Has Our Society Lost Their True Identity Research Paper

Taylor Jackson

Professor Jessica Spearman

English 1102R

12 February 2016

Grouping and Labeling: Has Our Society Lost Their True Identities?

Society has become very comfortable with the idea of grouping everyone. Many have lost sight of the fact that before someone is black or white, whatever culture they are, or where they have derived from – they are human. The world we live in today is being defined by a series of social connections, and we can no longer allow others to create their own identities. Many people try to define what social identity is to everyone else, but in reality there is no true definition to define it. Identity is a way that a person defines themselves to their own standards within their society, but instead of that

An identity based on the actual ideals of that person are not examined until later in his or her life, but by the time these have taken root there will already be predestined notions, “Once a person is labeled, that individual’s identity becomes fixed, and the label can forever have positive or negative impacts” (Allen 27). Once all of these identities are created they have to be able to coexist without creating strain. “Pay no attention to what others characterize you as, but only worry about how you feel about yourself as an individual.” This quote is something that has been instilled in many children ever since the day they were born by their parents. Brenda J. Allen, a professor at the University of Colorado stated, “Socialization is a total set of experiences in which children become clear about norms and expectations and learn how to function as respected and accepted members of a culture” (Allen 12). This can cause positive and negative outcomes for a

After allowing someone to have power they then form what is known as the “rules of right”; Allen stated that the rules of right are, “principles and practices we create to govern ourselves, presumably in non-arbitrary, systematic ways” (Allen 27-28). Grouping each person into a certain area has become so much of a necessity that many have lost sight of who a person truly is. While doing that it also gives them power to feel inferior to others based on their hegemony, which just questions why people are the way they are and why they do the things they do. When thinking about how hegemony works within the grouping system it further explains the basis of one group working to fulfill the expectations of what society expects of them and what they should portray themselves as. This instance can also cause much resistance against doing these things because most of that population will try to overthrow the dominant, “Foucault contended that power relations always meet with resistance, as individuals or groups imagine and seek better realities” (Allen 31). Some may be contempt with being stuck with the normal circumstances of a situation, but others do seek being their own