Identity, And Social Identity

My parents were persistently working, day in and day out to support the life they had. If they didn't have work as strenuous as they did, the lifestyle they tried to obtain would not be possible, which is why it made them a "wage-slave." Yes, the working-class is a part of the middle class, but in reality, the working-class can be a challenging class to be a part of, due to being on the verge of poverty. Individuals are doing what it takes to keep their head afloat above the water to get by and not crumble down to poverty. For that reason, I believe that's why there are so many working-class individuals. Middle-class people don't want to live in poverty but being wealthy is a difficult task to achieve, so they do the bare minimum to just get by and not to be classified as part of poverty and that's how they land in the context of the middle-class but rather more as a

Throughout the ages, humans from all over the world have created and accepted honorable cultures which they feel a strong connection to and are dependent upon. One’s way of living demonstrates nationality, religion, ethnicity, and art. People who have more than one culture, have been torn between two worlds that have eventually affected their lives. The cultural identities portrayed in both Self Portrait: On the Borderline Between Mexico and the United States by Frida Kahlo and “Legal Alien” by Pat Mora are shown through the symbolism, theme/message, and persona created in the works.

Society has a way of making assumptions based on one’s physical characteristics. Often at times we categorize individuals to a particular social group. In regard to society’ perception of an individual this however, contributes to the development of social construction of racism. Most people want to be identified as individuals rather than a member of specific social group. As a result, our social identity contains different categories or components that were influenced or imposed. For example, I identify as a, Jamaican, Puerto Rican and a person of color. I identify racially as a person of color and ethically as Jamaican and Puerto Rican. According to Miller and Garren it’s a natural human response for people to make assumptions solely

No matter how much a person desires to live according to their personal autonomy, he or she will never escape the influence of societal forces. Explicitly or subtlety, these forces shape our individuality. One intriguing manner that these societal forces manifests itself in is our name. As Ruth Graham writes, “It’s becoming increasingly clear today that names carry a wealth of information about the world around us, the family we arrived in, the moment we were born—and that they mark us as part of cultural currents bigger than we realize.” Names alone provide evidence that individuals are made by interactions with social institutions and groups. Ultimately, the inescapable nature of society’s influence demands individuals to ponder how much personal autonomy is actually autonomous and to what extent does the pursuit of personal autonomy lead to a life of emptiness and vanity.

Since the beginning of time there has been separation of economic classes; the poor, middle class, working class, and upper class. Most people are considered or identifies as middle class or the working class.

Cultural Identity is “The definition of groups or individuals (by themselves or others) in terms of cultural or subcultural categories (including ethnicity, nationality, language, religion, and gender)” (Oxford Reference). Everyone has cultural identity even though some are unaware of theirs because their habits and traditions might be seen as normal to the person and they might not make the connection that it is a cultural tradition or connected to their cultural identity. Some people are very aware of their cultural identity and have conflict within their identity because the cultures may not coincide. Frida Kahlo’s Self Portrait: On the Borderline Between Mexico and the United States and Pat Mora’s “Legal Alien” both show cultural conflict through symbolism, conflict, and purpose.

Personal identity is essential in the human experience. Identity is complex and can be broken down into two main groups: introspective identity, and bodily identity. Introspective identity is based off of the groups, mentalities, or beliefs that you align yourself with, and bodily identity is based off of the physical side of yourself. Whether physical or introspective, your identity impacts every action you take. Whether choices ranging from what colors you prefer to which college you want to attend are primarily based off of your introspective identity, which is a combination of both memory and consciousness, physical identity impacts how others perceive you. Consciousness is mainly the awareness of bodily identity as well as continuous introspective identify, while memory is awareness of introspective identity. These two different facets of identity are imperative in the distinction between bodily identity and introspective identity. In means of personal identity introspective identity (which is evident in memory), is essential, while bodily identity (based partially in consciousness) has less credit.

Being perceived as different may make it difficult to belong. Not being able to belong is a confusing and unfortunate case, where one can find themselves lost and frustrated, as they do not have a safe zone. Through the use of text and film, it can be explored that this concept if difference hinders one from feeling a sense of belonging. Whether it be a persons inability to adapt or their lack of confidence.

Social class is more than just the money you have, in our society having money means showing identity in diverse ways. Your class and your identity affect things in your everyday life. “Class is a social ranking based primarily on economic position in which achieved characteristics can influence social mobility” (Agbor,Ololube,Onyekwere). What you make determines where you fall in the social class ranking. For instance the ranking system goes the upper class, working class, middle class and the lower class. According to English Dictionary the upper class is composed of the wealthiest people and have a high rank in political society. Investopedia states that only 1% of the United States is upper class. As a result, they will never have to work a day in their life because money has been passed down through generations.

Picture yourself watching people cross a busy road with speeding cars on every block. What kind of people do you see? Are they with others, or sprinting to safety on the other side? Or do you notice the isolated man on a bench, patiently waiting for cars to slow down? Now the important part: identify the cultural identity of the various people you see. This may be tricky not knowing what cultural identity is. No matter where you are or what you decided to do in this situation, it makes up a piece of your cultural identity. Every kid, every teenager, every adult–no matter shape and size–has a cultural identity. Cultural identity is a part of why you do what you do; it identifies you as a person in a particular group. A certain religion, a specific class and even types of clothing can be a person’s cultural identity.

Social identity theory, it is a person’s sense that is based around the group they are in, either by their personal identity or with different kinds of social identities. That is, people will try to improve their own image of themselves. The theory was proposed by Henri Tajfel. People can increase their self-esteem by both their own achievement and interaction with a successful group of people. This shows the importance of social belonging. This theory is based around three mental processes, social categorization, social identification and social comparison.

This study based its framework on the three theories of the nature of factors that may affect individual’s involvement to a group such as fraternity. The first, according to Tajfel and Turner (1979), social identity theory proposed that groups give a sense of social identity. According to McLeod (2008), “Social identity is a person’s sense of who they are based on their group membership(s).” He added that groups can give an individual a sense of social identity which gives a sense of connection to the social world (simplypsychology.org). .

“Some…memberships are more salient than others; and some may vary in salience in time and as a function of a variety of social situations” (Tajfel, 2-3) Salience of identity, in the way that we need to understand it in the case of perception and decision making, can be operationalized as the likelihood that a particular identity will be invoked within a certain situation that the individual is being faced with (Hogg, Terry, & White, 257). As mentioned previously, everyone holds various identities but salience is the process through which we subconsciously decide which we be used to base our decision making or preferences on. “The salience of a particular social identity for an individual may vary from situation to situation and indeed from

As soon as a person enters the world, screaming, cold and helpless, they are assigned social identity markers, which, in most cases, will be used to label and categorize them throughout their life (Harro 2000). Identity markers are constructed by society and include, but are not limited to: assigned sex, race, and class. We have no choice in what identity markers are placed upon us and they will follow us in life, shaping who we become and directing us to our designated place in society. Our reality, experiences, perceptions and beliefs will all be centered in these identities, whether we like it or not.

Cultural identity is the basis in which identification is used to express different aspects pertaining to identity and heritage. A person's cultural identity may be created by social organization, as well as traditions and customs within their lives. The two aspects that construct my cultural identity are the frequent chores I must complete every day in order to fulfill my behavioral expectations, and the youth group I attend weekly. These aspects are important to my family and me. Therefore, my identity has an immeasurable effect on my upbringing into this multi-cultural world I live in.