us like some people and different from others. This helps form our social connections. 5 Social solidarity Very important in society – creating social ties A sense of belongingness in the group/society (inclusion; feeling part of) 6 Johanna Bartolo 3  25/10/2024 Emile Durkheim: solidarity vs. anomie Solidarity is so needed, otherwise, individuals would be prone to anomie This explains why individuals sometimes commit suicide. 7 Durkheim: anomie A condition whereby norms and values are breaking down Anomie is normlessness and disintegration in society Uncertainty; unclear expectation of how to behave socially Absence of norms in society – due to social instability Family, education and religion can strengthen unity in society, thus preventing anomie. 8 Johanna Bartolo 4  25/10/2024 Lawler (2014) Identity rests on the idea of marking out similarities with and differences with others. We share identities which make us similar to others, such as being human, men or women, British, black or white. Identity also involves a personal notion of what makes people feel unique, special and different from others: our individual uniqueness. 9 Lawler (2014) None of us has actually the same experiences in life – even identical twins to dot share every aspect of life, and the way we regard our real selves is viewed through the lenses of early socialisation which form or self-understanding of who we are. 10 Johanna Bartolo 5  25/10/2024 Lawler (2014) Identity is important because we recognize who we and other are and were. How we see ourselves – will influence the friends we have, whom we will marry or live with, and the communities or groups to which we relate. 11 If people did not have an identity, they would lack the means of identifying with or relating to their peer group, their neighbours, their communities. Identity fits individuals into the society in which they are. 12 Johanna Bartolo 6  25/10/2024 13 George Herbert Mead (1934) Symbolic Interactionism His most important work is Mind, Self and Society. Explains social action in terms of the meanings that individuals give to them. Studied the “self”: the self is made up of 2: I and ME 14 Johanna Bartolo 7  25/10/2024 George Herbert Mead: The I Represents the spontaneous, unpredictable, and creative aspect of the self. It is the part of the individual that responds to the environment impulsively, without thinking of societal expectations or norms. It is the subjective part of the self, reacting in the moment. The "I" is active and reflects how we act before self- reflection kicks in. 15 George Herbert Mead: The ME It is the socialized aspect of the self, which reflects how one thinks they are viewed by others and how they conform to norms and rules. The "Me" acts after self-reflection and considers the impact of actions on others or how others might perceive them. It’s the internalized version of societal expectations. 16 Johanna Bartolo 8  25/10/2024 George Herbert Mead (1934) Viewed the self as a balance between the "I" and the "Me.“ The "I" allows for individuality and innovation, while the "Me" ensures conformity and social cohesion. The self is dynamic, constantly evolving as we balance these two aspects in social interactions. Saw the self as a social construct that emerges through communication and interaction with others. The "I" and the "Me" are both crucial for developing a full sense of self within society. 17 George Herbert Mead (1934) “The self is something which has a development; it is not initially there at birth but arises in the process of social experiences and activity”. Formed from social interactions: symbolically thanks to language. 18 Johanna Bartolo 9  25/10/2024 Identity of individuals and groups Depends on personal choice but also the responses and attitudes of others. Individuals are not free to adopt any identity they like, and factors like social class, ethic group, and gender are likely to influence how others see them. 19 20 Johanna Bartolo 10  25/10/2024 21 Howard Becker American sociologist - Symbolic Interactionist focused on deviance and labelling “Outsiders” (1963) – provides the foundation for labelling theory. Labelling theory: how the self-identity and behaviour of individuals may be determined or influenced by the terms used to describe or classify them. It is associated with the concepts of self-fulfilling prophecy and stereotyping. 22 Johanna Bartolo 11  25/10/2024 Howard Becker Speaks of a master status Master status: The social position that is the primary identifying characteristic of an individual – dominant and overriding It is defined as "a status that has exceptional importance for social identity, often shaping a person's entire life“. Some identities can take the form of a master status – a dominant identity that overrides all other aspects of a person’s identity. 