Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe: Loss Of Identity

Research Question: how does male dominance, reputation, and responsibility lead to the downfall of Okonkwo’s and other character’s identity.
My research paper has to do with the loss of identity of the main character as well as others. The conflicting battles they had with themselves and society as a whole.
I believe this is important because within this novel, “Things Fall Apart”, there are countless conflicts that mostly ended in disarray. My gist was that the underlying themes within this novel were mostly responsible for these conflicts and so I took it upon myself to scrutinize the novel and find out for myself.
In doing so, I heavily relied on the novel attained from my high school and researched other people’s perceptions concerning this topic. Through writing this paper I have made clear the motifs in this novel such as letting power control you instead of vice versa and such things were the cause of many character’s downfall or rise within the novel.
Loss of Identity in Things Fall Apart
From reading the novel “Things Fall Apart”, you instantly pick up idea that the world of the Igbo people is engulfed in ancestral believes and hierarchy. These notions are strongly embedded within the society that the village’s resistance to the European rein by force rumbles disarray in the society. The reader is reminded of a similar paradigm in the days of Queen Elizabeth the first. From an Igbo’s view, one could pronounce that the emergence of the Europeans might have triggered the chaos follow-on their meddling with Igbo traditions. The foremost adjustment of these set in stone conventional cultures alarmed mainly the customary authority accredited to men by their known patriarchal society. Moreover, the characters’ keenness for male dominance undoubtedly interrupted various aspects of the existing ancestral believes and hierarchy, particularly reputation and responsibility which were deemed manly traits. Even more so, these traits amount to the main standard for measuring a man’s respect and authority/dominance.

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The dominance of the male characters emerges inherent, within the Igbo patriarchal community where “power is usually cited as the most important factor used by men to construct their own identities as the ‘engendered representatives of humanity.”(OLI) This sort of power is portrayed at the physical level as well as on a social and interactive level. On the physical level, people who tend to be lazy are regarded as an agbala, which means a woman in Igbo. This idea is vividly illustrated through Onkonkwo’s father. Okonkwo himself achieved fame after showing his strength when he defeated Amalinze in a wrestling contest. This is the first account we have of Okonkwo’s t physical strength and ability; Okonkwo asserts comparison to the “coercive physical power” exercised by the British colonisers upon Umuofia people, and which Okonkwo uses to punish his wives (EP, p.52).
On the social plane, we are introduced to a structural supremacy which involves several privileges accorded to the person by the tribe they belong to. We see this being exemplified through Ogbuefi Ezeudu a character who “had been a great and fearless warrior in his time, and was now accorded a great respect in all the clan.” (TFA, p.57). The positive male supremacy is the ideology employed in contrast to the coercive physical power. These perceptions were values customary to clans and established by the elders as a primary foundation of their ancestral beliefs and hierarchy in the Umuofia village. Within this novel, we observe the direct link between male dominance/authority and reputation. Effectively, the structural supremacy is accorded on the basis of the person’s intelligence, and as well as some principles defined by the clan. Reputation however becomes the fulcrum around which most aspects of their ancestral beliefs and hierarchy turn. A reputation being the main focus in the organised Umuofia system is stressed upon by fact that it is a standout feature of people who are capable to accede to the leadership of the clan. Subsequently, these people (men) show a great sense of responsibility because they do not want to be viewed as failures and also to encourage values that guarantee the continuation of the ancestral beliefs and hierarchy in the clan. Likewise any man who fails to attain authority or dominance loses his identity as a true member of the tribe.
Consequently, my distress lies in depicting how male dominance, reputation, and responsibility have all directed to the downfall of Okonkwo and other characters’ identity.
Situated in Igboland approaching the beginning of the twentieth century, Things Fall Apart is embodied via the overlapping of various premises among which one is able to pull out male dominance, reputation, responsibility, collisions of cultures, ancestral beliefs and hierarchy. The novel points out the disarray as well as the incompatible circumstances caused by the onset of the white Europeans who on their arrival brought with them a new religion, new ways of going about life, and a shift in paradigm. The beginning phase of “Things Fall Apart” limns the integrated community of Umuofia Village, with its kingship political system.  The reader also experiences the initial exposure of male power through the central figure, Okonkwo who is portrayed as a strong fearless warrior whose celebrity status is undeniable across the Igboland,
“Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements. As a young man of eighteen he had brought honor to his village by throwing Amalinze the Cat. Amalinze was the great wrestler who for seven years was unbeaten, from Umuofia to Mbaino”. (TFA, p.3)
Okonkwo’s reputation is given more weight by the narrator who stresses on the physical account that discloses much about his personality and gives the reader insight into the main character and his capabilities:
That was many years ago, twenty years or more, and during this time Okonkwo’s fame had grown like a bush-fire in the harmattan. He was tall and huge, and his bushy eyebrows and wide nose gave him a very severe look. He breathed heavily, and it was said that, when he slept, his wives and children in their houses could hear him breathe. When he walked, his heels hardly touched the ground and he seemed to walk on springs, as if he was going to pounce on somebody. And he did pounce on people quite often. He had a slight stammer and whenever he was angry and could not get his words out quickly enough; he would use his fists. He had no patience with unsuccessful men. He had had no patience with his father. (TFA, pg.3-4)
At this point you could come to the conclusion that Okonkwo is satisfied with his accomplishments taking into account his authority as a man and status within the community. In accordance to Ada Uzoamaka Azado: “In the Umuofia community of Things Fall Apart, Igbo men are constrained to achieve and flaunt [male superiority], in order to be seen and respected.” (EP, p.50) (OLI) The Nigerian civilization described within the novel has been established by patriarchy which is intern manifested throughout the novel. Regardless of the concept of Nneka, which in translation means “Mother is Supreme,” which brings to mind the assertion that “the most important factor with regard to the woman in traditional society is her role as mother”, women are often measured and represented as possessions of men: “In domestic terms, women are reckon as part of a man’s acquisitions. Hence, women are regarded in the Umuofia community as part of the several measures perceived to be associated to masculinity. The seclusion of female characters from the social hierarchy is hammered on by the narrator. “It was clear from the way the crowd stood or sat that the ceremony was for men.” (TFA, pg.87). However this circumstance is not typical to Umuofia alone. Actuality, in pre-colonial African culture, women were deemed inferior and not at pair with the opposite sex.
It is then not surprising when the author controverts Okonkwo’s father to him. His father Unoka is presented as a sluggish and irresponsible drunk;
Unoka, for that was his father’s name, had died ten years ago. In his day he was a lazy and improvident and was quite incapable of thinking about tomorrow. If any money came his way, and it seldom did, he immediately bought gourds of palm-wine, called round his neighbors and made merry. He always said that whenever he saw a dead man’s mouth he saw the folly of not eating what one had in one’s lifetime. Unoka was, of course, a debtor, and he owed every neighbor some money, from a few cowries to quite substantial amounts. (TFA, pg.4)
His father’s irresponsibility is portrayed through his failure to manage money properly. His main aim is to drink palm wine and to make merry with his friends. He is talked about as a failure, an agbala. He endured mockery just because he did not live up to the standards set for men in the community;
Unoka, the grown-up, was a failure. He was poor and his wife and children had barely enough to eat. People laughed at him because he was a loafer, and they swore never to lend him any more money because he never paid back. /…/ Unoka was never happy when it came to wars. He was in fact a coward and could not bear the sight of blood. And so he changed the subject and talked about music, and his face beamed. (TFA, pp.5-6)
The subdued image of Unoka is by no means accidental. Achebe uses this as a medium to represent male dominance in the Igbo society as well as to depict the perception against men who do not succeed. Therefore, one comes to the realisation that male dominance within the novel is strongly associated with the individual’s own pursuit for identity. This elucidates the motive behind the main character’s unending efforts to attain power which is threatened in novel from time to time. Simply, Okonkwo aims to characterize himself in the sense of creating an image that regarded as the real man with all authority accredited to him in this patriarchal community
Okonkwo appears, first, as a successful man who has achieved the self-fulfilment he tries to look for. As Ifeoma Onyemelukwe states:   
[Okonkwo] is the man who was able to resolve his identity crisis in late adolescence. At age 18 he had developed self-confidence, a high self-concept, and self-esteem and had high achievement motivation as typical of the average Igbo man. The consequence of this is his reverberating achievement and celebrity. (EP, p.37)
Okonkwo’s bodily strength in combination with the man’s keenness to attain social climax moulded a very commanding persona which is fit for such a patriarchal community.   The ideology of the male character as an influential and commanding individual is subsequently toughened by the image of the agbala which generally alludes to fruitless or sluggish men. Onyemelukwe comments: 
Things Fall Apart depicts very successful Okonkwo as showing no empathy or sympathy to less fortunate men like his father, Unoka. Such individuals, to his mind, are simply agbala (Igbo word for woman) or she-men.  
It is not surprising that Okonkwo stands out in the novel as a macho man with a great deal of self-esteem and self-confidence.            
The cap fits Okonkwo in many instances in the given description. Achebe portrays him as one who is neither patient nor tolerant. (EP, pp. 37-38) 
Okonkwo’s authority is as a result of his will to attain success. This is evidently highlighted within the novel:  
But the Ibo people have a proverb that when a man says yes his chi says yes also. Okonkwo said yes very strongly; so his chi agreed. And not only his chi but his clan too, because it judged a man by the work of his hands. That was why Okonkwo had been chosen by the nine villages to carry a message of war to their enemies unless they agreed to give up a young woman and a virgin to atone for the murder of Udo’s wife. (TFA, pg.27)
Achebe allows the speaker to broaden the confines of Okonkwo’s authority, evoking what his own father could not achieve: accomplishing himself as a man and building up his reputation. However, Okonkwo was unsuccessful in effectively conveying the authority he possessed. One might argue that the power controlled his actions and in the end the rationale behind his failure may be to shed light on the flaws of the hero blinded by his reputation of and his edge to climb up on the social ladder.
Okonkwo’s reputation drops suddenly following his accidental murder of a young boy. He is no longer deemed as the figure of authority, fame and masculinity just because a bullet from his gun inadvertently killed a young boy. In addition, the laws and regulations customary to the Igbo community demands that any being found guilty of taking another’s life must be banished to his or her motherland. This in contrast to Okonkwo’s macho personality highlights the shame that adorn him.
“Overnight, great Okonkwo, the great warrior, the great warrior, the great wrestler, one of the most outstanding achievers of his time, most respected and revered, loses all he has laboured to achieve just in the twinkle of an eye. His hope or remaining “one of the lords of the clan,” is shattered.  
His flight to Mbanta implies starting life afresh, from the scratch. It means loss of self-esteem, peace, happiness. His ego is obviously punctured. His fame transforms into shame. His identity crumbles. Crises and conflict set in again”. (EP, pp.41-42)
It is evident that the situation Okonkwo finds himself in is a paradoxical one because, in spite of the patriarchal trend, he is still banished to his mother’s village. This occurrence can be regarded as a device Achebe utilizes to reconstruct the image of women. In this regard the author celebrates the ‘Mother as a Supreme Being’, a concept which is recurrent in Achebe’s writings.
Noticeably, Okonkwo’s return to his motherland plays an important role as it secures him from European influences. At this point, Okonkwo becomes fully aware of his of himself in exile. The identity alteration is first observed by his mother’s brother who pertinently comments.   
“Why is Okonkwo with us today? This is not his clan. We are only his mother’s kinsmen. He does not belong here. He is an exile, condemned for seven years to live in a strange land. And so he is bowed with grief. But there is just one question I would like to ask him. Can you tell me, Okonkwo, why it is that one of the commonest names we give our children is Nneka, or “Mother is Supreme?” We all know that a man is the head of the family and his wives do his bidding. A child belongs to its father and his family and not to its mother and her family. A man belongs to his fatherland and not to his motherland”. (TFA, pg.133)
The speaker highlights Okonkwo’s responsiveness to his loss of identity. “[He] knew these things. He knew that he had lost his place among the nine masked spirits who administered justice in the clan.” (TFA, p.171) However, his return in the subsequent lines stress upon his reputation and responsibility:  
He was determined that his return should be marked by his people. He would return with a flourish, and regain the seven wasted years. /…/ Even in his first year in exile he had begun to plan his return. (TFA, pp.171)
One might wonder if the changes that have occurred in his society would allow him to achieve his reintegration without troubles. However taking into account Okonkwo we knew at the early stages of the novel, you would come to think that his return would once more rekindle the ancestral beliefs and hierarchy within the village of Umuofia. Nonetheless the overlapping of models like reputation, male dominance, and responsibility are such that they compose in a common focus characterised by violent behaviour and also the downfall of Okonkwo’s fame and persona
Revisiting Okonkwo’s reassimilation within his society, he is put in the skeleton of the above body depicting that his final condition is by no means perchance. Effectively, Okonkwo composes a blend of male dominance, reputation, and responsibility. Okonkwo’s petulance and zeal to succeed demonstrates the fundamental nature of his character. Hence, the violent condition that has propelled Okonkwo into an inevitable downfall is a produce of the overlapping of male dominance, reputation and responsibility.
The society of Umuofia is structured such that man must climb up on the social ladder if he wants to gain respect in the community. The other side of the coin is set aside for women, or in this case, men incapable of achieving masculinity. In effect, the permutation female honour / power do not lead to a decline because a woman moving upward on the social ladder is tantamount to re-examination. It’s an amelioration of their rank and cannot be viewed as a downfall. This is also evident in Achebe’s works; “A Man of the People” and the “Devil on the Cross” when Eunice and Warrîînga respectively, rid themselves of their male tyrannisers. These individuals found their identity and repositioned themselves at superiors on the social ladder and hierarchy.  In consequence, Okonkwo who is unable to find some of his previous attributes is, inevitably excluded from his rank on the social hierarchy. No longer is he perceived as a role model that he was and, as a result, declines on the hierarchy as low as an agbala, like his father. Okonkwo’s shift on the social hierarchy is negative. The only factor resultant from the overlapping talked about themes is violence. Eunice uses this as a tool however; this is not the same in Okonkwo’s situation. In the first instance, violence is utilized at the personal level to liberate themselves from the Europeans, whiles the second instance has an effect on the entire village of Umuofia. Moreover, because the violence in the case of Okonkwo is not tied to one person, the reparation thereafter is irrepressible and, ‘things fall apart’.
To shed light on Okonkwo’s failure, Achebe distances the main character from the various revolutions taking place and affecting the people of Umuofia. The author shows a significant role in conjunction to his banishment and uses that as a tool to segregate Okonkwo from the occurring changes. The altercation is no more among Okonkwo and his community, but his cultural beliefs and the European imposed culture. In point of fact, the Europeans having accomplished their efforts in convincing the Igbo people, Okonkwo is left standing alone defending the traditions of Umuofia. His accomplishments and disappointments rest on his capability to formulate a suitable decision of the three principles that constitute to his personality: reputation, male dominance, and responsibility
Okonkwo inhabits a society where male dominance is the focal point of traditional beliefs. The patriarchy that he and many others have emulated from ancestral traditions vitalizes him to adopt a mind-set of superiority over the opposite sex by abusing his wives. Okonkwo rose to fame as early as the age of eighteen and since then has been most certainly blinded by fame. As a result, his main aim is to stay at the peak of his power. Okonkwo then shifts from a well-liked hero to a villain. This shift in Okonkwo’s character demonstrates violence as a predestined outcome of the transformations which affected Okonkwo’s community. For Okonkwo and many others like himself, the only respond is through violence.
Achebe exemplifies Okonkwo’s calamity as a character falling victim to social violence on the one hand, but also of himself on the other. The first of the violence is one brought upon the Village of Umuofia by European colonisers. This violence was physically imposed and it goes up against the two different lifestyles and their cultures. The second is violence imposed by traditions on the characters. For example; Okonkwo serves seven years banishment for having killed a Klansman; the intentionally killing of twin children to avoid a curse that may strike the village; also Ikemefuna as young as she is sacrificed to Ani (the Earth goddess,) to provide justice after the death of a member of the neighbouring village.
Also the individual violence Okonkwo works out on his own personality. We first observe this particular type of conflict mentally. This was where he strongly believed in recapturing his lost identity and to achieve his cause, he ends up as the physical victim of his own violence choosing to hang himself rather than fall into captivity. However, in doing this, he sheds off his reputation. 
It is apparent that the last few sections of Things Fall Apart reveal an Okonkwo who has come to terms with his failure, and tries to evoke his identity. Okonkwo now is not the same
Okonkwo who “said yes strongly; so his chi agreed” (TFA, pg.27). Sadly for Okonkwo, he came to realisation a little late and his strive to keep the little honour he had prove to be futile. Consequentially, committing suicide is gaze at as a taboo: “It is an abomination for a man to take his own life. It is an offence against the Earth, and a man who commits it will not be buried by his clansmen.” (TFA, pg. 207). He is forsaken even in death just because his ordeal was against [their] custom.” (TFA, pg.207). However, the speakers convey some compassion through Obierika: 
Obierika, who had been gazing steadily at his friend’s body, turned suddenly to the District Commissioner and said ferociously: “That man was one of the greatest men in Umuofia. You drove him to kill himself; and now he will be buried like a dog…” He could not say any more. His voice trembled and choked his words. (TFA, pg.208)
 
