Identity and Social Interactions
After watching all the TED talks and hearing all the different situations and the different social interaction that some people had to endure, it correlated with that person or group's identity. I believe that I have drawn the conclusion, that social interaction and identity depend on each other. Your identity is dictated by the way you interact within you social environment and your social interaction can become your identity. It’s almost like the chicken or the egg situation, no one know which is first.
However, in Jane Novogratz’s TED talk she explained the story of the woman who lives in a poverty stricken village, and how the woman initial identity when was that of a prostitute, as result of that being her only resort to make money. Her social interaction was negative, Jane even said that the woman felt embarrassed that she had to do that sometimes to make money. However once the woman invested money in the credit system and started her business up, she was able to change the way that she socially interacted. As shown in the pictures you could tell that the woman had a different outlook on her identity as she previously did. She was now able to go out into the village and sell her merchandise, instead of sell her body, which a major social interaction change. That was an example of how your social interactions and identity can change without you changing your physical environment.
Tan Lee’s TED talk was very emotional as well as insightful. Her story depicted how identity is not just singular, but in fact can be plural in some situation. Lee spoke on how she got to a point in her life where she felt that she couldn’t go on, she said that her mother reminded her that she was around the age as she was when she decided to leave their old life. She also said that her mother told her ,“Just do it…Don’t be what you're not”. This only made sense after watching Lee’s entire TED talk, and after she spoke on her grandmother experience. It clarified that the identity of the women of Lee’s family have been shaped by their experiences and their social interactions. After watching the TED talks and hearing how people identify based on their social interactions or how the social interactions help create their identity. I begin to do introspect on myself and I believe that my identity is based on what I have been through as well as what I go through on a daily basis, my social interactions. I am confident enough in this theory to say that it is trust for everyone, because everyone has a different identity, just as everyone has different social interactions.
Hi Jamarquis! I loved getting to read your blog this week.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate your interpretation of the way identity, whether it be of an individual or a group, and social interaction relate to and impact one another. I absolutely agree that each one shapes the other—if people discriminate against you, you are going to see yourself as being worth less (which reminds me of the article we read a while ago about Native Americans and how they eventually begin to see themselves as the stereotypes people project upon them).
Your application of this social interaction and identity idea was really fascinating. I can totally see how when the woman was seen as a prostitute, she felt embarrassed and ashamed by both her identity and the interactions she had. Once she began to see herself as a human being worthy of value and respect, her social interactions changed.
I didn’t think about Le’s identity and how it was shaped by her social interactions with her mom and grandmother. Her story definitely shows how powerful social interactions can be, which is why I think that we as social workers need to try our best to make sure everyone we come in contact with knows that that have value and deserve both respect and love.
After you talked about how your social interactions shape your identity, I thought about it for myself as well. I think that because of my identity (white, middle class, etc) I have never faced discrimination and in turn I know I have value and I have a pretty positive outlook on society. It’s important to recognize that this is not true for everyone.
Thanks again for posting!
Jamarquist-
ReplyDeleteThat is such an interesting conclusion you were able to draw from that. I had not thought of it from that perspective. By asking, which came first, I was able to think back on our nations history and have a more in depth analysis of the idea. The Ted Talk about Jane Novogratz also blew me away. It motivates me as a social worker to pull people out of situations like that. It also makes me think about the available resources to use at her disposal and that we can also make more of those available to those in dire situations like Jane. Unfortunately, she is in the tiny margin of those fortunate enough to get out of a life like that.
Tan Lee’s Ted Talk also struck me and made me analyze my social interactions, and whether or not they had an influence on my identity. I was kind of surprised by the extent I found that this affected me. From being bullied in pre-k, to being a sports star in high school, I was able to see how all of the social interactions surrounding that paved the way for my thought process and self-identity. Thinking about this, I am curious about how we are able to positively shape these social interactions. It is something deeper than just telling people to be nice. I think it stems from teaching children at a young age that everyone is equal, and then them growing up to have a positive identity. If we can do this, we can improve the social interactions.