Identity Seminar

who we are , who we think we are & how others perceive us

essentialism- innate characteristic, genetic makeup , defines you as a person

anti essentialist- shaped by society around you 

Online world poses a new way to invent your own identity, away from the outside world e.g. second life
people actually spend money on the sites, but capitalism/ consumerism is still present 
internet has changed identities 

Otherness

What makes you, you ?
(our discussion)

• Friends
• Family 
• Hobbies
• Interests
• Life Experiences
• Where you live/ from 
• Background
• Personality traits 

(group discussion)

• Parents/ Socialisation/ Money 
• Environment/ Era
• Marriage (Marital Status)
• Diet 
• Physical (Dialectic- social)
• Social (Dialectic- physical)
• Education

How do we express our identity ? 

(our discussion)

• The way you dress
• Possessions
• Hobbies/ Interests
• Mannerisms
• Ethics/ Morals

(group discussion)

• Fashion
• (Tattoos)
• (Make-up)
• (Piercing)
• (Brands)
• Possessions
• Social Interaction
• Mannerism
• Accent
• Hobbies
• Interests
• Social Circles

Subjectivity- all previously discussed

limited, given to us by our position in society. arrived at via ways we attempt to express ourselves, and it can be our own creation

we are what society thinks we are but also who we think we are

Circuit of Culture- Stuart Hall

 Culture is the framework within which our identified are formed, expressed and regulated.

five subcategories which all equally affect our identities

(Things we missed, in this diagram)

regulation- laws, orders. Societal limits

What your job is 

what your expected to buy and have

expectations- social stereotypes

Identity is all of these things , its not just one.

Jaques LACAN

theory of the process of identity from birth and growing up 

comes up with the idea of otherness

psychoanalysis 

(after Freud)

The 'hommelette' (babies)

The 'Mirror Stage' (infancy) 

When you are born you don't have any comprehension that you are distinct or separate from your mother, no conception of yourself as a separate human being.  Confused mixed of different parts 

Mirror showing the infant itself externally, showing them they are a being, they are something in the world. Gain a sense of who we are by reactions of people in the world reacting to us. Based on the views of others. 

Subjectivity is based on an illusion of wholeness & independence (receiving views from others)

= own subjectivity is fragile

All the rest of our actions, is basically part of the same process achieved at the mirror stage. 

Constructing the 'Other'

Problems: relies on the assumption of opposition and radical otherness

We measure ourselves against what we are not, which involves other people and simplifying them. a limited reading of what other people our to reassure ourselves. Securing our sense of selves for others. As does society.

Accent - e.g. pronunciation may show you are from a certain class/education and not perhaps from the working class - slang. 

( in ads ) e.g. Lynx othering of gay community, of women, of dominance

Identification

shores up unstable identifies through the illusion of unity

shared fashions, belief systems, values

- Subterranean Values ( Matza, 1961)

This brings about : 

racism, sexism and all forms of prejudism