Identity, Difference, Race: The Body, the Human - Essay Example

Most often, it is used to refer to one’s personality and culture. Identity therefore could be defined socially and biologically. Biologically, identity would be related to an individual’s color or gender. For instance, if one is a female, then the society would treat that person the feminine way. If one is a male, the community would accord such individual the treatment that a man should experience. In a sense, identity is substantially related to society. It is the society that judges or identifies the person.

It is the one responsible in forming a particular identity. This is logical since a certain identity can only be deemed as such if it is declared by a group. Identity is thus a product of social interaction. This is to say that a certain judgment would not qualify as an identity if it is only uttered by one or two persons. A group is needed to finalize a particular identity. Through an interaction, the members of the group would know the personality of a person or even the trait of another group.

In judging the identity of a group, the judgment is always made through the group’s culture. In this sense, a group could use their culture to be its identity. To note, modernity has brought cultural change (Hall, et al., 1992). There are actually many ways in which an identity could be created. It only depends on the perspective that an individual would use. Identity is like a symbol. It symbolizes one’s being and even the whole humanity. It can be cited to distinguish one person, group or thing from the other (Lasch, n.d. cited in Hall & Du Gay 1996, p.23). According to Kathryn Woodward (1997, p.10), “identity is marked out through symbols.

” This means that an identity is formulated through the use of symbols. One’s identity is different from the other due to the symbol associated with the individual’s identity. Stated otherwise, identity is a tool for differentiation. The word “identity” in itself connotes something which is