Refelect on the identity wheel activity. What did you learn? Do our identities affect the way we interact with the world around us? Why or why not? Reference your discussion in groups and as a class.
Blog posts must be 200-400 words, proofread, and void of gramatical errors. Posts are due before the start of class (Thursday, April 16 at 5:30pm)
Please email kualbreaks@gmail.com if you have any questions.
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ReplyDeleteThe identity wheel was a great way to open up to our groups and really explain who we were. I felt that I learned a lot about my group members that I would not have learned for a while or maybe even ever. It was also a good activity because it allowed people to find commonalities making us feel closer as a group.
ReplyDeleteIn class, we learned that people can have multiple identities. I think, sometimes, we forget that we are not just Chinese or Mexican, Buddhist or Muslim, male or female. We are so much more than just one thing. In fact, most of us had at least ten different identities that we identified with. Also, some identities put people at an advantage in society while others put people at a disadvantage.
Identities absolutely affect the way we interact with the world around us. For example, three things I strongly identify as are: Chinese, adopted, and Jewish. Being adopted has greatly influenced the way I interact with the world. I realize everyday how lucky I am to have been adopted by my family for one small decision landed me with the greatest mother and grandmother in the whole wide world. I also know that there is no one way to have a family for they come in all shapes, sizes and races, and blood is the least important thing that makes a family. My ethnicity and religion have also affected how I interact with the world. In elementary school, I was often picked on for being Jewish and Chinese. These two identities are minorities and put me at a disadvantage in a very Christian, and white Lawrence, Kansas. Being made fun of for those things only made me value and realize how special these identities were and are to my life. It also made me never want to return that type of bullying to other people for I know how much it hurts. These are just three of the many identities I identify with. All of my identities have shaped me into the liberal, religiously and ethnically tolerant person I am today. I never take anything for granted, I am open and tolerant of all religious groups, and know that one tiny decision can change your life forever.
The identity wheel was a great way to interact and get to know each other. Most importantly, it was a great way to self reflect and think about our individual identities and the factors that influence it.
ReplyDeleteFrom participating in the identity wheel, I realized the factors that most influenced my identity were my gender and ethnicity. I identify as a Female. However, I do not fulfill all the societal constructed gender roles of what is considered feminine. Some qualities that astray from these roles are the fact that I hate to cook, I hate the color pink, I’m independent, I‘m non-emotional, etc. Although sexuality also influences my identity, from the discussion in our group I realized I’m very privileged in being straight because I don’t have to worry about my sexuality or be judged because of it. My ethnicity also immensely influences my identity. Being an Ethiopian and growing up surrounded by the culture in Los Angeles where there is a huge Ethiopian Community definitely helped shaped my personality and out view on the world. Even though I did interact with my Ethiopian community, I also interacted with a diverse group of people at school and outside of school. Having such a diverse school and community taught me a lot about other cultures and helped to appreciate the differences. Coming to Kansas, it was hard to get used to the lack of diversity, especially in high school. I never really understood what being a minority was till I moved here. However, the fact that majority of people in Kansas are genuinely nice and friendly made adjusting a whole lot easier.
This exercise was really eye opening and a great way to know my group members. Not only did it help me reflect on my life and my identity but it also allowed me to learn about what other people in my group identify with.
The identity wheel was challenging. What parts of me are pertinent to my identity and what are not? Running, hiking, biking, reading? I am a female and have always identifies as a female, but then again I am engineer. While making our wheels, one person in my group suggested that the careers we choose influence our gender identity and I have to respectfully disagree. I am a female, I dress like a female and identify as a female. Being in a male dominant field does not influence my identity, though being an engineer does. I am an engineer because I want to truly make an impact and help others, not because I identify as a male. For some, their career may be influenced by their gender identity, but that is the beauty of the time we are in. How we dress and what we do as a career does not have to necessarily determine our gender identity though it is still an important aspect of our identity wheel.
ReplyDeleteI had never honestly sat down and thoroughly thought through gender identity, what it means to me and how it effects people every day. I learned that gender is broken down into more than just the binary gender most people are born with. Gender is much more than physical anatomy, it also includes what gender each person individually identifies as. These two gender identifications do not always line up and that is perfectly fine, but we need to respect others identities and not simply judge them on their outward appearance. This effects the way we approach and address individuals every day. As a society, we need to insure that we are not addressing them to their outward binary appearance but instead leaving that identity up to the individual.
