Self-Identity is Not a Set of Traits or Obvious Characteristics - Case Study Example

SOCIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH TO IDENTITY Introduction: question of identity To me as a person identity seems to be like a question ‘who amI?’ The answer to this question might appear to be about personality, i.e., the kind of person that I am. But is this all about identity? Some times we share identities with others. At other times, certain unforeseen forces or agencies beyond our control, which shape our identities, often burden us. This essay will address how our identity is shaped, what these forces are; how in the modern and postmodern era the conceptions of identities have taken on a fluid, multidimensional self- sense. We will also discuss the viewpoints of postmodern thinkers. Shaun Best in his book Beginner’s Guide to Social Theory argues that individually people are unique and have both the skills and ability to do whatever they wish to do. But still we have the theories as such, ‘Man is born free, yet everywhere he is in chains’, or ‘Men make history but not in circumstances of their own choosing’. These statements may lead us to believe that we spend time in doing things that we do not want to do. From day till night we are only conforming to rules. Best cites an example here. How do we treat the strangers on the road? Even though we are not acquainted with them, we must behave politely and mostly keep to the norms we have learnt in course of our association with society. This tradition went back to the nineteenth century, when society determined how we should live and experience the world. It was society that affected the chances of our lives, assisted us to shape and form our identity and according to many sociologists, it still influences our thoughts, culture and ideas. Society, which he terms ‘social’, also mediated our relationships with others and as individuals produced us (Best, S 2003). As a social being an individual had to face what we know as ‘constraints’, termed in sociological texts as ‘The Problem of Order’. Let us see how ‘constraints’ work in every man’s life. How society works There is an incessant activity all around us by the people, known and unknown to us, to recreate the social system in their everyday lives. Yet, for some the outer conditions remain beyond this control. For example, a woman may feel ‘constrained’ to participate in social gatherings due to lack of proper clothing and accessories, a condition foisted on her by poverty. Many sociologists argue that the causes of personal problems as exemplified above may be within social but outside the control of individuals experiencing them. Different theorists have given different views regarding ‘constraints’ and how best to overcome them. According to Best, followers of Giddens theorise that, people actively create structures within society after overcoming ‘constraints’ by effort. He gives an example that parents make every effort to give their children skills and abilities to get ‘good’ jobs in future. By their action parents are actually trying to over come the ‘constraints’ to reproduce the class structure. The above arguments are in sharp contrast to what the postmodernists say. According to them the social system, and the constraints associated with it are actually dissolving. Zigmunt Bauman is one of the postmodern theorists whose thesis explained this in the context of what he called ‘liquid modernity’. He says that, we move from a solid to a liquid phase of modernity in which everything is shapeless and that social forms are constantly changing at great speed and the experience of being human is undergoing great transformation. He cites how familiar institutions are being undermined, which, Bauman states, is an aspect of modernity that bears consequences for people’s sense of identity. It is important to mention that national and class based identities are also experiencing the same consequence. Bauman elaborates his ideas with further examples, such as workplace experiences. Workplace, once considered an important source of identity, is now associated with loose and other provisional identities. The conceptions on community are subject to change and transformation as well. The most remarkable change is, how we understand what it means to be human when there is a crisis of higher ideologies, which is also another characteristic of our post modern world. Theories on Relationships Bauman explores the situation between man woman relationships in Liquid Love( 2003) in the absence of a traditional framework. He asserts that relationships are like uncanny frailty of human bond when people have abandoned traditional notions of duty, responsibility and self-sacrifice. He mentions, ‘Most of us, most of the time are in two minds about that novelty of “bond-free living” of relationships “with no strings attached”. This, nonetheless, creates a heightened sense of risk and a lack of endurance quality in striking a relationship. Bauman says that, to ‘love someone is giving hostage to fortune’. Dolan Cummings, in his interpretation of Bauman’s ‘Identity’ explains