Identity.

Identity.

1. Gender

   • Gender is something that is fluid and always changing, the way women and men are seen and their expectations, appearance and behaviour have changed in the past 100 years.
   • Traditionally there were clear ideas of what was meant by feminity and masculinity but today there are arguable many ways to be male/female.
   • Wilson was a sociobiologist who argued that men need to be promiscuous to reproduce while women need to nurture the child and stay faithful to the father of their child to ensure help in its upbringing.
   • FUNCTIONALIST VIEW: Parsons argued that women have the expressive role, this is natural but also reinforced by socialisation. Males have an instrumental role in the family of being the breadwinner and the protector , this is natural based on their physical strength but also reinforced by socialisation. These roles are functional for the family and society.
   • Feminists are that there is a patriarchal society , and reinforces stereotypes of how males and females should be.
   • Hey studied friendship groups

2. Age

3. Nationality

   • National identity is often considered as the identity of a whole country. National identity is often expressed through supporting your national team in sport, through pride in the flag, anthem and through language.
   • Anderson argues that a nation is an 'imagined community' in that members of a nation will never meet most of their fellow members and so a national identities constructed through symbols such as the flag and anthem and rituals such as national holidays and festivals.
   • For British people nationality is often quite confused. English and British are often seen as synonymous but for someone who is Welsh, Irish or Scottish there is a clear distinction. Kumar discussed this and the fact unlike Scots, Welsh and Irish, English find it difficult to say who they are. Kumar looked into the history of English and argued that quest to expand Britishness may have diluted Englishness.
   • National identity will become less and less significant in todays globalised society. Young people today are seen as citizens of the world. Factors such as the internet and media have contributed to this reaking down national boundaries.
   • Stuart Hall argued that countries will have three different reactions to globalisation.
     • Accept global culture and all countries will become more similar, = CULTURAL HOMOGENISATION
     • Take in some parts of global culture but also have their own tradition alongside it, = CULTURAL HYBRIDITY
     • Completely resist global culture and protect their cultural traditions and heritage = CULTURAL RESISTANCE

4. Sexuality

5. Disability

6. Ethnicity

   • We all have an ethnic identity made up of race, religion, where we live, our background, skin colour, ethnic origin.
   • Spencer et al. suggested that European Migrants spent little time socialising with British pop. In their research a Ukrainian waitress stated that British people do not let you in their circles .
   • Ghumann found that Brasian family tradition, religion and family values played an important role in the upbringing of 2nd generation Asians in the UK. Asian children tend to be socilaised with extended family with the emphasis on family loyalty, duty, honour and commitment.
   • Cashmore and Troyna argued that for ethnic minorities there is a tendency to turn inwards and seek support from within their own communities as a response to racism they face.
   • Jacobson argues that many young Pakistanis are adopting a strong islamic identity as a response of social exclusion from white British society.
   • Modood found generational differences over the issue of identity suggesting second generation ethnic minorities from Asian backgrounds felt more British than their parents while still seeing their ethnic origin as a key part of their ethnic identity.
   • Postmodernists argue that in a globalised society like today identity is all about choice and everyone can create their own identity. Hybridity is allowing ethnicity becoming less significant and less clear cut. However some disagree, arguing ethnicity and race are still sources of discrimination and hugely affect identity.

7. Social Class