23 An example An Asian woman, a senior manager, a ballet dancer, a mother. She may not wish to be identified primarily as an Asian or as a woman but as a senior manager. However, if others continue to see her first and foremost as an Asian woman based on her gender and ethnicity, then she may find it difficult to assert her chosen identity. 24 Johanna Bartolo 12  25/10/2024 25 26 Johanna Bartolo 13  25/10/2024 27 28 Johanna Bartolo 14  25/10/2024 Individuals may have multiple identities asserting different identities in different circumstances. An individual may for instance, define herself primarily as a Muslim in her family or community, as a manager at work, as a lesbian in her sexual life, or as a design-drug-user in her peer group. It is possible for individuals to assert different identities or impressions of themselves in different social situations. 29 Identity as fluid: Identities may also change over time. As people grow older, they may begin to see themselves as different from when they were younger and may well be viewed differently by others. 30 Johanna Bartolo 15  25/10/2024 The social causes and construction of identity 31 Social construction A social invention (Not necessarily right and true) Social phenomena only exist because people have constructed them and given these phenomena particular labels. 32 Johanna Bartolo 16  25/10/2024 Lawler (2014) Identity is a social and collective process. Identity is rooted in society – socially caused and socially constructed – formed in interaction. People reflect on and interpret what happens to them in their everyday social lives. These interpretations are put together to form an overall ‘plot’ ie. identity. 33 Giddens and Sutton (2013) Identities are a combination of individual or personal factors, and of social influences. There is a distinction between primary and secondary identities. 34 Johanna Bartolo 17  25/10/2024 Giddens and Sutton (2013) Primary identities: formed in early life during primary socialization through the family and the close community. It includes gender and ethnic identities. Secondary identities: linked to secondary socialization. Built on those established by primary socialization, but also involves the built up of new identities related to what one can achieve and adopt (school/work). These are fluid and changeable. 35 36 Johanna Bartolo 18  25/10/2024 Bauman (2004) Postmodernist There is a growing insecurity around identities, and formerly fixed and stable identities arising from factors like gender, class, nationality and ethnicity have become more fluid, unstable fragmented and changeable. 37 Different types of identities Identities can be of different types: - Individual or personal - Social identity - Collective identity - Multiple identities - Stigmatized or ‘spoiled’ identities 38 Johanna Bartolo 19  25/10/2024 Individual or personal identity Woodward (2000) refers to individual identity as that related to ‘Who am I’. This refers to how individuals define themselves. Id card, NI number, passport, fingerprints, DNA, signature. The personal histories, friends and relationships and one’s own understanding of who they really are as individuals. 39 Social Identity Defines individuals in relation to the social group with which they are identified and to which they belong. Also refers to the social roles built from relationships. (e.g.: man or woman, ethnic groups (Gozitans, Scots), national groups, religious groups (Sikhs), lesbians or gays. 40 Johanna Bartolo 20  25/10/2024 Collective Identity An identity shared by a social group Involves elements of both personal and social identities but differs as it involves considerable elements of choice by individuals in that they actively choose to identify with a group or adopt the identity associated with it. I am a supporter of AC Milan (Milanist) I am a feminist I am an environmentalist. 41 Multiple identities People have several identities rather than just one. Individuals may assert different selves in different circumstances. E.g: at home one may assert the identity of a good son, and a good Muslim, at school a good citizen, in their personal relation a gay, in their peer group a Goth etc. 42 Johanna Bartolo 21  25/10/2024 Stigmatized or ‘spoiled’ identities Stigma: any undesirable physical or social characteristic that is seen as abnormal or unusual in some way. It can be seen as demeaning, and stops an individual being fully accepted by society. 43 Goffman (1990) Stigma (1963) Speaks of a stigmatized identity: an identity that is in some way undesirable or demeaning, excluding people from full acceptance in society. Stigmatized identities can face serious consequences with others treating them with contempt, poking fun at them … discrimination. 44 Johanna Bartolo 22  25/10/2024 Having a stigmatized identity early always mean that any attempts made by individuals to present an alternative ‘normal’ impression of themselves will fail. This alternative ‘failed’ identity is called a spoiled identity. 45 46 Johanna Bartolo 23