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How is identity formed, a look at some of the theories

Decent Essays
Identity can be defined as 'how I see myself and how others see me. ' (Questioning Identity. 2000. p7) An identity involves a sense of belonging, an individual chooses to identify with a group and actively engages in doing so, showing agency. This sense of belonging involves being the 'same ' and recognising that others are 'different '. An individual can have multiple identities e.g. gender, supporting a football team; all of these identities make up the individual. Structures such as gender and class, influence, encourage or prevent individuals from identifying with certain groups and therefore shaping the identity. The class structure always involves some degree of inequality, usually involving material recourses. There are two main…show more content…
It has been said by many that class is becoming more diverse with wider reference points within the structures. Some sociologists have gone as far as to say that 'class is dead ' (Pakulski and Waters, 1996) although a survey in 1996 showed that two thirds of those interviewed felt that 'there is one law for the rich and one for the poor ' (Adonis and Pollard, 1998). One school of thought that is moving away from the original ideas of class is the idea of
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