learntoquestion ltq discussions

Questions to Consider:

Please use the following questions as a guide for your post. You can choose to focus on one of the question sets, or to incorporate several of them into your response. Please note that you must include some reflection on the identity vessels of your peers in your response to earn full credit for this assignment.

1. How complex are our individual identities? What shapes how we see ourselves, how others see us and how we see others?

2. Is our identity really malleable? How much does society today limit our ability to change and grow in our identities?

3. How do our individual identities impact our personal and social choices? How are personal and social identities connected and how are they different?

4. What did you learn about your peers from their identity vessels? Were you surprised by some of the vessels? How do these vessels relate to what you have read about the concept of identity?

Word Count Requirement: 250-500 words

Readings to Reference:

Please refer to the ideas, either using a quote or paraphrasing, from at least one of the readings in your post.

“The Complexity of Identity: Who Am I?” By Beverly Daniel Tatum

“How Social Media Shapes Identity” By Nausicaa Renner

Rubrics to Review:

Identity Vessel Rubric

LTQ Rubric

Our individual identities are very complex and important. You could know someone for years but never really know a lot about them. I think this project was very important because it let us learn deeper things about our classmates, that even if we knew them before, were new to us. There are many of things these days that shape how we see ourselves and how other people see us. For example, one main thing is social media. There are many different sites and apps that people use every single day, and every time we use them, we see peoples’ thoughts and feelings towards the things we do, clothes we wear, and so much more. A quote from The Complexity of Identity: “Who Am I?” by Daniel Tatum, shows how much how we see ourselves is impacted by how other people see us. “Who am I?...Who do my parents say I am? Who do my peers say I am? What message is reflected back to me in the faces and voices of my teachers, my neighbors, store clerks? What do I learn from the media about myself? How am I represented in the cultural images around me?” There are so many people around us that impact how we feel about our own identity, even when we should define who we are, not them.

When I looked around at the identity vessels, I was surprised how much I didn’t know about the people that I thought I knew for years. There are so many little facts and things that make up a a person that you learn with a project like this. These vessels relate to what I have learned about identity because they show just how much makes up a person. Including things like their favorite drink, sport, their friends and more.

Our identities are inevitably affected by how others perceive us and how we wish to be perceived by others. Humans want to be accepted by others; that’s a natural desire. We are social creatures who aim to build a community around us in which we feel loved. This concept has resulted in phenomena such as peer pressure and people pleasers, in which humans are so desperate to be accepted that they change their personality and/or behavior in order to satisfy what (they think) other people want to see. This mindset is something that we are all prone to and that is clear in how each of our identities has developed over time. For instance, when I was going around the classroom looking at others’ identity vessels, many people discussed in their statements the juxtaposition between how they present themselves to the world and how they truly are. An example of this is the topic of mental health, and how many people discussed feeling ashamed of their struggles with their mental health and trying to cover it up or make it less noticeable. Since mental health is still largely considered a taboo subject by society, the impulse to hide our struggles stems from that. However, it’s also important to address how society has allowed people to become more comfortable within their identities. The fact that so many people were willing to admit to their internal dialogue regarding their mental health shows the progress that society has made in being more open about such topics.

Furthermore, the impact of societal norms and standards is especially evident when someone is a member of a minority group. People in the minority are likely to assimilate into the mainstream culture of those around them. For example, people who are ethnically in a minority are likely to adjust their accent, their appearance, and/or their music taste to fit the standard of the dominant people. If these people had grown up in an area where their ethnicity was the most prominent, then they would likely have developed different interests or even entirely different personalities. In contrast, some minority groups will deliberately reject the culture of the dominant group in order to maintain their own. As Beverly Daniel Tatum writes in “The Complexity of Identity,” “Because of the risks inherent in unequal relationships, subordinates often develop covert ways of resisting or undermining the power of the dominant group” (4). These “covert ways” can include jokes that ridicule the dominant group and stories of the subordinate group outsmarting them. However, as Tatum makes clear, this strategy “is costly to members of the targeted group” (4), as it could decrease their chances of being successful in a society where they inherently have less power. I would add that this is costly to the members of the dominant group as well, as they are missing out on the opportunity to reflect on their identities and culture in juxtaposition to those of another community.

