Identity and Culture Essay -- Cultural Identity Essays

When we think about our individualism we often think about the way we look. Such features as vibrissa color, eye color, skin tone, height and weight come to mind. Whilst these features are realm of our indistinguishability, there are many more complex factors that make us who we are. Whilst psychological issues are paramount to the formation of our identity, I leave alone be addressing the nature of our identity in relation to socio-cultural factors (Austin, 2002, p.9). During the course of this essay I will be discussing the term of identity operator and somewhat of the axes of identity, including Race, Class and Gender. It is pregnant to understand some of the significant issues of identity so that we have more of an understanding of who and what we are, which in turn may help us to stick to better understand others.IdentityThe New English Dictionary (1999) defines identity as the distinguishing characteristics of a person. Our identity makes us who and what we are . It could be described as a sense of belonging and about having things in common with others (Weeks, 1990, cited in Austin, 2002, p.1).Identity is a dynamic feature of social life. That is, it is something that is constantly evolving and changing. For some people, identity can change rapidly and dramatically, of course, but for most of us our identities evolve slowly and imperceptibly (Livesey, n.d., p.1).There are many factors to reach in understanding the process of identity formation. Structuralists believe that we are the harvest-home of our society. Therefore there are many environmental and social factors that go into the formation of an identity. For example children that grow up in the bush will have different influences in their lives to children that grow up in the cit... ...d.). A Level Sociology, Teaching Notes for Students. Culture and Identity, 6. Sources of Identity. World wide-eyed Web http//freespace.virgin.net/chris.livesey/cculture.htm 2002, July, 24.Mrqu ez, C (1999). Empowering Chicanos Through Self-identity. Faculty Mentor Olga Vasquez, Ph.D., Department of Communication. World Wide Web http//www.communication.ucsd.edu/LCM/ectsi.html 30 July, 2002.Weeks, J. (1990). The value of difference. In J. Austin (Ed.), Culture & Identity (pp.1-3). NSW Pearson Education Australia.Woolfolk, A.E. (1998). Educational Psychology. Seventh Edition. Boston Allyn & Bacon.McDonald, Kevin (2000). Pressing Questions explorations in sociology. impression two. Pearson Education Australia Pty Ltd.