The narrator attributes the blame of Okonkwo’s death to the District Commissioner’s men. And at this point Achebe condemns the negative and brutal aspects of the arrival of the colonisers in Africa in general and the Igboland in particular. Things Fall Apart can also be considered as a novel that Achebe uses to epitomise the irrationality of certain traditions which in the end have overwhelming effects on the individual and the entire society. Hence I conclude with this famous quote by W.B Yeats,
“Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.
Word count: 3,582
 

Identity Crisis in Desirable Daughters by Bharati Mukherjee

ABSTRACT: Immigrants have envisioned tales that exhibit experiences of independent and emerging countries. Cultures have taken up new form in the contemporary times, where the issues of Diaspora, globalization, consumerism, transnationalism cultural hyberidity and identity crisis have become new motif in the postcolonial literatures. The new issues give rise to identity crisis that evokes feelings of an individual that portrays socio-cultural setup that shows the blend of tradition and modernity. The new identity creates problems for Tara in Desirable Daughters by Bharati Mukherjee, where she is alienated, languishing in the angst and ennui of the diasporic experience, yet to carve out a niche for herself.

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In the novel, Bharati Mukherjee has struck a balance between tradition and modernity by representing past and present which is achieved through the female protagonist -Tara, who severed her links with tradition but remains tied to her native country. Tara is influenced by ancient customs and traditions, but is rooted to modern customs. She is conscious of her existential predicament which is mirrored in the epigraph: “No one behind, no one ahead the path the ancients cleared has closed. And the other path everyone’s path… goes nowhere, I am alone and find my way.” Tara is alienated from the society as she oscillated between the nostalgic fascinations of a traditional past and the romantic and adventurous allurements of the present. The diasporic qualities exhibited by Tara establish the merging of the East and West which shows the clash.
The Identity of the protagonist is highly assimilative, can adopt and accommodate herself both to her traditional Indian way of life and to her newly adopted American ethos. She tries to move away from the constrained identity and vacillates between two lives: “maybe I really was between two lives.”(251)
Tara’s reconstruction of identity is rooted in her nostalgic and romantic recollection of her past. It is based on the flux of her thoughts about the past coming to her mind in the present but in fragments, and not whole. She tried to reconstruct her identity through her diasporic experience. She was attempting to redefine the importance of her cultures through space and time. Loneliness had made Tara a little wanton and wantonness had made her very lonely. In these five years she had changed beyond recognition, but other character Bish had not changed at all.Bish is also an upholder of tradition. He prefers the values of an imagined past than those of contemporaneity.
The concept of home and migration is very much embedded in the narratology that Bharati Mukherjee presents in Desirable Daughters. It is the sense of migration which brings about a change to the identity of Padma, who has finally made New York her home, her land of choice. But her inalienable attachment to her home makes her the sustainer and preserver of Bengali tradition in America. The alien culture thus fails to subvert her traditional identity. On the other hand it only remaps nad reconstructs her cultural identity. Hence migration plays a crucial role in restricting individual identifies and cultural attitudes and perceptions.
The novel is woven brilliantly which depicts the thoughts and feelings of three Calcutta, India-born Brahmin upper-class sisters, renowned for their beauty, brains, wealth, and privileged position in society.
Mukherjee narrates their lives as they leave their conservative, sheltered childhood home, where they are inundated with culture, tradition, and values and inculcated with education by the Catholic nuns in their convent structured school and college. Two of them emigrate to America and the other relocates to Bombay, India. The three sisters, Padma, Parvati, and Tara, are born exactly three years apart from each other and share the same birthday.They are named after the goddesses’s name,hoping that they will survive and prosper in whatever they do.
“We are sisters three/as alike as three blossoms on one flowering tree. (But we are not),” says Tara, the protagonist, quoting a poem.
Desirable Daughters is the novel that takes a long time to lift itself from the surface and once it releases its themes and characters, it seems to get liberated from the trapped situation. Engrossed in Indian culture old and new, it keeps strucking down in tight little circles of detail that create an atmosphere of cramped inwardness, even suffocation. Bharati Mukherjee, like in her previous four novels and short stories, tries to portray the repression that enables the women of her culture nailed down in subservience to male desires. The feelings and emotions are discovered after exploring traditional Indian society.
The novel is based on three strikingly-beautiful sisters from a privileged Bengali Brahmin family in Calcutta feel the tug between tradition and freedom as they try to meet expectations that are often wildly contradictory. The youngest, Tara Chatterjee, seems to have flown farthest from the nest. Tara is divorced from Bishwapriya (a Silicon Valley multimillionaire hand-picked for her by her father), she’s raising a “sensitive” teenaged son on her own. The depressing part is that, she works as a lowly teacher, a choice which would be unthinkable in the culture of her birth.
The story is narrated by Tara from her adopted San Francisco home, where she lives with Andy Karolyi, a strange sort of Hungarian Zen carpenter who earthquake-proofs houses. The lifestyle of the protagonist implies, a sort of free and easy hippie lifestyle, but nothing could be farther from the truth. In the novel the rebellion-gestures are merely trappings, or reactions against the gagging restrictions of Tara’s girlhood.
Tara initiates her tale of repression in a curious way, with a legend about her namesake Tara Lata, also known as the Tree Bride — a remarkable figure who became prominent in the fight for Indian freedom. After going in for more than twenty pages, Tara then delves into telling story of her own, which seems to be dislocating in nature. She recalls the utter lack of romanticism in her marriage, in which her father told her, “There is a boy and we have found him suitable. Here is his picture. The marriage will be in three weeks.” Tara, not knowing any other way, submitted: “I married a man I had never met, whose picture and biography and bloodlines I approved of, because my father told me it was time to get married and this was the best husband on the market.”
Mukherjee dwells on every detail of this highly traditional occurrence. The father of the child bride is a traditionalist even though he is a lawyer educated in English and English law. The groom dies of snakebite and his family blames the bride as unlucky. Greedily the father of the groom demands the dowry. But the bride’s father takes his daughter into the forest where he marries her to a tree. She becomes a woman noted for her courage and generosity. Her American granddaughter visits her home. She has the same name, Tara Lata, as the old woman and like her she has two sisters.
The contemporary woman is a divorced woman. Her ex-husband was the traditionally pre-selected bridegroom – like his former wife a resident in America – and now she lives with her lover, an American, in San Francisco. Her son introduces a young man who claims kinship as the son of her oldest sister, Padma. This is a kind of impossibility. An impossibility since her sister never had a child and a possibility since the familial relationships are so convolutedly secretive as to make the existence of the young man as her nephew plausible. It seems likely that the young man’s claim is true and that Padma, Tara’s sister, did bear an illegitimate child. This is a momentous event for Tara. As the pampered child of wealthy Calcutta parents, she was sheltered from the poverty of the city and from all but the most severe political crises. She suffers the stress now of an immigrant with a child that belongs wholly to her new country. The discovery of Padma’s child brings into focus all her inner disquiet and the need to find valid connections.
In the novel, Tara’s relationship with her two elder sisters is complicated, the flow of affection blocked by a certain formality and adherence to preset roles. Middle sister Parvati married a rich man and stayed in India, but by some miracle was able to select the suitable match for her. Parvati in her own way had established her identity, because of which it was said:”Parvati, the pliable middle daughter had done the unthinkable: she’d made a love match. … He was certainly not what brains-and-beauty Parvati Bhattacharjee could have commanded on the Calcutta marriage market.”
Even though Paravati was given right to select her right match but after that she is depicted as one who is a meek follower and gets diminished by losing her real.She writes to Tara: “I hope you aren’t doing bad things to yourself like taking Prozac and having cosmetic surgery. Please, please don’t become that Americanized.”
The third, and the eldest sister of Tara, Didi, is married to a Mehta (an illustrious family which includes the conductor Zubin) and moved to New Jersey to pursue a career in television. But again, all is not as it seems. Her lifestyle is a thin veneer laid over the dense, pressed-down bedrock of tradition. She is considered to be most glamorous of all the three sisters.
The other character Chris Dey, is represented as crisis in the novel. He is a young man who represents himself to Tara as Didi’s illegitimate son, conceived through an affair with a prominent businessman named Ronald Dey. This exposes an ugly under layer of culture to Tara, “not the India of doting grandparents, not the India of comfort and privilege, but the backyard of family, the compost heap.”
The characters in the novel are not portrayed in the liberated form, they are trapped into different set of emotions trying to carve out a new identity for themselves. Tara is projected as a character who more of a status conscious tries to uphold the values of traditional society despite falling for different allurements in the present. Her elder sister, Didi pretends hard to be a pure character but falters when gives birth to her son, which represents “misalliance”.Chris Dey isn’t really who he says he is, and in fact he feels like a device, something dropped into the story to keep things moving forward.
In the end, the novel, tries to come back from where it started, where and the legend of Tara Lata the Tree Bride, but this device doesn’t quite work either. The denouement somehow goes slack and does not yield a satisfying end to the story. The novel seems to be a family saga which could not bring out the desirable characteristics in the characters of the novel, that portrays them as a dominant in any sphere. The end is quite suspenseful and complex where the description of homeland may be magical but symbolic intention was lost.
Bharati Mukherjee depicts a liquid society in her novels, ie a society in flux. It is a society of constant flow, the flow of migrants, the flow of machines, flow of criminals, flow of power structures, flow of people and commodities. Amidst all the confusions the message was brought out clearly and it is represented as a fascinating beautifully written work of art that exhibits vulnerability that cannot be missed out.
 