The identity wheel activity forced the participants to critically think about their own position within the world and how they perceive it. What are your personal privileges? What are your personal oppressions? These questions spoke to a deeper level of insight that Alternative Breaks attempts to have their members achieve.
ReplyDeleteWe discussed the difference between gender and sex. Sex is the application of "male" or "female" in reference to someone's genitalia with which they are born. Gender, on the other hand, is the construction of personal identity and performance to others. These two facets, performance and identity, create potential for a very distinct misunderstanding between how we understand ourselves and how others view us. My view of my gender identity may clash with how I perform. Though I appear masculine with shorter hair, more audible speech, dominant personality traits, and the like, I don’t feel that I fully embody traditional, socially understood masculinity of strength, dominance, emotional distance, etc. The activity left me to reflect on how I perceive myself within the social construction of the sex and gender applied to me at birth.
Additionally, sexuality and gender often go hand in hand. Gender performance often becomes a nod to sexual identities. An effeminate man is often perceived to be gay, while a masculine woman is perceived to be a lesbian. These strict guidelines and policing of gender and sexual performativity lead us to make quick assumptions from person to person. These assumptions can lead to misgivings of identity between people who want to be close to one another. A goal of mine within Alternative Breaks is to let my peers inform me of who they are before I jump to conclusions and to allow their personal identities tell me how to interact and be sensitive to anything that may potentially impact those identities.
The TED Talk given by Sam Killermann was an ultimate eye-opener for me during class. Killermann had explained on understanding the complexities of gender, with an emphasize on differentiating what is Biological Sex, what is Gender Identity, and what is Gender Expression. From my understanding, biological sex is the physicality of a person, gender identity is the idealization of a person, and gender expression is the representation of a person. The Gender Unicorn illustration shown to us during class had also furthered develop my understanding towards the concept of identity.
ReplyDeleteWhen we were asked to create an identity wheel, it took me a while to think of something. Looking at my other group members, they were already half-way through with their wheels and had all sorts of words that best described them – which I thought was incredible. It made me think that these people are able to define themselves so well and they knew who they were. Which then made me question my own-self whether if I knew who I was. Eventually, I started to draw a flower with various sizes of petals. And I started to fill in the first words that came to my mind; Tendency to get an OCD attack once in a while, Positivity, Psych-Freak, Water enthusiast, Malaysian, Book worm, Adrenaline junkie, Love cats, Family-person, Believe in eternity’s. Under that period of 10-minutes given to, this was how I defined myself.
During the group discussion, we all began to take turns sharing what was on our identity wheel. Ultimately, only then did it come to my realization of who I am. I told them I am a Hijabi - a women who wears the Islamic head-covering. I realized that this wasn't any of the words from my identity wheel, but I knew that this answer was from my heart. I guess it was difficult at first to figure “Hijabi” out, especially since my father was never in agreement with me and had his own way of ‘identifying’ me. But relating back to Killermann’s TED talk, I finally found who I am. By my physicality of wearing a head-covering, by my inner-faith and belief in God, and by me sharing with my group members and blog readers, I am happy to say that I know who I am, and I am a Muslim. And I was happy to have done this identity wheel activity with my group members, because we all now have a better understanding and accept each other unconditionally, regardless of our identity’s.
I never realized how many words could describe someone and form his or her identity. By participating in the identity wheel activity it truly opened my eyes to see how many things I am identified by. I also realized that there could be both harmful and beneficial identities. For example, some of the things that identified me are a softball player, a sister, and a pre- nursing student. While those three identifiers are beneficial they can also harm me and they help to shape they way I have interacted with the people around me. Since I am a pre-nursing student it makes it easier to converse with other people that are already in my field of study. It also makes people look at me with approval in their eyes because many people believe that nursing is a good field to study.
ReplyDeleteIn my group going through the activity made me realize how many things can make up one person, it also made me see that I am like some people in the group in what I identify my self as. What I am taking away from this last lesson about identity is that you should embrace your identity. People may perceive something that defines you as bad, but everyone is made up of the good and the bad. So you shouldn’t let what other people think hinder you.