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The Difference Between Social Identity And Cultural Identity

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Who are we? The concept of identity is extremely flexible and very slippery. Nonetheless, these is an overwhelming, but understandable fixation upon it. Many people need the concept of identity to secure a position in society and to not only feel connected with others but to feel different, special. Identity is socioculturally constructed. Erving Goffman, a famous sociologist, argues that in fact, there is no true self, and our ideas of who we are as individuals are constructed by our surroundings. Bonny Norton, a professor who studies identity, argues that there is a difference between between “social identity” and “culture identity” and that, as much as society and culture has an influence on individuals, you yourself do as well. Whatever we may believe, when we think of our own identity nationality, ethnicity, occupation or societal role may be the first few that come to mind. All these categories are artificial. However secure those may feel, everything is what we were brought up to believe important by society and media. So what is identity? Identity is a concept open for interpretation and therefore, depends on the individual. Many people may try to decipher ‘who you are’ by asking the question “where are you from?” This simple question has become the means for many to categorize and identify someone. What does this question mean? Is the answer supposed to be the place you were born? The place you lived the longest? The place you were before meeting getting asked
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