How Will Singapore Effect Globalization Of National Identity Cultural Studies Essay

Singapore, one of the most globalized nations in the world today, had undergone a series of political and economic crises in the past forcing its leaders to take on a proactive stance to the formation of national identity . One stance the government took was forging a national myth of progress that depicted Singapore’s transformation from a third world fishing village to a first world republic. The catalyze of this metamorphosis was globalization, through globalizing strategies such as: establishing English as the country’s first language; building Singapore’s economy through partnerships with multinational corporations; importing popular culture from over the world; advocating and sending Singaporeans to study abroad; encouraging the immigration of “foreign talent”; and stressing a global orientation rather than a local identity. The embracement of globalization through these strategies has led Singapore to acquire political stability and economic growth. However, they have weakened the country’s social bonds with are critical for pursuing the quest for national identity in Singapore.
Although there are other aspects of Singapore’s national identity, this discussion will focus on the national identity of economic progress because it has a direct correlation with the Republic’s embrace of globalization.
This paper will firstly study the terms globalization and national identity in the context of Singapore. After which, address five issues derived from Singapore’s embracement of globalization that has an ill effect on the republic’s national identity quest.
Firstly, the way in which Singapore practices selective globalization that has led to an antagonistic relationship between local identities and global identities of the people. Secondly, the recognition of Singapore as a global nation state and how that ‘loses’ national identity for future generations. Thirdly, how the influences of popular culture affects Singapore’s national identity adversely. Fourthly, how issues of emigration and immigration have undermined national identity. Fifthly, how Singapore’s declaration as a global city has led to the debilitation of Singapore’s national identity from which the problem of commitment arose. And sixthly, how Singapore’s success story, as a result of globalization, thwarts efforts of cementing the Republic’s national identity.
Singapore’s National Identity
Before we discuss Singapore’s national identity, this paper defines the concept of a nation, in relation to Singapore, as imagined and as a purposeful construct . This is because Singapore does not have a long history. Furthermore, it is populated by a myriad of different ethnicities.
Since independence, the Singaporean government has tried to foster a national identity in Singapore. The aim of this was to unite the heterogeneous immigrant population under the nation-state; in the hope that a uniquely Singaporean identity, which the people could identify with, would emerge.
The Singapore government has placed strong emphasis on creating a material-based national identity through the presence and availability of economic development, home-ownership, asset-enhancement, a high standard of living and modern facilities. This has created a “social modernity” that evokes a sense of Singapore’s national identity in practical and material terms . Hence, the cleanliness of the environment and the efficiency in the background of everyday Singaporean living are qualities the government promotes as Singapore’s national identity and national symbols. Singaporean’s high quality of life as a resultant of globalization and commercial development reemphasizes the national identity of economic progress.
Globalization in the context of Singapore
Many scholars view globalization as a force, which would bring about the decline , erosion or the end of the nation-state. True to this definition, Singapore’s embrace for globalization has created problems by weakening emotional ties and the national identity of the nation. This is demonstrated by: a crippling of social cohesion within the community; a pragmatic attitude of Singaporeans; and an increase number of talented Singaporeans choosing to emigrate.
Although the Singapore government attempts to connect the people under the notion of a national identity that is based on the myth of overcoming adversity, this paper posits that the process of globalization undermines Singapore’s territorial boundaries, the nation’s sovereignty, and its traditional roles, hence undermining the Republic’s national identity quest.
Singapore’s practice of selective globalization
Globalization exposes nation-states to both opportunities and challenges. Singapore has moved from the process of building a nation-state to becoming a global city. The government practices selective globalization where certain forms are encouraged and others are discouraged . While, they champion for the synchronization of regulations and policies with international standards, they protect their society from unwholesome global commodities such as pornographic magazines. On one hand, Singapore enjoys its status as one of the most globalized countries in the world in terms of finance and telecommunications. On the other hand, Singapore regularly gets criticized from international human rights institutions for insisting to practice its own label of politics . The issue of Singapore practicing selective globalization portrays the need to remain globally connected for the sole purpose of survival, while the retention of certain traditional ideals expresses the necessity to protect specific interest.
Long suggests, that the act of cultures globalizing and de-globalizing within localities at the same time is synchronized through local practices; and ideals generated symbols transmitted through the media, whether global or local, are at the forefront of forming a contemporary culture .
This would mean that globalization weakens the building blocks of national identity because of the reinforcement of social relations through messages, images and symbols that would connect individuals to what Anderson referred to as “imagined communities” . To explain further, these “imagined communities” are created through the process of media-related visual cues. An influx of these cues from globalization and localization causes Singapore’s national identity to be continually contested and negotiated.
Singapore as a globalizing nation state
Minister Mentor Lee Kwan Yew once said: ‘if more Singaporeans worked abroad and their children forgot their roots…They dissolve and disappear and there is no Singapore… They become citizens of the world. What does that mean? Lost!’ .
As Singapore’s leaders continue to drive Singapore to become a globalized entity, global influences, such as international education and marriage to foreigners, result in the diminishing of Singapore’s nation identity. The main issue here is the loss of Singapore’s future generations of globalized young citizens who were never exposed to the fear of regional hostility or global alienation . Ironically, these generations of Singaporeans have been exposed to the very setting created by the government – Singapore’s global environment – that have in turn caused them to diminish their sense of national identity.
The influence of popular culture on youths in Singapore
The lack of national identity of Singapore’s most globalized segment of the population, the socially and politically apathetic younger generation, is a pivotal political issue in Singapore.
Singapore leaders have tried to combat the social and political consequence of embracing globalization by recounting Singapore’s difficult past to the future generations as an answer to Singapore’s shortfall . However, the attraction of globalization presents itself as a strong deterrence to the Republic’s vision for its citizens.
This deterrence can be explained by Berger’s proposition of “an emerging global culture” distinguished by individuation . The embracement of globalization and its exposure to the people has achieved “Individuation”, which in Singapore’s context suggests the ability of citizens to form a stronger sense of “self” or “individuality” over the nation’s collectiveness; hence a weakening of national identity.
To add on to the people’s sense of “individuation”, constrains in freedom of criticism of the government have led to demonstration of social trends such as the appropriation of immigration and emigration, as well as a general apathy towards national issues. The latter is best expressed as an attitude of indifference toward defending the nation, as well as, an attitude of dispassion towards Singapore’s national identity.
Globalization issues of emigration and immigration in Singapore
To nurture their only resource, people, Singapore sends its people abroad for higher education and training, and to hone their human resources, Singapore induces “foreign talent” to immigrate to Singapore. Even though these strategies have been successful, in championing objectives of increasing Singapore’s human talent pool, they weaken the national identity of the nation.
Most Singaporeans sent overseas find more opportunities abroad and do not return. By the same token, new immigrants have a greater attachment to their home countries and would leave Singapore eventually. It is clear that although globalization helps Singapore thrive successfully, it undermines a deep attachment to the nation, hence undermining national identity.
Furthermore, talented Singaporeans also feel that they will have more professional opportunities if they left Singapore to become a “foreign talent”. In responds to this, the leaders of Singapore indicated that they are aware of the double-edge sword of globalization, and included that emigration of talented Singaporeans would cause the core of the nation to unravel .
It is important to note that the matters raised above, within the quitter-stayer debate, do not entirely point to issues pertaining to loyalty. Rather it points to issues that have emerged from the establishment of a national identity in conjunction with the Republic’s efforts to embrace globalization – Meritocracy.
Meritocracy, Singapore’s national value, has aptly associated talent to success and reward. It was strategically propagated to put Singapore on the global economy map . Today, this very ideal that helped achieve Singapore’s global status also diminishes the Republic’s national identity by ingraining an opportunistic mindset into the people, hence indirectly telling Singapore’s talent to go where opportunities exist.
Commitment issues in Singapore as a result of globalization
Another repercussion to Singapore’s embracement of globalization has been a sabotaging of commitment to Singapore’s well being, where the future generations are unwilling to sacrifice for the nation.
One letter in the Straits Times forum page read, “What do we have in Singapore that are worth dying for?” This paper suggests that Singapore only really offers economic gain. Unfortunately, that could be attained elsewhere, hence “there is nothing that compels Singaporeans to stay here, let alone die for their country .” Although Singapore’s myth of economic progress is seen by the nation as a firm foundation of its national identity, it is being undermined because of globalization.

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In relation to the point above, Anderson puts, “the imaginings of a nation are limited to the extent of elastic boundaries” . Economic progress is not something exclusive to Singapore and therefore its usage as a national identity by the state is undermined. Through globalization, people identity themselves with an international community, and hence marginalize Singapore’s national identity of economic progress.
Studies have shown that while Singaporeans indicate that they experience a national identity through materiality and achievements of the nation, this form of identity does not conjure up a feeling of allegiance. Neither does it evoke a passion that people may fight and die for, nor does it arouse a sense of differentiation between other cultures.
Singapore’s success story as a national identity
Very similarly to the point above, Singapore’s success story of economic progress, which led the Republic to achieving a worldwide identity, could diminish Singapore’s national identity. In what this paper views as the Singapore paradox, the goals of the state, which is to sustain the nation, could be threatened by the successful integration of its people into a de-nationalizing globalized identity. This is because globalization propagates factors like transnational migration that undermines the national identity of the Singapore.
Conclusion
This discussion of globalization’s effects on Singapore’s national identity raises several conclusions that are relevant not only to Singaporeans but to other nations undergoing processes of globalization.
Singapore’s government has embraced globalization as a vital means of not only economic growth but also the Republic’s survival. This paper has portrayed how the embracement of globalization exerts pressure on Singapore’s difficulty to construct an effective connection between the nation and its citizens through a quest for national identity. The very tactics of globalization that have led to the rise of Singapore’s economy have compromised the nation’s shared identity and opportunities; and as a result of the rise of Singapore’s affluence through globalization, it is difficult to minimize the negative factors of globalization and maximize the positive factors of localization in establishing a national identity.
 

The Impact Of Global Media On Identity

Nowadays, major changes are taking place in the information and communications media as a result of new technological forms being delivered to us. Morley and Robins (1995) seem implicitly take this view when they write about our senses of space and place [] are being significantly reconfigured (Morley and Robins, 1995: 1). They are exemplifying the ‘new communications geography’ constituted by global networks and information flow which result in proliferated crisis of the national sphere.