how ‘the object of one’s affections is also a subject who is similarly endowed with the freedom to choose’ (Bauman, Z). Thus, to love a subject means ‘making oneself dependent on another person’ and that person may be unpredictable and bring surprises. Thus we see that any relationship is in a precarious condition in this age. However, this is also the time when we choose to make risky commitments and choose to define ourselves through others. Gone are the days of traditional taken-for-granted character of ‘commitment-identities’. Bauman maintains that mere humanism offers no basis for lasting values. He offers his message of hope with the argument that lasting humanism is reflected in genuine shared interests and solidarities rooted in the material world. Anthony Giddens in his book Modernity and Self Identity harbours the same viewpoint regarding relationships. People are more open about sexuality and relationships now. The changes are not, however, led by social institutions and state, which would prefer people to stay in traditional relationship. Giddens has attributed these changes to certain other things- decline in religious faith and rise of rational thoughts in the ordinary person. Changes came both in the ‘micro’ and the ‘macro’ level stemming from a mutual influence on each other. For example, law and movements like Women’s Liberation (macro level) influenced individual’s life (micro level) and individual life and thoughts triggered movement at the macro level. Giddens has linked the heightened sense of self with the breaking of romantic love: a story about two human beings with little connection to the social processes. ‘Romantic love introduces the idea of a narrative into an individual’s life’, Gidden says(1992:39). While passionate love might come and go like wisps of smoke, the narrative of romantic love creating ‘shared history’ made sense and gave a relationship an important and recognised role (Gauntlett2001). Influences of Media Giddens has recognised the fact that mass media have a role to play in the consciousness of individuals to change their perceptions. The ups and downs of personal relationships in a TV drama or in the life of a celebrity send across a message that monogamous relationships are a rare deal. We are encouraged to reflect on the new findings. The magazines and self-help books inform us about the actual social changes in our lives. ‘This knowledge is then reappropriated by ordinary people, lending support to non-traditional models of living.’(Gauntlett2001, Giddens, Modernity and self-identity) Use of language So far we have dealt with the topic from sociological point of view. Kenneth Gergen, one of the forerunners of postmodern psychology mechanism, makes us aware that our individual perception of reality (ontology) is created through social interaction and use of language is its medium. Reality is based on the collective thought processes of many. Gergen (1985) points out that our knowledge and understanding of the world is a mechanism of transference from the contributor to the receptor. This is done through language. Since language is arbitrary, the contributor and the receptor must come to an agreement on the principles of language and the context it is used. The Self-making Gauntlet explores the very core idea on self-making that Giddens imparts. If the self is made rather than inherited and in static form, what form is it? Giddens says that in the post traditional order identity relies on a reflexive project- an endeavour that we continuously work on. We create our own narratives, revise and maintain them. Just like a movie director makes a romantic, western, or horror story. Therefore self-identity is not a set of traits or obvious characteristics, but it is a person’s understanding of their own biographies. The biography has continuity and it cannot be changed or arranged radically at will but is a process. An identity that is stable is based on the person’s life, actions and influences, which make sense to them. It can explain the past and can chart out a future. We can term it lifestyle after true Gidden style. By lifestyle one understands the luxury choices of the affluent class, but Giddens interprets it according to his theory. He says that a person has to select a lifestyle from the different possibilities, although the possibilities are limited. Wealth would certainly help in the range of choices. The term is not only about fancy jobs and jet set people but it applies to behaviour, attitudes and beliefs. (word count- 1619) Works Cited: 1. Best, S(2003) The Beginner’s Guide to Social Theory, Sage. 2. A Discourse on Deaf hood (Sep, 2006) retrieved from http://jenner.wordpress.com on 2007/11/29 3. Gauntlett, D(2002) Anthony Giddens: Modernity and Self Identity, retrieved from http://www.theory.org.uk on 2007/11/29 4. Gauntlett, D(2001) Anthony Giddens: The reflexive project of the self, making a narrative, retrieved from http://www.theory.org.uk on 2007/11/29 5. Cummings, D, The trouble with being human these days, Identity, Bauman, Z Retrieved from http://www.culturewars.org.uk/2002-4/identity Read More