The Complexity of Identity: Who i am and The Cycle of Socialization - Essay Example

The Complexity of Identity In the book, Readings for Diversity and Social Justice, there are implications that one goes into an ocean of self-discovery after the puberty stage. This is an unconscious journey that one is not aware of and is not aware of what to come only when a person is mature enough to identify his or her own character. Characters may seem more complex than what they appear and are shaped in accordance with many factors during the growing stages, so it is not totally true to suggest that home is always the source of charatcer development.

But it has the main impact on one as well as the contribution of many other factors such as friends, media, school, neighborhood and one’s genetic ideologies, all take part in the complexity of the character.The first section of the book, Conceptual Framework, talks about the two topics which would be discussed in this paper. The first topic is‘The Complexity of Identity: Who Am I’ which emphasizes on the impact of the societal factors and the surroundings upon one’s character and that how one lives his or her childhood, which would at later stages of growth, subconsciously, appear in that character, and after all, the character would be unconsciously placed in a certain group accordingly.

When in a group, a charcter becomes indentified as a certain character belonging to that particular group.For example, a black American lesbian with children would be categorized into a certain group as an inferior from the American’s society perspective. Another example, is that black Americans are tended to get busted more often than the white Americans though the rate of crime committed by anyone, no matter the race is not less than any other race, but the inferiority of the black Americans are grouped that way disregarding the movement and advancement of the society in its culture, media and technology.

Another conceptual topic is the ‘Cycle of Socialization’. The inferior group may either keep the situation as it is because it is easier to undergo a cycle of socialization by gaining power to overcome this norm of negativity as quoted, “We begin to question the givens, the assumptions of society, the norms, the values, the rules, the roles and even the structures. As we attempt this, it becomes obvious that we cannot do it alone.” (21; sec. 1) In this case, people start grouping with one another, whether they are on the same track or not, to restructure the current rules, to call for their own justice, to bring down the old corny system and develop with what suits today’s American’s societies.

To wrap up, the conscious character, an adult, would undergo a cycle either genetically or on purpose and would pass it down to the unconscious character, the child, in order to conceive the society as desired. It is a one perspective outlook which is also shaped by the mentioned outside home facotrs bringing up the deconstruction or the construction of that child. The deconstruction would tackle any normal relationships, such as a superior and a subordinate relationship between co-workers (black and white).

On the other hand, in the proper character construction, there would be no grouping and that is like an American Dream, but it cannot be achieved if the so-called empowered group does not team up together to deconstruct the deconstructed characters for a better living society. Hence, the only tool to overcome the group dissecting is proper education on critical consciousness for all groups to create a cycle of liberation and end up this cycle of racism.Works CitedTatum, Beverly D. “The Complexity of Identity: Who Am I?

”Readings for Diversity and Social Justice: An Anthology on Racism, Antisemitism, Sexism, Heterosexism, Ableism and Classism. Ed. Maurianne Adams, Warren J. Blumenfeld, Rosie Castenada, Heather W. Hackman, Madeline L. Peters and Ximena Zuniga. GB: Routledge, 2000. 9 – 21. Print.