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The changes described are effects of an ongoing process called globalization which we are all aware of as nowadays it is one of the main buzzwords. Moreover awareness extends to the fact that we are living in times of growing cultural globalism where global media has a significant impact on our lives. Therefore the aim of this paper is to discuss the relationship between global media and its impact on national identity and culture.
For some, through Western domination there is a homogenization and ‘sameness’ forming across the world. Global culture is being shaped by international entertainment conglomerates and for that reason becomes standardized. A discussion in the first part of the paper as a result will be formed around this topic. In contrast, the second part of the analysis will focus on the works of other writers who believe that we are living in the age of hybridised cultures, which borrow elements from each other but irremediably remain distinct.
For the purposes of this paper we must establish what is meant by terms identity and culture. Identity will refer to portrayal ones’ hold for them and with which they identify, while culture should refer to ‘a variety of practices which generate meanings’ (Barker, 1999: 9).
Creation of the Global Media
The time after the 1980’s led to major changes in terms of new communication technologies, digitalization of information and increase in deregulations and privatization in different sectors, including media. Privatization mostly affected United States what brought a direct impact upon the degree of exclusivity of the markets, allowing other players to improve their own standards and overall ‘stamp’ economically (Morley & Robins, 1995).
The free market allowed other organizations to gain more dominance in the global arena.
All of the changes resulted in other countries privatizing their telecoms (Thussu, 2006).
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) conducted a push toward creation of protected markets of World Trade Organization (WTO) which is holding up the structure of the free flow of information. WTO also led the way for penetration of Western markets to Asia and Latin America (Thussu, 2006). The crucial benefit of this was that key players were not more able to wholly dominate the markets to a significant degree as was the case prior to such legal regimes.
The progress in technology and telecommunications made possible the transfer of extremely large data to any part of the world within seconds what unquestionably had a huge impact on economy and trade. Additionally, the growth of digitalization and new technologies like computers, mobiles or satellites allowed fast and cheap communication around the world. It had an impact on growing international businesses which could be now operate by electronic marketplace (Herman & McChesney, 1997).
Privatization and ongoing competition in satellites caused the domination of few nations within the market. USA and Britain being main controllers even of Intelsat which is an intergovernmental association providing international broadcast system created in order to run a global satellite system offering satellite capacity on a non discriminatory basis (Morley & Robins, 1995). Once again, this proved that the countries with advanced technology have the ability to set and implement the policy agenda.
As the global carriers enlarged in number, the United States run operators had to privatize their own satellite systems in order to make the market for satellite services more commercial. These changes made the Transnational Companies (TNC) the highest beneficiaries what resulted in drastic changes in the shape of the new world economy. As expected the biggest world media conglomerates started planning on how to get the highest profit which as a consequence, inspired debate about the deterioration of media plurality and democracy (Thussu, 2006).
As a result of these changes a global media sector was formed which made individuals all over the world aware and able to gain knowledge about other countries. Media became a key and for many the only one medium to discover the world.
Global Media and Homogenization of Culture
The discourse of cultural homogenization presents globalization as ‘synchronization to the demands of a standardized consumer culture, making everywhere seem more or less the same’ (Tomlinson, 1999: 6). This view sees the impact of global media in the cultural sphere in a very pessimistic manner. Frequently, many believe it to be a powerful tool with an aim to destroy cultural identities (Tomilson, 2003). The kernel of truth stems from the era before global media when there was a strong in form local connection between geographical place and cultural experience which were defining cultural identity. That was a time where individuals identity was just something which they simply ‘had’ as an existential possession or heritage. Globalization therefore ‘has swept like a flood tide through the world’s diverse cultures, destroying stable localities, displacing peoples [‘] homogenization of cultural experience’ (Tomilson, 2003: 269). This anecdote indicates therefore that globalization is some form of destruction for cultural identity and a threat to particular forms of ‘national identity’.
Homogenization of cultures therefore in a stronger manner means, the appearance of one single culture embracing all people and replacing the variety of other cultural systems that have been present. In a broad sense, this pessimistic idea of the creation of one global culture is called ‘cultural imperialism’ (Tomlinson, 1999). This theory also was one of the earliest based on cultural globalization which discussed the flow of American values, for example, consumer goods and lifestyles all around the world. Cultural imperialism hence focuses on American domination over Europe – of the ‘West over the rest’ for creation of global culture. There are two visions created out of this view about the global culture. The first is the focus around the Westernization of the world. And the second will be idea of global culture being dominated by capitalism (Tomlinson, 1999). Both of those will be now discussed.
Westernization is seen as a drive toward standardization of lifestyle around the world. It is ‘a global spread of a social and cultural totality’ (Tomlinson, 1999: 90). Europe produced a single world market ‘integrating even the most savage communities into the one machine’ (Latouche, 1996: 19). One-way cultural currents ‘flood from the countries of the Centre over the entire planet’ (Latouche, 1996: 20). From the ways how people dress and what they eat to the music that they listened to, culture flows from centers of creation into the Third World through the mass media (newspapers, radio television, films, books, video). All of it is produced and spread worldwide by monopolized, powerful transnational media groups as a result of changes in global media (previously discussed) after 1980’s. This flood of cultural products therefore only ‘indicates’ desires and needs of it recipients. Latouche is calling this process a ‘propaganda’ as it ‘strangles all cultural activity among the passive recipients of this messages’ who read it as the way how they are supposed to live (Latouche, 1996: 21). For Latouche Westernization is thus anti-cultural and driven by desire to create a world of uniform culture. To succeed in their goal the destruction of all other ways of life (that is non-western) is necessary. However, there is a paradox situation in here. West by trying so hard to homogenize the world shall result in loss of its own socio-cultural advantage.
Those who believe cultures to be directed towards the process of homogenization also consider it to follow capitalism and therefore the global economy which it defines. These views led phrases like ‘McDonaldization’, ‘Coca-colonization’ or ‘Disneyzation’ to be born. In particular mentioned concepts refer to the worldwide homogenization of societies throughout the impact of multinational corporations, where all of them are originally exported from America (Pieterse, 2004). In this matter, globalization is connected with market economy, where particular brand images are standardized and distributed all around the world. Many aspects of what one may describe as ‘cultural’, from food to global currency can be considered. These are the perfect examples of global capitalist monoculture and cultural synchronization.
McDonald has come to occupy a central position in American not only in the business industry, but also in popular culture. It is one of the most powerful and influential developments in our society as it succeeded worldwide. The reason of its high achievements is connected with the fact that it offers consumers, workers, and managers efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control which is necessary in the business industry. As such a powerful institution, it has an impact on a wide range of undertakings and of course the way of life of many individuals in and around the world and its impact is still accelerating. ‘Another irrational effect of McDonaldization is increased homogenization’ (Ritzer, 2000: 135) as any McDonald restaurant you go to, no matter where it is around the world you know what to expect. You know what kind of products will be offered to you and you can be certain that they will be prepared for you in the same way everywhere (Ritzer, 2000). On the other hand, there are many nations which invaded the McDonald’s business model to develop indigenous versions. Therefore by some it is seen more as a global localization or hybridisation rather than homogenization. This will be discussed in the latter part of this paper.
Globalization as hybridisation and deterritorialization
Prior to understanding the concept of hybridisation it is wise to make clear that it does not refer to total deprivation of own national identity. Contrarily it emulates a potential of benefiting from other cultures and incorporating new knowledge with the old one side by side.
We cannot discuss the aspect of hybridisation without analysing the deterritorialization of cultural heritage. By deterritorialization is meant not only ‘the travel and transformation of culture’ but also ‘everbroadening horizon of mundane experience’ (Tomilson, 1999, cited in Xue, 2008: 113). Therefore, this flow of deterritorialized cultures allows transforming other cultures more accurately producing new ones by hybridity (Xue, 2008). The deterritorializing character of the globalization process is ‘its property of diminishing the significance of socialgeographical location to the mundane flow of cultural experience’ (Tomlinson, 2003: 273). What has to be understood from these definitions is that there was a transformation made in our usual model of cultural existence which now brings globalized influences into our locally situated in our countries ‘lifeworld’. For example, many different satellite channels broadcasts different genres which are likely to influence general perception of individuals taste. Fashion TV for instance demonstrates the mainstream transfer of ‘what’s hot, and what’s not’, signaling fashion trends from major fashion runway shows across the world and therefore influencing individuals style (Tomlinson, 2003).
Pieterse (2004) sees hybridisation as the ‘solvent between the polar perspectives’ (Pieterse, 2004: 57) as this concept gains the meaning from relationship between homogenization and polarization. Within society there is a group of people called ‘cosmopolitans’, who are open-minded to embrace some changes, are able to settle in other cultures or are willing to completely loose their personal identity (homogenization). On the other hand, there are ‘fundamentalists’ who believe that the world should stay with traditions and cultures remaining unchanged. These beliefs can be called ‘polarization’. As a result people who believe in hybridization neither deny changes completely, nor absorb fully in new cultures they were introduced to. They essentially form a stance on the mid-point (Pieterse, 2004).
Hybridisation brings transformations to cultures. It is the ‘cut ‘n’ mix’ of cultural forms in the process of globalization. It refers to the growth of culture which it occurs when a cultural product incorporates and combines different cultural practices (Pieterse, 2004). There is a lot of evidence strengthening the thesis which now will be analysed.
As mentioned earlier, McDonalds, in terms of homogenisation of society, can also act as a good example of hybridization. Fusion cuisine means the creation of indigenous versions on terms of the choice of foods in order to adapt to local conditions. In Norway there is a sandwich called ‘McLaks’ with grilled salmon, while in Japan you may order ‘chicken Tatsuta’ with fried chicken, cabbage spiced with soy sauce and ginger. Italy provides pasta with their burgers, while in Germany you may order a beer with your meal (Ritzer, 2000). All of these are unique cultural adaptations which hence acknowledge that foods choices must be tailored to meet a variety of needs expected in specific cultures around the world.
By the same token restaurants also adapt the way it operates to local social environment. As stands, in Hong Kong food chains are tailored around the need for teenagers to hang and socialize. Conversely in Taiwan it is a rare public space not dominated by men as it did not develop from traditional Chinese cultural structures where men have more rights than women (Ritzer, 2000). ‘This blending of local features into global products has been called – glocalisation’ as the global and local is reinforcing (Lull, 2000: 252).
Another conglomerate which is dominating in the world is Viacom, the owners of MTV. The channel distributes in over 82 countries and actively promotes: ‘think globally, act locally’. In the different countries it is broadcasted, ‘tailored’ versions of the channel are offered to meet the tastes of customers. For instance, through the aspect of localization MTV Asia came to existence as a result of joint venture between Rupert Murdoch’s Star television and Viacom in 1992. The language used by network is ‘Hinglish’ ‘ which is a hybrid language of Hindu and English (Herman & McChesney, 1997).
‘Globalization as a process of hybridization gives rise to a global m’lange’ (Pieterse, 1993: 1) where the cultures are mixing and borrowing some elements from each other.
Conclusion
For the past 20 years we were facing dramatic changes in our world being result of globalisation processes. Improvements in technology and telecommunications made free flow of information possible. The world market became dominated by USA and some of the Western countries. Privatization had an impact on more competition and the formation of strong TNCs. Western countries became powerful through investments in infrastructures. Developments in communication services paved the way for global media therefore open the door of the world for many people what resulted in either hybridization or homogenization of national identities and cultures. Some may see it as negative changes, others will disagree. There are also those who as Tomlinson believe that ‘globalization produces a globalized culture rather than a global culture’ (Xue, 2008). However no matter what point of view one will chose there is no doubt that global media are affecting many nations and their identities and cultures.
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Relationship Between Language Culture And Identity English Language Essay