Our identities are complicated. Reflecting on your own self is never fully understand who you are as a person. The world is telling you something of your identity, and your heart is telling you another. What can you say about your identity? After reading some of my peer’s statements, it made me question what they were thinking while creating this statement. The feelings that they did not feel comfortable sharing to other classmates. I noticed that in one of my peer’s vessel, she added positive things to the outside, but on the inside there were more negative traits she felt about herself. While, in another peer’s statement, her outside was similar to her inside beside the facts that you would not know about her, at first glance. People identify themselves closer to how people view them, and other people do not identify as much as how people view them.

When creating my statement I reflected on my younger self and the confusion that came with being older, Tatum states that “younger children lack the physical and cognitive development needed to reflect on the self in this abstract way.” Identity continues to grow, even when you are 99 years old in a hospital bed. His quote traces back to the adolescent feeling of not realizing that when you’re older you will encounter problems in society which you decide as your identity.

Tatum’s understanding of the Us vs. Them mentality elaborates on those “who stand outside that power often identify one way in which we are different…forgetting other distortions around difference, some of which we ourselves may be practicing.” Groups are important to identify ourselves, and people rely on groups to assure themselves that they fit into what the group is. As we grow older, we associate ourselves with other people and we rely on those other people to associate themselves with Us. Social media has construed this image of how certain people are supposed to act, such as race, age, sexuality, religion, and so on. If you are 80, you should be in a retirement home. If you’re gay, you’re expected to have more friends that are girls. Toxic stereotypes are formed within these groups, which then hugely identify how one is supposed to act. The system of identity can’t be based on a spectrum, it is based on how one views themselves and the people's amount of influence one decides to identify with.

Similar to rica.junction’s experience, I was completely anamoured by the sheer amount of passion involved in everyone’s project. The cultural, societal, and individual aspects of everyone’s work helped me realize many parts of myself as well, as I kept going, “Ah! I should’ve said that too!” The vessels show a complex and convoluted lens of people’s identity and personal definition that only strengthened my idea of the many forms a person’s identity can be expressed as. I always knew that identities are not easy to comprehend and that someone’s values cannot be determined by the visual aspects of their person, however, witnessing the sincere expression of truth in the vessels gave me a sense of comfort because I didn’t realize how many others have such profound grasps of their identity like I did. Using this assignment as a basis, I will use the best of my ability to connect with those in my classes, attempting to understand them on a deeper level because the short time we have together during Facing History or any other class isn’t nearly enough to appreciate the individuals that share the same space I do.

I completely agree with 0_0’s comment on the mallability of our views on others, where they say:

“The vessels also made me realize how easily we see others based on the people around us.”

I’ve had my own share of assumptions and determinations about others where I’ve applied the ‘us vs. them’ mentality, and I can honestly say that I am ashamed of doing such. I know that it is natural to judge and make assumptions based on what we can observe, but it’s understated how important it is to take the effort to connect with others beyond the surface level, understanding the views and perspectives each individual has to offer. While that is my ideal goal, I know there are always limitations placed on how much one can share about their identity, grow their identity, or express it in our society. I doubt that, despite how amazing the statements along with the vessels were, people were able to show every side of themself. I think this is because of the prejudices, associations, and morality that we’ve learned to make as a society in order to preserve order, however, it severely limits how much someone can share about themselves without feeling like they’d be judged, ostracized, or silenced for having things as a part of their identity that they may not have control of. I myself have a few parts of my identity that I wasn’t able to share for the fact that it may not be viewed positively due to what society has chosen as a taboo topic, restricting what is available for me to express about myself.

As I was walking around the classroom to look at people’s vessels, I was able to write interesting parts of some people’s statements that stuck out to me that I’d like to share. First, it was warming to see how much people in the class wanted to share about themselves despite this assignment being a personal topic. There were so many intriguing and thought provoking ideas and experiences that made me feel like mine wasn’t up to par. Everyone also shared common life events or qualities such as being influenced by those around them, using words to describe both their ‘outside’ and ‘inside’ self, and having unique self reflections. This was one of the best activities I’ve done as a student and individual, I hope everyone gets to try something like this!

