On Identity

I'll be posting once every week, probably regularly on Mondays. 

Today I'd like to talk about how people - and you - identify themselves/yourself to the world at large.

People like to categorize other people. Unfortunately, it's how society works. In the U. S., we don't have an overt caste system; however, we do have a more subtle method of classification that we apply each and every day to the people around us. And because of this, we very often have identities - classifications, labels - thrust upon us by other individuals and by society in general.

I say "unfortunately" because very often, these involuntary labels that other people assign to us are in some way negative. This is particularly true of those of us who don't conform - either by choice or by nature - to the cisgendered, heteronormative white male hegemony of modern Northern American society.

(Note: The term "white male hegemony" is, of course, not to say that all white men are racist, sexist, homophobic, bigoted Klan members. I'll deal with generalizing white men in a later post.)

Now, what do these terms mean? I'll explain. "Cisgender" (or "cisgendered") is an adjective applied - either by the self or externally - to someone who identifies with the gender and/or sexuality they were assigned at birth. (Source: Queer Dictionary) "Heteronormativity" refers to "the way in which gender and sexuality are separated into heirarchically organised categories." (Source: Gender and Education Association; I recommend reading the entire piece.)

If someone does not fit into this cisgendered, heteronormative hegemony, that same hegemony does its  utmost to categorize that person in a way that is comfortable for the hegemony. There must be an explanation for why these folks are the way they are; for example, nobody's studying what makes straight and cis people straight and cis. Politicians and gender/sexuality scientists are only interested in the "divergent," because the "divergent" on some level make the hegemony uncomfortable.

What goes along with this external pressure to identify is often an internalized pressure to identify: non-conforming folks putting pressure on themselves to fit into some hegemony-defined box. Someone very special to me is very vocally against labels, and I have come to concur: if you find a simple, one-word term that fits you, that makes you feel comfortable with and about yourself, then that's fine. What's also fine, though, is not having a label. Just because other people want you to identify yourself with a word or set of words that fit what they think of you does not mean that you have an obligation to do so. The only person you ever owe anything to is yourself.

Please leave comments if you like, about the post, or about you and your own experiences. I'd love to hear from you!