Relationships among language, culture and identity have become a favourite topic in social science for decades. In his book Primitive Culture, Edward Tylor (1871) defines culture that “as complex whole which includes knowledge, morals, beliefs, art,
law technology and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of the society.
Being human being communicative, interestingly, language reveals much more what we actually speak out, not only a means of communication. The Sapir Whorf hypothesis states that the structure of a language influences the ways in which its speakers conceptualize their world or otherwise affects their cognitive processes.
The cultural worldview of a man is presented by the language and reflected through his responses in a specific period of time. Cultures are
maintained from generation to generation and affected by geographical location and history of that nation as well as the interaction of that people
over time. Simultaneously, language also develops to meet the need of communication of people. Therefore, it can be stated that your language can reveal many things about your identity. It can disclose your nationality, culture, religion, age, gender, level of education, socio-economic class or
your profession.
Mendoza-Denton (2002:475) defines “identity to mean the active negotiation of an individual’s relationship with larger social constructs.” It means that identity is reflected in the language we use, our word choices in identifying ourselves as well as in the words we choose not to use. Language is part of one’s identity.
Understanding the nature of the relationship between language and culture is central to the process of learning another language.It is also
a chance for language learners to discover or re-discover and more appreciate his or her identiy.
With my limited understanding about socialinguistic and my eagerness to more learning about a useful subject that enriches me – a language teacher – the knowledge of language’s role soceity as well as the implications for language teaching and language policy, I would like to discuss the following contents:
A. Discuss the relationship between language, culture and identity
The Sapir – Whorf Hypothesis
Intercultural communication
Language as a core value and indentity
B. What are the implications for language teaching and language policy
Language policy
Language and power
CONTENT
A. The relationship between language, culture and identity
The Sapir – Whorf Hypothesis
In linguistics, the Sapir – Whorf Hypothesis states that each language holds an own way to present its meaning that can not be understood by those belong to another language. Native languages are concerned to strongly affect people’s thinking.
Whofianism is another popular name for this hypothesis and is often defined as having two versions:
The strong version linguistic determinism that states that the language you speak determines the way that you will interpret the world around you.
In this case, interlocutors think much of how to speak to best express their ideas and how to avoid misunderstanding caused by spoken words. For
example, in Vietnamese culture, when visiting a newborn baby, we usually say that “she/ he is very ugly” to mean that the baby is so cute. Vietnamese
do not use direct saying to compliment a newborn baby.
In Western culture, questions about ages or marriage status are considered impolite.
The weak version that linguistic categories (part of speech) and usage influence thought and certain kinds of non-linguistic behaviour. The strong version of this hypothesis has been mostly discarded but the weak form of the hypothesis is generally accepted.
Defintion of UG of Noam Chomsky (1957) also states that the human brain contains a limited set of rules for organizing language. Language is governed by a set of highly abstract principles that provide parameters which are given particular settings in different languages. This set of rules is known as universal grammar.
Articles in Englis such as “a/an”, “the” or gender of language “mascular”, “feminine” in French maybe appropriate examples for this part.
Intercultural communication
Intercultural communication generally refers to face – to – face interactions among people.
If the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis states that there are certain thoughts of an individual in one language that cannot be understood by those who live in
another language, intercultural communication, according to Samovar and Porter (1991), occurs when a member of one culture understands a
produced by another whose culture is different from him.
It is a good idea to use title such as “Mr” Mrs” or “Dr” along with a family name in a business discussion in some parts of Europe. The first name used without permission is considered direspectful.
In Japanese culture, long pauses in a conversation are normal, especially after a question. They need time to think over it. However, in other
cultures, it is comfortable if interlocutors keep silence in a dialogue, there will be someone to speak to end the silence.
To work together without problems, people need to understand their differences. People belonging to diverse culture are still able to understand
their language each other, though, there are the potential misunderstanding and disagreement. Learning about intercultural communication is a very
good idea to reduce this risk. And a language teacher as a language messenger must realize this.
Language as a core value and identity
Mendoza-Denton (2002:475) defines “identity to mean the active negotiation of an individual’s relationship with larger social constructs.” These social constructs have been understood as comprising gender, ethnicity, and class following Gumprez (1982) in some of the earliest work on identity.
One’s identity was understood as whom you were, and who we are or how we are seen by others may involve differing identities.
According to Zimmerman (1998), there are three types of identity:
Discourse identity which is revealed through particular discourse and presented by speakers, hearers.
Situational identity which is revealed through the specific situation. For example, a person who is half Italian half French may want to identify
with a particular ethnicity in some social situation. (e.g., attending a soccer game). This choice may even be crucial for his personal security.
Transportable identity which applies across situations and discourse and includes such constructs as ethnic, gender, and age. I would like to mention my ideal woman- Hillary Clinton and her concession to Barack Obama in 2008. In order to successfully reposition herself from an opponent to a supporter of Obama, Clinton draws on several aspects of her transportable identity to stress the similarity between herself and Obama. Next to focusing on the fact that they are both Democrats, Americans and human beings, she zooms in on their membership of two powerless groups: namely that of women and African Americans. Both from a historical and a personal perspective, these two categorizations of herself and Obama are presented in a highly persuasive way and create unity between the two former opponents.
A man’s identity can disclose his nationality, culture, age, profession and socio – economic class.
Defined by the article Understanding Racism, “a defining feature of a person’s identity, contributing to how they see themselves and the groups with which they identify. Culture may be broadly defined as the sum total of ways of living built up by a group of human beings, which is transmitted from one generation to another. Every community, cultural group or ethnic group has its own values, beliefs and ways of living” (“Understanding Racism,” sect.1). This clearly shows the importance of language, culture, and heritage in forming and shaping one’s personality.
In my real teaching, my students are usually given the difference from phonetic transcribtion between British English and American English to distinguish the origin of the words, therefore; they are parlty trained the way of word usage for the better speaking and writing as well. The difference in writing is also explained sometimes when needed.
 
British English
American English
 
Vocabulary
 
block
apartment 
 
call box 
phone booth
 
pavement
sidewalk
 
yard 
garden 
 
holiday 
vacation 
 
postman 
mailman 
 
 
Pronunciation
tomato
/tÉ™’mÉ‘:təʊ/
/tÉ™’mÉžitοʊ/
photo
/ḟəʊtəʊ/
/ˈfoʊtoʊ/
psychology
/sɑɪˈkɒlədʒi/
/sɑɪˈkɑːlədʒɪ/
important
/ɪmˈpɔ:tnt/
/ɪmˈpɔ:rnt/
vase
/vɑːz/
/veɪz/
/veɪs/
Our pronunciation of the words, our grammartical structure usage, and our utterance reveal how we view ourselves linguistically. Our language choice
reflects more than the way we view ourselves. Teenagers’ words might be quite different from their older generations might use. That is the way how we are viewd by soceity as well.
According to Rembo (2004: 33-34), “A person’s social identity comes from an individual’s knowledge of himself as an individual in relationship to
others.” It can be stated that we construct our identity by how we perceive ourselves in the eyes of others.
Language is not only a means of communication but also self-identification. In a globalization communication, learning other languages as a second
language positively promotes intercultural understanding across languages and cultures. In addition, personally, this is also an ideal way especially for the youth of every country become aware of how our behaviours and social attitudes have been shaped by the languages and cultures we experience.
The implications for language teaching and policy
Learning and teaching another language will be more interested once we discover the beauty of language and successfully convey to learners. It should be exploited effectively for a better teaching; therefore, a motivated learning might be obtained.
Learning a new language means accessing a new culture. Teaching students how to internalize selectively is also a leading concern a language teacher should pay much attention to besides conveying the beauty of that second language.
Being a language teacher, I assum that we should realize deeply Language and Power as well as Language Policy to have an appropriate thinking to do teaching in the classroom.
Language and Power
During the period of domination in some countries, whether colonizers governed directly or indirectly, the political and cultural of those were
greatly affected.
The people’s wealth was the colonizers’ real aim. However, economic and political control can never be obtained without mental control. It means that
once language, which is part of culture, the tool of self-definition in relationship to other nations is under controlled, that people will be truly
colonized.
Well understanding power of language will help students more motivated to learn the standard language as well as to selectively uncover what they
take for granted and internalize as personal failure.
Language Policy
Language Policy is what a government does either officially through legislation, court decisions or policy to determine how languages are used
cultivate language skills needed to meet national priorities or to establish the rights of individuals or groups to use and maintain languages
(Wikipedia)
In terms of this definition, an overview about the status of reality of teaching and learning English language in Viet Nam would be best to support
this part of my writing.
Since its open door policy in the mid 1980s, Viet Nam has welcomed many foreign organizations to invest and establish their business. As a result
the demand for English increased greatly in all aspects
The Government of Vietnam is devoted to developing English language skills on a long-term strategic basis to compete more effectively in
international markets and thereby achieve sustainable economic growth. One of the biggest reflections to push this strategy is a project whose title
is Teaching and Learning Foreign Languages in the National Education System, Period 2008-2020 by the Ministry of Education which was approved by Prime Minister. The authority promotes this project to obtain a result that, by 2020, the majority of young Vietnamese will be able to use English communicate confidently and be able to study and work in a multi-lingual and multi-cultural environment; thus the industrialisation and modernisation of the country will be contributed by the more dynamic and better integrated young Vietnamese people. Common knowledge in many other fields at school is a background and English as a secon language is a key to get success for the youth and the development of the country as well.
In this setting, the implications for language teaching and policy therefore vast and far reaching. Policy makers should specify their guidelines the teaching of culture in foreign language pedagogy. Curriculum should be implemented on the basis of being linguistically, culturally, and developmentally appropriate for students.
A comparison between the target-language culture and the native language culture is essential to help learners avoid the mono-cultural view.
As a teacher of language, one must be culturally aware target language culture as well as the students’, thus avoiding any cultural misinterpretations.
CONCLUSION
Language and culture are deeply related and dependent on each other. Language is formed by culture, while culture is influenced by language. Furthermore, language is not only an expression and a display of heritage and history, it is also the component of culture that makes it unique, and that creates a difference from one to another. Cultural identity is an important contributor to people’s wellbeing. Identifying with a particular culture helps people feel they belong and gives them a sense of security. However, strong cultural identity expressed in the wrong way can contribute to barriers between groups. And members of smaller cultural groups can feel excluded from society if others obstruct, or are intolerant of, their cultural practices.
Peple in different cultures hold different way to view the world. As a language teacher, I now understand that it is very important to be aware of target language culture as well as the students’, thus avoiding potential misinterpretations.
 

Architecture And Cultural Identity Cultural Studies Essay

Why is architecture such a powerful form of expression? What can a country’s buildings tell us about its ideas of its own past and present identity? How can we achieve the unique national identity in such a diverse country like India? What is the perceived notion of Indian identity today and how correct is it?
Figure 1: Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi
Source: Myself
The ancient culture of the Indian sub-continent confuses the Indian’s choice because it is so vast and diverse. There are people living in India who are still living in the Stone Age and also others who are equally competent and look up to the West. Indians live simulatniously with their beggars, their own satellites and Indian cosmonauts. India is a secular state with tribal beliefs mixed with Hindu, Christian, Islamic, Buddhist and Sikh faiths. There is no single faith of religion, and no dominant religious community. So, unlike in some countries, the rulers could not use the weapon of fundamentalism or religion to arrest the crisis of identity.

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In architecture, as in all other visual arts, there is a search for identity. As individuals, as social beings we are affected by the crisis of faith, but as architects the search is for a sense of identity in the built form. This search is simultaneously being carried out in two aspects, one, the historical aspect and the other, the contemporary aspect.
“The search for identity in our architecture lies in creating buildings in the contemporary aspect.” 2
Two main factors that have been consistently used in architectural theory, to establish the relationship between architecture and identity are the dialogue on symbolism and the idea of the local. In the case of Indian Architecture, both these factors remain inadequate and sometimes inappropriate to throw any light on the relationship between architecture and identity.
Primarily, government buildings of India, which are actually intended to show the nation’s identity, are a complete mis-representation. Due to varied influences like the British, the Mughals and the diverese native Indian architecture, the percieved notion of Indian identity is in a complete chaos. A rectangular building with arched windows and a dome on the top doesn’t represent India. Then what is it that represents India?
1.2 Need Identification
Todays Indian identity is in crisis. India is so diverse that it doesn’t have a single identity. And many foreign influences like the British and the Mughals have changed the face of India. The ‘copy-paste’ architectrure from the West has also added to the chaos. After independence, when we had to build for our own country, the dilemma of Indian identity has begun. So, what actually is Indian identity? Do the buildings which are intended to show Indian identity really represent India today?
1.3 Scope of Survey
The research would cover only the Indian government buildings built post independence, since it is not possible to include all the typologies, as India is so vast and diverse, both over the space and time. Government building have been chosen for research because, they are the ones which are actually intended to show national/regional identity and are now in crisis. The case studies would include government buildings in Delhi only, for primary research, as Delhi is more convinient and has a lot of post independence government buildings. For secondary research, buildings from other places would be included.
1.4 Limitations of Survey
Defining Indian Cultural Identity would be difficult since there no single identity of India as it has very diverse cultures.
Greek architekton. Arch derives from the Greek term arkhos signifying a principal chief in English. Tekton represents a craftsman or builder. In other words, an architect is a master builder or a person of authority. And, architecture word had been formed in 16th century. Even Kenneth Frampton finds the relationship between architecture and poetic in architectural etymology. Frampton’s (2002) essay stated the following:
This in turn stems from the Sanskirt taksan, referring to the craft of carpentry and to the use of the axe. Remnants of a similar term can also be found in Vedic, where it refers to carpentry. In Greek it appears in Homer, where it again alludes to carpentry and to the art of construction in general. The poetic connotation of the term first appears in Sappho where the tekton, the carpenter, assumes the role of the poet. (p.94)
We can imply that a carpenter in Greek was granted the role is more than building a house from the statement. After all, tekton, as a carpenter or craftsman, is a person who joints materials and constructs meaning on the jointed materials. Tekne, which is another derivative word of tekton, signifies art or craft as a creative act which means ‘making’. It has same meaning with poet derives from the Greek term poesis. The meaning of the making within poesis is described by Antoniades’s (1992) essay stated the following:
poetics has been tackled thus far as “the making” of art through the thoughtful, contemplative path of what is “good,” or what would be the promises or subtle difference between the various possible ways of making, with regard to the “good.” (p.3)
After all, the connection between architecture and poetics is linked through ‘making’, which is the creative artwork. Its goal is just not to build simply by joining materials, but complete the intellectual system, constructing meanings one by one. Due to it reacts to sensory phenomena, rather than inherent attribute within architecture, an architecture art is called one type of formal arts, such as music. Therefore, ‘making’ is same with poetic production acts as contents arts. Kenneth Frampton describes ‘making’ as ‘tectonic’, and he insists on that it must be evaluated as an aesthetic value, rather than technological categories. The ‘making’ of architecture, which is constructing act sublimed into the united arts with parts of architecture as well as various objects joined together. These acts produce details in architecture.