How does someone’s environment affect their ability to be an individual? That question has stirred up in our minds as we first started Facing History and when we started building our vessels. A huge contributor that does not allow us to be ourselves are the people we are surrounded by and our subconscious. Based on a study from The Social Animal by Eliot Aronson conducted by researchers who questioned gay men, who came from a strong Christian background, discovered how much their assertion of their homosexuality varied due to society’s negative view on homosexuals. Back then and even now many religious people thought that being a part of the LGBTQ community was a sin. Through years of being engulfed by those concepts of God hating gay people, it created dissonance. One way that people sought to deal with their dissonance was to hide and suppress their sexual/romantic desire to be with other men. Others gave up on Christianity as a whole. If not then they came to realize that the Bible spoke of empathy and kindness. God would not be able to hate someone if he had so much compassion in his heart for everyone. Another study focused on how positive or negative feedback on college student’s personalities could change their tendency of cheating when gambling. It was found that those who have received a negative evaluation of their personality (childish, boring, and superficial) tend to cheat more while those who received positive feedback on their personality did not cheat. The differentiation in how they acted highlighted the importance of honesty in one’s parents, teachers, or role models. We can talk away from these studies that the human identity is malleable. As many of us can associate with one group of people, society may not agree with these point of views. Thus causes a disruption in people that also leads to them being subliminal in their representations of themselves and limits their ability to grow. Meaning we can no longer be a part of that group and if not we end up making bad decisions to fit in.

From the identity vessel project, I learned how much the people my peers are around on a daily basis influence who they are. I considered my family and friends for my identity vessel, but ultimately decided that even though they are a big part of who I am, I am mostly a reflection of my hobbies. These vessels relate to social identity because it reinforces the idea that we are influenced by the people and things around us and the various groups that we are in and the activities we are a part of. One vessel I really liked was the mason jar because I feel the same way as what I think the clear jar was conveying: that the way the world sees me and how I see myself are very similar. Because of this, when working on this project I called myself “transparent” and I think the mason jar really captures the idea of being yourself around others. There is also a contrast between the mason jar and vessels like shoeboxes or books because the inside of those vessels are fairly cut off from the outside world. Since I view myself as transparent, my vinyl had each side equally open to the world and nothing was ‘hidden’ (not that that is a bad thing, I just feel that I put who I am out in the world as much as I can). Our identity’s main job is to be malleable. What we like, who we are friends with, and what we do as a 10 year old is not going to be the same as when you are 25. Life experiences shape who we are, and as we get older, we have more life experiences and our identity changes more and more.

Our identities are multi-dimensional, and cause pride, conflict, and change because no one has a one-dimensional identity. Almost all of us have what Beverly Daniel Tatum describes as dominant and subordinate aspects of identity, and inconsistencies between the way we view ourselves and how we are outwardly perceived. However, media portrayals and stereotypes would have us think that identity is more simple, consistent, and easier to classify and generalize.

As teenagers, many of us have undergone “the biological changes associated with puberty, the maturation of cognitive abilities, and changing societal expectations” (Tatum 1) that have led to the internal conflicts that arise when we try to categorize ourselves, or find where we fit in. After these biological developments, our minds are more self-conscious in identifying where we belong in society. Some people may seek community and celebration of their various identities, while others try to adapt to a dominant culture’s standards or don’t even notice aspects of their identity. Others may encounter the privileges they hold when they consider what dominant groups they are apart of, as mentioned by “universaldeclarationofhumanrights<3.” All of these factors can make identity seem uncomfortable to talk about at this age, but this project made that conversation more inviting because we all shared some amount of vulnerability by making a statement of who we are.

This project made me dive into my privileges, and the vast differences between how I am perceived and my true personal identity. For example, I have privileges related to my appearance, which does not match the skin tones often associated with people of my ethnicity. I noticed details about sensitivity to perception of race on the vessels of some other biracial classmates, which made me feel less alone in that aspect of my identity. Additionally, I was surprised by some of the childhood experiences that shaped the lives of my classmates whose vessels I viewed. Many people included their countries of origin, pictures of family or childhood friends, and details related to their interests growing up. I did not know some of these details about them, but I can see or imagine how they impact their current interests and values. As a teenager, I often would like to think that I decide my personality and habits day-to-day, but viewing other people’s vessels made me reflect on how my own past experiences and my relatives impact my behavior and outlook. Our identities do change over time, especially as we are surrounded by different groups of people, but the way we were raised and the values our families held can strongly impact us throughout our lives.