Craftsmanship within detail

A result of the architecture and construction depends on the hands of the workers and they are given freedom in design field. To craftsmen, delivering the philosophy and intent of architects would have been even more important than detailed drawings. Before the 19th century, obviously, architectures were built and constructed by these craftsmen. However, it is difficult to find artistic and experienced craftsman, after the Industrial Revolution. The first architectural theorists, who worried about the decline of craftsmanship and responded to the issue, are John Ruskin, William Morris and others from Arts and Crafts movement. They firmly believed that machine civilization within the Industrial Revolution made craftsmanship disappeared. Rudeness, by respect for their craftsmanship, and hatred for machine and perfect, rather become regarded as the ideal architecture art. In the way, they thought craftsmanship could succeed and would like to make more desirable society. Nevertheless, modern machine civilization did not let them to do. Due to economic considerations, the artisan spirits were replaced to machines. As the result, it conceals the creative spirit which is the craftsmanship. The detail is not the creative art work anymore; instead, it expresses a specification drawing of a production in todays.
Technology of modern civilization does not remove the craftsmanship, but degenerate it. Citing Heidegger’s essay entitled “Building, Dwelling, Thinking” in 1954, Frampton (1996) described cultural shock by ‘technology’:
For Heidegger the problem with technology does not reside in the benefits that if affords but in its emergence as a quasi-autonomous force that has”stamped” the epoch with its Gestalt. It is not primarily the environmentally degrading aspects of industrial technique that concern him, but rather the fact that technology has the tendency to transform everything, even a river, into a “standing reserve,” that is to say at one and the same time, into a source of hydroelectric power and an object of tourism.
The technology brought by modern industrial, transformed essential attribute within detail. Modern technology with economic and integrity system, has suppressed inherence attribute of architecture. Expected the expression of craftsmanship, the drawing of architectural detail always comes in to the world through the hands of architects, not detail drafters. This ideal was not actualized by completed construction documents. However, someone who understands its own meaning could blossom the ideal.

Metaphor

To constructor, detail is recognized as a fundamental unit of a plan to construct. However, according to Frascari (1996), “the detail is the minimum unit of signification within the architectural production of meaning.”(p.498). Also, Frascari (1996) stated, “the architectural details are seen as words composing a sentence. And, as the selection of words and style gives character to the sentence, in a similar way the selection of details and style gives character to a building.” (p. 502). Therefore, the technology of architecture is seen as the construction of a sentence having two meaning; construction and the interpretation of the sentence. Directing appropriate detail, architects create a story of architecture. And it generates fertile detail in architecture. Frascari illustrated Scarpa’s architecture as an example of the fertile details in his essay. As a romantic replication about the wall tumbled down in the past, the “ziggurat” motif in the Museum of Castelvecchio forms a text to combine the past and the present. Also, Frascari (1996) stated, “It is construed as a “ruin” loaded with memories before time.” (p.511). Furthermore, Kenneth Frampton mentioned Brion-Vega cemetery of Carlo Scarpas in his essay: “Studies in Tectonic Culture the Poetics of Construction in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Architecture”. He explained various things about two overlapped circles of Brion-Vega cemetery. The two overlapped circles can be seen as a symbol of yin and yang in Asia. At the same time, the circles can be seen as the remaining traces of the Byzantine cultures. After all, these two arc details are positioned at a joint to connect between God’s and human’s world. They represent a symbol of delight and happiness. Such as the symbolical two arcs, Detail consists of the whole sentence which is architecture, as a metaphor. Using these metaphors in contemporary architecture is emphasized extremely for creative artwork.

Joint

Framption (2002) ,claiming that detail is art of joint, noted the following:
Details can be “material joints,” as in the case of a capital, which is the connection between a column shaft and an architrave, or they can be “formal joints,” as in the case of a porch, which is the connection between a column shaft and an architrave, or they can be “formal joints,” as in the case of a porch, which is the conection between an interior and an exterior space. Details are then a ditrect result of the multifold reality of functions in architecture. They are the mediate or immediate expressions of the structure and the use of building.
In this st1.5 Methodology

The research would be proceeded and elaborated in the following order:
Definition of ‘Identity’
Meaning of ‘Cultural Identity’
Knowing the historical background of indian architecture
Knowing about the major influences on indian architecture
Percieved notion of Indian Identity today
Primary case studies of Government buildings in Delhi – Indira Gandhi National Centre For Arts, Supreme Court of India, Udyog Bhawan, Krishi Bhawan etc.
Secondary case studies – Karnataka Legislative Assembly etc.
Interviews of architects and government officials regarding todays Indian identity
Analysis of the extract from the research
Conclusion.
1.6 Notes and References
1 Enrique Vivani – Farage, The Architecture of Power: From the Neoclassical to Modernism in the Architecture of Puerto Rico, 1900-1950.
2 Khosla, Romi, The Indian experience and search for Some light at the other end, Architecture and Identity, Aga Khan Award for Architecture, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, July 25th – 27th, 1983.
Chapter 2: The Question of Identity
2.1 Defining Identity The collective aspect of the set of characteristics by which a thing is definitively recognizable or known.1
2.2 Defining Cultural Identity
Cultural identity is the identity of a group or culture, or of an individual as far as one is influenced by one’s belonging to a group or culture.2
According to me, cultural identity is a process, and not a found object. It is developed as it moves through time/history and is a result of the living condition of the people of the community.
Questioning India’s Cultural Identity
Multiple Identity of India
India is such a vast and diverse country. Its climate, religion, culture and architecture varies from region to region.Foreign Rule by the British, Mughals etc. has added to the diversity of India. India doesn’t have a single identity; it has multiple identities.
2.3.2 Diluted Identity of India
The Industrial revolution and the western influences have made the indians to copy paste and have diluted the National Identity of India. The invention of television and internet have made indians open to the international market and made us to follow western culture and architecture.
Notes and References
1 The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language.
2 Wikipedia
Identification Of Case Studies:
Primary Case Studies:
Parliament Library, New Delhi
Krishi Bhavan, New Delhi
Ashoka Hotel, New Delhi
Gandhi Darshan, New Delhi
Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi
Tamil Nadu Bhavan, New Delhi
Secondary Case Studies:
Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur
Gandhi Smarak Sangrahalay, Ahmedabad
Vidhan Souda, Bengaluru
Embassy of India Kuwait
 

Locke: ‘Of Identity And Diversity’

I will begin by analyzing John Locke’s theory of personal identity. Locke describes personal identity in his chapter “Of Identity and Diversity”, where he differentiates identity into different components until he creates a more general account of identity. Locke begins by explaining how “Each individual atom is the same at a time, and stays the same over time.”1It is in his first few lines that Locke stresses that identity for atoms depends on their continued identical existence over time. He then makes it clear that the most important part of identity of an organism is the “continuation of the same life.” However, Locke’s difficulty is in deciding if physical or psychological continuity was more important. It is clear that Locke rejects the idea that the identity of the human body is a necessary part of the identity of a person. Locke proves this point using his example of the soul of a prince in the body of a cobbler:

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” For should the soul of a prince, carrying with it the consciousness of the prince’s past life, enter and inform the body of a cobbler, as soon as deserted by his own soul, everyone sees he would be the same person with the prince, ” accountable only for the prince’s actions; but who would say it was the same man?”2
In this example Locke shows that the human body is not necessary in personal identity since you could have the same person in two different bodies. Since the physical body cannot maintain personal identity, Locke comes to the conclusion that it must be the psychological aspect of humanity that retains personal identity.
1It is at this point that the emphasis of identity is placed on the psychological rather than the physical aspect of life as stated in Locke’s second book: “This may show us wherein personal identity consists: not in the identity of substance, but… in the identity of consciousness”3 Locke’s next point was to differentiate between a “man” and a “person.” He uses the example of a rational talking parrot and compares it to an organism with the same shape as a human being though; it is unable to “engage in rational discourse.”1 This thought experiment is used by Locke to demonstrate that rationality is not an essential part of a man. Since rational discourse was not a necessary part of man. Locke expressed identity using something else. Thus, Locke finally narrowed down the integral part of personal identity to consciousness. Locke’s definition of conscious is as follows: “Consciousness is both a necessary and a sufficient condition for a morally vital sense of personal identity.”3 Locke describes the essence of self as being their consciousness, which he states as something distinguishable for every thinking thing. This consciousness is described as the “sameness of a rational being.” The unique characteristic of consciousness is that allows it to retain personal identity is that it can “be extended backwards to any past action or thought.” It is this characteristic that Locke uses to explain his theory of personal identity. 4Locke also disagrees with the Cartesian view of the soul, which held that a man’s soul was of an entirely different essence than his body, focusing more on the connectedness of the same conscious thought. Therefore, Locke reaches the conclusion that personal identity can only be achieved through psychological continuity. As a result of this, psychological continuity relies only on the being’s ability to consciously look back on their previous existence and be able to distinguish between conscious thought and memory. This distinction is extremely important to because Locke is frequently ambiguous when dealing with both terms. When he refers to conscious memory, he implies that it represents the consciousness of a past experience. Conscious thought, on the other hand, involves perceiving that one perceives. Locke explains that when we “will” anything, we are always conscious of it. Psychological continuity, as Locke describes it, also insinuates that a person who exists at one time is indistinguishable with a person who exists at a second time only if the first person remembers some past experience that connects the second person to the second time. Therefore, Locke’s definition of personal identity centers around the continuity of the consciousness, which is able to relate past and present memories and retain some sense of self awareness.
Now that I have explained and given an analysis of Locke’s theory of personal identity, I will now evaluate the validity of Locke’s theory by proving that his account of personal identity is incorrect. Locke’s arguments contain flaws from their conception. I have a great difficulty with Locke’s statement of self-conscious awareness as the main constituent of personal identity since intrinsically that consciousness is available only to each unique ‘self.’ Due to this dilemma, third party juries will be subject to error in many cases. In order to further explain this point, I will divide my argument into two questions; what does personal identity consist of and how can one tell a person is the same? First, since Locke defined personal identity as a person’s consciousness, I will use that as my basis for this argument. Thus, since we can only tell a person through their physical aspect, it becomes impossible to distinguish if someone else’s consciousness resides in the person you are looking at. An example would be if a person robbed a bank but wasn’t conscious of the fact that he performed the act in the first place. According to Locke, the man should be free of all charges since he wasn’t the same person who robbed the bank. This however is preposterous if in a courtroom there is evidence of that person robbing the bank, the only exception being if the person could prove they lost consciousness throughout the event. Another error found within Locke’s argument centers around the fact that even though a person can switch bodies, it is the consciousness that determines the identity of the bodies. Thus it is clear that while Locke’s statements seem perfectly rational in theory, practically though, they have no weight. Another flaw found in Locke’s argument, is in how he leaves out particular cases where his theory of psychological continuity cannot apply. First however, I must define the distinction between ‘person’ and ‘man.’ Locke defines ‘man’ as a living body of some particular shape. A person, on the other hand, is “an intelligent thinking being that can know itself as itself the same thinking thing in different times and places.”4An example of this would be humans who remain in vegetative conditions and show no mental faculties whatsoever. According to Locke’s description of personal identity these human beings are not considered “persons” since nothing can be discovered from their past in order for that individual to define their psychological identity. Locke’s argument between ‘man’ and ‘person’ becomes too controversial since the definition of both terms can never truly be settled. In conclusion, after providing examples to counterclaim Locke’s argument that personal identity originates from psychological continuity it is clear that Locke’s view on identity is too flawed to be correct when defining identity for each person.
1William, Uzgalis. “John Locke > The Immateriality of the Soul and Personal Identity (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke/supplement.html (accessed October 13, 2010).
2Locke, John. “Of Identity and Diversity.” In Essay Concerning Human Understanding Volume Two. 1690. Reprint, Toronto: Dover Publications, 2005. 517-518.
3John, Locke. “Of Identity and Diversity.” In Essay Concerning Human Understanding Volume Two. 1690. Reprint, Toronto: Dover Publications, 2005. 514.
4John, Locke. “Of Identity and Diversity.” In Essay Concerning Human Understanding Volume Two. 1690. Reprint, Toronto: Dover Publications, 2005. 515.
sBibliography
Uzgalis, William. “John Locke > The Immateriality of the Soul and Personal Identity (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke/supplement.html (accessed October 13, 2010).
Locke, John. “Of Identity and Diversity.” In Essay Concerning Human Understanding Volume Two. 1690. Reprint, Toronto: Dover Publications, 2005. 517-518.
Locke, John. “Of Identity and Diversity.” In Essay Concerning Human Understanding Volume Two. 1690. Reprint, Toronto: Dover Publications, 2005. 514.
Locke, John. “Of Identity and Diversity.” In Essay Concerning Human Understanding Volume Two. 1690. Reprint, Toronto: Dover Publications, 2005. 515.
 

Personal Identity And The Soul

The idea of personal identity is a concept we are consciously living but one we are never quite aware of. Our actions are determined by the anticipation of our future pleasures and future pains. This anticipation is shaped by instances in our past where a particular behavior or action on our part creates a result that we find desirable or undesirable. Our soul is that underlying thread that makes a connection between a situation we are faced with in our present lives to what we have lived through from the vast reservoir of our personal experience. Of the different types of personal identity; the Soul Theory, Memory Theory and Brain Theory, I think the soul theory offers the most complete explanation.

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We are at any given time, the sum total of our collective life experience that includes the people we have met, the situations we have lived through and the stories we have heard of through the people we encounter about others and their life experiences. For there to exist a connection between an individual at one point in their lives and their selves in another point in their lives, these two versions would have to exhibit traits that cannot be acquired through any other means but personal life experience; i.e. actually living through it. Evidence for such traits is evident in the existence of idiosyncratic individual memories and the logic behind setting goals. If an individual were to lock themselves in a room with no windows, furniture or technology, and they were to write on the palm of their left hand the word ‘red’, a day later there is no way for anyone else to know what happened inside the room unless that individual were to divulge those details themselves. A day later then, this individual would be the only one to retain the memory of themselves inscribing ‘red’ onto their left palm, and this individual memory and the inscribed characters prove beyond reasonable doubt that the individual inside that room a day earlier, and the individual who retains the memory the next day are one and the same person. The evidence for this connection is not physical, but a referenced memory. While the letters can be erased, the memory is not as easy to remove. Hence the continuity between these two versions is not physical, but mental. It cannot be quantified or measured physically, and neither can the soul, but its presence in our lives is overwhelming.
Our logic when we make decisions in every aspect of life is based on memories of sitiuation’s that we reference where we were able to obtain a result we find desirable or to avoid a situation at we find undesirable. Our soul, or our conscious self within our body, examines the experiences readily available in our mind at any given point of our lives and chooses a path that would help us attain what we want. Therefore the soul is the chief navigator for our actions and behaviors for the past, present and future. This notion gains even more prominence because the concept of the soul exists independently of religion. It is not dependent of the existence of God.
Those who argue against the soul theory may say that the individual traits that are displayed by an individual before and after in the room experiment, exist independently in the body and not the soul. This objection lacks credibility because is fails to account for those that are identical in their physical makeup but have diametrically opposite personality traits. If personality traits were dependent on our physical selves, that would allude to a scenario where people with identical bodies, if put through the exact same situations for long periods of time would develop similar personality traits. Another version of this statement would argue that people with similar physical makeup’s would react to stress and other highly emotionally demanding situations in similar ways. But there is no evidence for either of these last two statements to gain any credence. The existence of different and even diametrically opposite personality traits amongst survivors in holocaust camps in Nazi Germany disproves this objection to the soul theory. Many of these survivors suffered the same horrors and were worn down to similar body types, but the way their conscious selves dealt with those inhumane conditions differed tremendously. The existence of a wide variety of behaviors to combat those inhumane times proves that there was something within each of these bodies that differentiated them from one another. And this difference was the entity of the soul.
When thinking of personal identity, we must look at the body and soul as two pieces of the same whole. The sum total of our sensory organs helps us to see, touch, feel and smell every single life experience that we encounter. But without the soul, which is our conscious self, we have no way of classifying this incoming information and relate them to our lives. Such catharsis happens as a result of the soul, which defines our personal identity. Our soul shapes our perspective, and helps us identify what behaviors and actions we should implement when faced with any situation in our lives. We compare what we are experiencing or what we want with other similar situations from our past and look for some residual pattern that can justify an action or behavior that we deem suitable as a response to that individual situation or experience. The body serves as the vessel that aides the soul by providing it a wealth of information, and the soul in turn helps the body navigate through the waters of life.
By providing a link between individual versions of each one of us at different times of our lives, the soul theory most completely offers an explanation for personal identity. Personal identity is the notion that each one of us displays certain idiosyncratic traits or identifiers that exist only within ourselves. These identifiers differentiate us from those around us. Since the creation of these identifiers, which are in effect actions/behaviors and personality traits that we pick up through our life experience, is dependent on our conscious thinking during which we weigh the pros and cons of each action/behavior and trait in terms of their effectiveness to get us a desirable result in similar situations in the past, they cannot exist in the absence of a soul. Therefore, the soul theory is indispensible when thinking of personal identity.
 

Psychological Theories for Nationalism and National Identity

Compare and contrast alternative psychological accounts of nationalism and national identity. You should illustrate your answer with both theoretical and applied examples.

This essay will
look to compare and contrast alternative psychological accounts of nationalism
and national identity using various theoretical and applied examples.

Nationalism can be briefly described as a theory that gives people an identity as a nation through the imposition of similar identities. Kohn (1944) described it as an ideology based on the premise that the individual’s loyalty and devotion to the nation-state surpass other individual or group interests. National Identity can be briefly described as a person’s identity or sense of belonging in relation to their nation. National identity can often refer to how a group of people feel about a nation, regardless of their ‘citizenship’ status. In psychological terms, it is viewed as “an awareness of difference”, a “feeling and recognition of ‘we’ and ‘they’” (Hewson et al. 2015).

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Adorno et al. (1950) cited in (Hewson et al. 2015) conducted
studies on authoritarian personality, they looked to explain what leads people
to violence through extremist beliefs. In their research, they used quantitative
data from questionnaires administered to 2000 participants asking them how much
they agreed or disagreed with specific statements. They developed three scales
to carry out their research, The Anti-Semitism scale, The Politico-Economic
scale and The Ethnocentrism scale. Adorno et al. (1950) believed that people
were attached to their nation and prejudice towards others. In contrast to the
research Adorno and his colleagues carried out, a social psychologist named
Billing developed the ‘banal nationalism’ framework in 1995. Billig (1995)
suggested that nationalism is down to common sense and not simply limited to
extremist behaviour. He proposed that by viewing the world as being separated
by nations is perfectly natural and nationalism is reproduced by our everyday
routines. An example of ‘banal nationalism’ can be seen in the weather reports,
Billig argued that “reports of the weather reproduce a nationalistic frame of
thinking about the world” (Hewson et al. 2015, p. 252). A report of the weather
in the UK can often be displayed as a map image of the country, people are
expected to know the country from the shape with no mention of its name in the
report. Billig studied the work of Benedict Anderson (1983) as he wanted to
gain an understanding of nationalism and concluded that it was a whole new way
of developing a community in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Anderson (1983) defines the nation as an “imagined political community”, he
uses the term imagined due to people of different nations never really knowing
one another, talk to one another, or even meet but they share an identical
belief about their community.

Condor (2000) conducted a study using 115 English
participants and gathered qualitative data by carrying out interviews. She
discovered that national identity was of no real importance to the participants
personally and there was no demonstration of national pride amongst them.
Condor (2000) suggested that there was an unquestioned assumption when it came
to diving people into clear-cut boxes of different countries and shown using
‘we’, ‘our’ and ‘they’ within the interviews. Comparatively, an example of ‘banal
nationalism’ is the ‘nationalistic’ use of language. ‘The weather’ is a common
phrase used to refer to the weather of ‘our’ own nation and is an example of an
uncommon and comparable entity within that nation. A major influence on the
research of nationalism was the ‘banal nationalism’ framework developed by
Billig (1995), however, various issues were identified that the framework was
unable to explain. Billig (1995) focused his study national media, yet, there
is a wide range of media sources that we can access including the internet.
Using the internet suggests that people view the world as globally connected as
opposed to just nationally. Billig’s work on nationalism as part of everyday
life is by no means debased by the issues raised, instead it is suggested that
“the nation as a primary source of identification may be losing its grasp on at
least some people in the world” (Hewson et al, 2015, p. 255).

Two campaigns that preceded the Scotland’s 2014 independence referendum made appeals to the Scottish nation and an assumption was made that the Scottish community shared a unique identity. The ‘Better Together’ campaign argued for Scotland to remain in the UK, unlike the ‘Yes Scotland’ campaign which argued for an independent Scottish state (Hewson et al. 2015). Reicher and Hopkins (2001) described these campaigns as ‘action oriented’ as they look to pull the Scottish nation together, albeit not in the same direction. ‘Better Together’ looks to create Scotland as a diverse nation, on the other hand, ‘Yes Scotland’ portrays Scotland as an independent nation thus leading to the suggestion by Reicher and Hopkins that perhaps national identity is also future oriented and demonstrates that it can be manipulated and constructed in a way that benefits politics. Politicians will do what they can to bring a nation to their way of thinking to help achieve their goals. Contrasted with Scotland’s 2014 independence referendum is the study by Augoustinos and De Garis (2012) on ‘political rhetoric’ cited in (Hewson et al. 2015). They studied the speeches made by Barack Obama in his pre-election campaign (2007-2008). Obama’s identity came under scrutiny by many as he was either seen as ‘too black’ or ‘not black enough’ to represent America, as he is of a mixed race he was deemed an unconventional candidate. A speech by Obama in 2008 was analysed by Augoustinos and De Garis and it was clear to see that Obama wanted to implement a national identity for everyone in America. The principles of justice, equality and freedom were the basis for this identity, Obama wanted to unite America as one regardless of class, gender and race.

Hewson et al. (2015, p. 261) stated that national identity
can be seen as being constructed on the basis of distinctiveness of ‘others’.
Migrants, for example, are commonly viewed as a threat to nations by taking
‘our’ jobs, increasing unemployment and sponging off the government as well as
bringing about cultural changes to society. However, on a positive note,
migrants can also enrich society with cultural changes and contribute to the
economy. ‘Othering’ is the process in which migrants are viewed as different
and inferior (Hewson et al. 2015). Lea and Lynn (2003) studied how asylum
seekers are portrayed in letters to the editors of eight major British
newspapers. Asylum seekers were placed into one of two groups ‘Genuine’ and
‘Bogus’, those who made a genuine case for asylum came under ‘Genuine’ and
those who came under ‘Bogus’ were economic immigrants simply using asylum to
gain permission to reside in the country. Maloney (2007) drew similar
conclusions in her study in Australia where 115 participants were asked to
describe their thoughts on asylum seekers or refugees using the first five
words that came into their heads. She discovered that the views of participants
differed, some viewed asylum seekers or refugees as scared and in desperate
need of our help while others viewed them as a nuisance and unwanted (Hewson et
al, 2015).

This essay has compared and contrasted alternative psychological accounts of
nationalism and national identity using various theoretical and applied
examples.

There have been suggestions that nations
are socially constructed and natural, it is fair to say that we view the world
as being made up of various nations. The arrival of migrants can be viewed as
having a positive and negative effect on a nation and that immigration could
possibly challenge the notion that identities are unprecedented and
conflicting. Both national and cultural identities can be interconnected.

The structure of national identities is
often vital when it comes to politicians advancing themselves and the interests
of different people or groups. There are very different views about producing what
the nation is and who should be a part of it which often comes from the media
and political rhetoric, therefore, national identities and their meanings can
change.

Research studies demonstrated that
national identity was of no real importance to participants personally and no
demonstration of national pride amongst them. Using various media sources such
as the internet suggests that people view the world as globally connected as
opposed to just nationally.

In psychological terms, national
identity is viewed as “an awareness of difference”, a “feeling
and recognition of ‘we’ and ‘they'”

Nationalism allows a person to develop a sense of identity
by attaching themselves to a nation, therefore, nationalism in itself is a form
of national identity. 

References

Citelighter.
2011. Benedict Anderson – Imagined Communities. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.citelighter.com/sociology/linguistics/knowledgecards/benedict-anderson-imagined-communities  [Accessed 8 January 2018].

Encyclopaedia Britannica. 1999. Nationalism [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/nationalism. [Accessed 4 January 2018].

Hewson, C.
Mahendran, K. Stevens, P. Turner, J. (2015). Living Psychology: From the Everyday to the Extraordinary. Milton
Keynes: The Open University. Pp. 158-183.

Hewson, C.
Mahendran, K. Stevens, P. Turner, J. (2015). Living Psychology: From the Everyday to the Extraordinary. Milton
Keynes: The Open University. Pp. 223-230.

Hewson, C.
Mahendran, K. Stevens, P. Turner, J. (2015). Living Psychology: From the Everyday to the Extraordinary. Milton
Keynes: The Open University. Pp. 248-263.

OUPblog. 2015. ‘Us’ and ‘Them’: Can we define national identity. [ONLINE] Available at: https://blog.oup.com/2015/09/how-define-national-identity/. [Accessed 8 January 2018].

Quora. 2015. Are national identity and nationalism the same
thing. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.quora.com/Are-national-identity-and-nationalism-the-same-thing.
[Accessed 7 January 2018].

The Open University (2017) ‘Week 10: Nations
and Immigration, DD210, 4 Nationalism: ‘hot’ and ‘banal’.
[ONLINE]. Available at: https://learn2.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=1056196&section=4.  [Accessed 7 January 2018].
 

Gender and Sexual Identity

Gender and Sexual Identity
Understanding gender and sexual identities and the functions and effects of gender roles is important because it allows one to understand themselves and how to relate to others. The creation of gender identity is a complex process involving biological, cultural, and psychological elements (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). A person’s gender identity is the deepest feelings one has about their gender and is expressed by the way they behave feminine, masculine, neither or both (Planned-Parenthood, 2015). For most individuals gender identity is not much of a concern (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). Gender roles on the other hand are of much concern to people (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). Gender roles tell one how to act as either a man or woman in their culture. In fact, many people question whether they are sufficiently feminine or masculine (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). Not only does culture relate to gender identity and gender roles it also relates to sexual identity development. For instance, the world around a person helps shape their sexuality and the ways it is expressed (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). Sexual identity is realized in adulthood when one identifies with a sexual identity such as; heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). This paper will analyze sexual and gender identity relating to how they evolve throughout ones’ lifespan and influences that contribute to their development. Analysis of; how gender identity contributes to sexual expression, functions and effects of gender/role stereotypes and their effects on relationships will be discussed. Additionally, the author will also contribute final thoughts on what male gender roles should be changed to reflect female roles.
Gender and Sexual Identity Evolving through Lifespan
When one is born, assignment of gender is given based on anatomical appearance (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). This assignment tells others how to respond affecting the individual’s social and cultural development (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). As development occurs through early childhood the individual is able to identify themselves as boy or girl based on what is internalized from what others have told them coupled by factors that are not yet understood (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). The feeling of either femaleness or maleness is the individual’s gender identity and is developed between the ages of 2 or 3 (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). During this stage some children may believe that they can change genders by changing their clothes or hair length (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). By the age of 6 or 7 children begin to understand that gender is permanent and it is not something that can be altered or changed by clothes (Yarber & Sayad,2012).

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Gender identity evolves with how we feel and express our gender and gender roles (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). These expressions are linked to culture and are expressed through clothing, behavior, and personal appearance (Planned-Parenthood, 2015). Although gender identity is established by seven years of age gender identity expression is communicated and it evolves over time through changes in society and culture (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). Different pressures from birth through childhood to conform to ones gender are expressed through learning gender roles (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). In infancy throughout childhood a girl may be given dresses to wear, have long hair, and may be prescribed to wear colors such as pink (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). Conversely boys may be prescribed to wear pants and blue colors. Parents begin assignment of gender roles based on a child’s gender which shapes the formation of their gender identity (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). Parents deploy the use of manipulation from infancy onward by treating girls gently, telling her she’s pretty (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). They tell boys they are strong and tell them that boys do not cry (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). Channeling is used by directing children’s attention to objects that are gender specific such as dolls for girls and cars for boys (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). Parents during childhood also use verbal appellation to describe the same behavior with different words for boys and girls (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). Activity exposure is another way parents expose their children to gender roles (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). For instance boys are discouraged from imitating their mothers while girls are encouraged to be there mother’s helper (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). Throughout childhood and adolescence teachers and peers are socializing agents that also provide standards for gender-role behavior (Yarber & Sayad, 2012).
Sexual identity/orientation evolves throughout childhood, adolescence and adulthood. In childhood and early adolescence there is most often sex play or sexual experimentation with members of the opposite sex and same sex (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). When these exploratory experiences begin there is uncertainty in terms of sexual orientation (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). When late adolescence begins and in young adulthood both male and females are confronted with the importance of developing and establishing intimacy (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). The need to be able to develop intimacy places pressure on young adults to conform to a sexual identity and in order to establish intimacy in a relationship one needs to solidify with a sexual orientation (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). By late adolescence or young adulthood most individuals develop a heterosexual identity (Yarber & Sayad,2012). For those who are attracted to the same sex it can take longer to accept their sexual identity because of societal taboos (Yarber & Sayad,2012). In middle adulthood individuals may question intimacy and commitment due to divorce (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). During this stage some people may reevaluate their sexual identity because one’s philosophy continues to evolve (Yarber & Sayad, 2012).
Influences Contributing to Gender and Sexual Identity Development
Parental influence contributes towards gender and sexual identity development. Gender identity is influenced by gender roles which parents instill in the children from birth through childhood (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). Sexual identities are influenced by parents through the child observing their parents behaviors and family dynamics and characteristics (Yarber & Sayad, 2012)…
Peers influence gender identity through providing information about gender role and norms through play activities (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). Peers provide standards for gender roles by granting or withholding approval with others by deciding what games to play, what television shows to watch, what types of foods to eat, and what music to listen to. Peers influence sexual identity by passing information about sex to each other (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). Furthermore, peer influence places sexual pressure on boys to be sexually active even if they are uninterested or unprepared (Yarber & Sayad, 2012).
Media influences gender identity through the information they provide on gender roles and perceived norms (Yarber & Sayad, 2012; Wood). Females on television are attractive, thin, well groomed and most often under 40 (Wood). In contrast, males are most often aggressive, solve problems and rescue others from danger (Wood). The media influences sexual identity by bombarding adolescents and children with sexual images (Wood). The exposure increases teen’s willingness to experiment with sex (Wood).
Religiosity influences gender identity development through information they provide on gender roles and norms (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). The information religion provides shapes adolescent sexual behaviors (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). This in return influences the choices adolescents and young adults will make regarding their sexual orientation (Yarber & Sayad, 2012).
Gender Identity and Sexual Expression
As mentioned earlier gender roles influence the adaptation of one’s gender identity (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). The relationship of gender roles and gender identity is also linked with sexual expression (Yarber & Sayad,2012). One will sexually express themselves through gender roles that are learned as well as through social and cultural roles which offer sexual scripts that provide rule, acts, and expectations associated with a particular role (Yarber & Sayad,2012). The sexual scripts in American culture strongly influence sexual expression in both men and women. Sexual scripts and gender roles may be different for those that are bisexual, transgender, lesbian and gay (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). Sexual scripts organize one’s sexual expression (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). There is a cultural component to sexual scripts which emphasizes heterosexuality, places sexual intercourse first, and discourages masturbation (Yarber & Sayad, 2012).Within cultural scripts there are specific male and female scripts that are encouraged by society to be practiced (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). Male sexual scripts include; men should not have or express certain feelings, performance is only what counts, the man is in charge and already know what the woman wants, a man is always ready for sex and wants it, all physical contact leads to sex, all erotic contact leads to sexual intercourse, and sexual intercourse leads to orgasm (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). Female sexual scripts include: sex is both good and bad, sex is for men and love is for women, men should know what women want, women should not talk about sex, women should look like models, a man’s desires should be over hers and his orgasm over hers, and only through penile penetration can a woman have an orgasm (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). Interpersonal scripts deal with shared conventions and signals expressed by a couple signaling sexual behaviors. Intrapersonal scripts deal with the physiological states that lead to or identify sexual arousal (Yarber & Sayad, 2012).
Gender Role Stereotypes
There are four different types of gender role stereotypes. The first category of gender role stereotype is personality traits (Planned-Parenthood, 2015). Male gender roles include specific personality traits. For instance in America there are specific personality traits related to the traditional male role. Male gender role traits include; aggressiveness, independence, emotional toughness, feelings of superiority, and decisiveness (Planned-Parenthood, 2015). For females gender role stereotypes include: passivity, compliance, physical attractiveness, and being a wife and mother (Planned-Parenthood, 2015). The second category of gender stereotypes is domestic behaviors (Planned-Parenthood,2015). Males are regarded as being best at doing household repairs while females are regarded as being best at caring for children (Yarber & Sayad, 2012). The next category of gender role stereotypes involves occupations (Planned-Parenthood, 2015). Most doctors and construction workers are males and until recently most secretaries and nurses were female (Planned-Parenthood, 2015). The last category of gender role stereotype is physical appearance (Planned-Parenthood, 2015). Men are expected to be strong, broad shouldered and tall and women are expected to be graceful and small (Planned-Parenthood, 2015).
Supporting and Refuting Gender Role Stereotypes
Evidence that supports the reason why these gender role stereotypes are fulfilled is presented in the article, What is Stereotype Threat?  (2015). In the article gender role stereotypes are thought to be perpetuated not because one agrees with the gender role rather because one perceives the threat as a risk to conformity which inadvertently leads the individual to self-handicapping strategies that in return preserves the stereotype that was being avoided (“What is stereotype threat?”). Another reason why gender stereotypes are fulfilled is because of the discomfort they cause the individual. For instance gender role stereotypes can also cause an individual enough discomfort to go against the gender role that they cause the individual to alter or redefine their professional career paths (“What is stereotype threat?”). Evidence that refutes gender stereotypes is that they do not apply to all ethnicities and socioeconomic classes (“What is stereotype threat?”). The majority of research on gender roles has been based on research on White and middle class which are mostly college students (“What is stereotype threat?”). The roles in other words, are not true to all socioeconomic classes or ethnicities. In addition there is evidence which supports that traditional gender roles are no longer valid because there are new ones which have evolved. Traditional gender role stereotypes are evolving from traditional hierarchical roles to ones that are egalitarian and androgynous (“What is stereotype threat?”). Additionally, scholars have challenged masculine and feminine gender roles and have found that they are unhealthy and fail to reflect the real world (“What is stereotype threat?”).
Functions of Gender Role Stereotypes
The overall functions of these stereotypes is to make multiple associations between gender and other non-sex linked qualities such as strength (male) and affection (female), the next function of gender stereotypes is to is to create a basis for social norm, status, taboos and privileges (Yarber & Sayad,2012). The problem with gender role functions is that they categorize people and undervalue the uniqueness of individuals (Yarber & Sayad,2012).
Gender Roles: Affecting Relationships and Sexual Interactions
Gender roles affect relationships because they aid in creating sexual scripts for both males and females (Yarber & Sayad,2012). These roles are then telling both male and females how to behave in their relationships and what sexual script each should adhere to (Yarber & Sayad,2012). The sexual script in return tells each gender how to participate in sexual acts (Yarber & Sayad,2012).
Conclusion
Gender role attitudes and behaviors of the male sex I would like to see become more like my own include men looking like models and being constantly attractive. I think if this same standard was mentioned or even enforced culturally and by media standards there just may be consensus between both males and females that such standards are not ideal and is ridiculous. Another gender role stereotype that would be nice to see in the male sex is for men to become nurturers. It would be nice to see more males make sacrifices for the partner’s careers or the children’s needs even if it may inconvenience them form what they may want . The on taking of this role may help make roles androgynous. The final role behavior I would like to see more like my own is for males to be caregivers of children. Men becoming caregivers of children may allot women more opportunities within the workplace because they have the peace of mind knowing their counterpart is taking care of their child.
References
Planned-Parenthood. (2015). Sexual orientation and gender are fundamental parts of who we are. Retrieved from http://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn/sexual-orientation-gender
What is stereotype threat? (2015). Retrieved from http://www.reducingstereotypethreat.org/definition.html
Wood, J. T. (n.d.). The influence of media on views of gender. Retrieved from http://www.udel.edu/comm245/readings/GenderedMedia.pdf
Yarber, W., Sayad, B., & Strong, B. (2012). Human sexuality: Diversity in contemporary America. (8th ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill.