Since the beginning of time, humans have always been part of different types of societies. A society can be defined as a collection of individuals that share geographical territory, culture, and beliefs. As a individual, each person forms part of a society from the moment that he or she is born. However, the definition and role of a society has been altered during the last decades. Instead of being just a group were someone belongs, it has become more of a standardized lifestyle. How to dress, what to like, and even how to act are imposed by what society believes is acceptable. For this reason, many people believe that the traits that make them different from others need to be covered in order to be part of a society. The identity or distinct personality of an individual has lost value because it needs to fit a certain mold in order to be accepted. For instance, Kenji Yoshino in his essay “The New Civil Rights” discusses how covering offers a unique perspective on assimilation. The term covering, as he uses it, means “to tone down a disfavored identity to fit into the mainstream” (552). The authentic identity of an individual can suffer changes throughout his or her life in response to the environment and to the impact of life experiences. He or she might feel obligated to cover certain traits of his or her personality to fit into society's standards by conscious choices but in response to the environment's demands.
Covering is a way of assimilation, which is the idea of integrating into a broader group. Additionally, trying to “fit in” requires a certain balance within a person's self. For instance, the object-relations theorist, D.W. Winnicott makes a distinction between a True Self and a False Self that most people have. The Tr...
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... why some people covered certain unacceptable traits of their personality. Similarly, social media gives certain pressure on how individuals should be by idealizing the stereotypes of perfection in a society. Women should be caring mothers and handle the stuff related with home, men should be responsible of the important roles in the society. Directly or indirectly the three of them influence the beliefs that compose the standards that a society creates. As any human being, anyone who feels outcast has to adapt himself or herself to prevail in the society. Covering one's traits to be accepted is a conscious choice, but is influenced by the pressure that society has over the personal identity of an individual. It seems that in order to be accepted as a member of a society, one needs to fit the mold of the social identity without it the society's membership is denied.
There has been many discussions about how people try to fit in society, whether it is for music, interests in subjects, or even trying to fit in a specific culture. Groups and individuals seems to have a distinction among each other when it comes down to fitting in society and how they differ and have tensions among each other to conform to social norms. In “Making Conversation” and “The Primacy of Practice” by Kwame Anthony Appiah discusses how all cultures have similarities and differences but sometimes those differences are so different that they can not connect to another nation. Manuel Munoz in “Leave Your Name at the Border” argues how immigrants in a city are forced to act more societal and how it typically affects the diversity in
The search for one’s identity can be a constant process and battle, especially for teenagers and young adults. Many people have a natural tendency to want to fit in and be accepted by others, whether it be with family, friends or even strangers. They may try to change who they are, how they act, or how they dress in order to fit in. As one gets older, society can influence one’s view on what they should look like, how they should act, or how they should think. If society tells us that a certain body type or hair color is beautiful, that is what some people strive for and want to become in order to be more liked. This was especially true with Avery as she longed for the proper clothes to fit into a social group and began to change the way she spoke to match those around her. As a young and impressionable sixth grader, she allowed herself to become somewhat whitewashed in an attempt to fit in with the other girls. However, Avery did not really become friends with any of those girls; her only real friend was
Our lives are defined by our experiences of growing up and of who people are when people are developing. Both, in their respective regards, are something that can be difficult to alter to the individual. Gender, race, classes, and other building blocks of our identity are always shifting to who anyone is and while a person can’t affect themselves, society can, and often does change their perspective towards their own identity and how they interact with the stimulation outside of their psyche.
Furthermore, sometimes the desire to be accepted is stronger than prevailing conventions. This makes an individual to do things to make him feel accepted in the society. Krakauer compares the people in Alaska and McCandless. He writes, “And I’m sure there are plenty of other Alaskans who had a lot in common with McCandless when they first got here, too, including many of his critics. Which maybe why they’re so hard on him. Maybe McCandless reminds them a little too much of their former selves” (Krakauer 221). In today’s society, an individual confirms itself to what a society wants and expect him or her to be.
Men and women of all races are subjected to change due to the consistently persistent demands of covering. Women are forced to adjust to covering demands through many ways such as sororities, partner relationships, and social work environments. Kimmel states “ Girls who learn to accommodate themselves to Guyland run the risk of becoming grown women who accommodate themselves with intransigence”(Kimmel 261). The intransigence that he refers to is unchanging behavior of men but according to Kimmel, the love of a woman cannot change the behavior of a man. Their love is not transformative and therefore, they must change their own behavior (cover) to accommodate to the intransigence of men. Comparable to men, the intransigence of society is also something human beings are unable to change. The ways of humanity have been set and unchanged so that others must assimilate to the norms. Yoshino describes the evolution of covering in this statement “Covering has enjoyed such a robust and stubborn life because it is a form of assimilation. At least… this country has touted assimilation as the way Americans of different backgrounds would be ‘melted into a new race of men,”(Yoshino 294). This quotation describes how covering has existed for a long period of time. Because of this, mankind has been unable to change assimilation and is forced to accommodate to the intransigence of
Everyone covers their unfavorable identity to submerge in the white mainstream. Asians change their native accents and learn American English pronunciations to make themselves more understandable. They have a new American name to replace their traditional name that might exhibit their ethnicity. African-Americans straighten their hair to make them professional. Arabs change their traditional clothes and wear suits in working. Yoshino admits to be intended to avoid association with the Asian-American group and act Americans. And covering has a clear purpose that is improvement and staying at the center of the western mainstream. Racial covering brings to him improvement and success instead of pessimistic thoughts about his own Asian-American identity. However, when he lives in Japan, he feels frustrated that he is unable to conform to the Japanese society because his every action reveals his western identity. Yoshino suggests that “Racial identity has a behavioral component” (300). Appearances and accents can be changed but habitual behavior and cultural mindset is implanted in individuals’ body and cannot be muted easily. For instance, Asians behave modestly and have a lower self-esteem than westerners. Indians prefer traditional cuisines than western foods. And religious beliefs and cultural heritage roots in the individuals’ mindset. Like Muchin in the example of “good
Since the beginning of time, social class and race have been paramount in society. Back in the time of caveman, roles and traditions were passed down based on gender. The man was responsible for protection and collecting food while women were responsible for cooking and keeping house. That belief has traversed time and slowly changes with each era. But throughout history, men and women have lived with preconceived notions of their duties to their families. These notions have been passed down generations and have affected how people live within their society. In the novel “Like Water for Chocolate”, social class is revered in the story of the De la Garza family. As we see through the personal journey of Tita, the main character, these distinctions are evident.
By attempting to imitate the expected forms of expression of mainstream identities, the person is choosing to diminish part of their self. While Blackmore suggests that, “What makes us different is our ability to imitate (Blackmore p. 3),” covering can have strongly negative effects upon an individual and ostracized groups. By choosing to cover, an individual internalizes and upholds the ideology that some identities are better than others. Some people argue against a negative view of covering, suggesting that it is product of nurture and not fully a person’s conscious decision. Excusing covering by simply explaining it as a byproduct of a person’s upbringing is harmful because it does not hold the person accountable for their own actions. However, once the excuse behind explaining covering as an unconscious decision, the factor of consciousness is important to consider. Due to the
Two authors that had shared there struggles with dealing with the concept of being transcultural and how trying to fit in made it very difficult, Amy (Tan) and David (Suzuki).Wrote About how being born as one culture and growing up in a different doesn’t mean you have to fit in letting yourself be who you can let you grow not only in your culture but you genetic one. For example, Amy Tan’s Fish Cheek helps understand a deeper meaning about trying to fit in with being an average; “American Girl.” The article is about a real story about how she wanted to change herself genetically so that she could look average and the person she was trying to impress would like her. As a child she didn't understand the importance of being unique and happy with your culture, her mother explained to her that; "But inside you must always be Chinese. You must be proud you are different. Your only shame is to have shame." Most people might find it easy by not trying to fit in but in reality we all want to fit in and be like everyone else. Furthermore, David Suzuki is another person who had struggled with accepting the idea of never fitting in he writes that; “I was born a Canadian.” He writes that he is proud that he is different through the struggles of dealing with not fitting in with either cultures he accepted that
Many philosophers and psychologist from Jean Piaget to William James have theorized what makes a person who they are, their identity. Jean Piaget believed that the identity is formed in the sensorimotor stage and the preoperational stage. This means that a child is forming his identity as late to the age of seven (Schellenberg, 29) However, identity is strongly impacted by society such as school, church, government,and other institutions. Through our interactions with different situations our personality develops (Schellenberg 34). "In most situations there is a more diversified opportunity for the development of social identities, reflecting what the individual wants to put forth to define the self as well as what others want to accept,"(Schellenberg 35). Therefore, humans, much like animals, adapt to different situations based on who they are with. Individuals are always changi...
Personal identity in first world countries is often taken for granted. We have the ability to act however we please or be whatever we want without any real limitations. In George Orwell's, “1984”, identity is not taken for granted because personal identity does not exist. Orwell illustrates a vision of life where a totalitarian government eradicates individual identity. Winston Smith, the narrator of the novel, lives in a dystopian society where he and every other citizen struggle to maintain their own personal identity. The author suggests that individuals may struggle to maintain personal identity in a totalitarian government due to the lack of diversity this is because identity can only exist if the environment allows it to. Although if
Firstly, the presence of individuality within society permits individuals to identify societal barriers because such choices are, essential. Tom’s essay speaks of how “historically, people have not been kind to that which is different”, yet however, she encourages this drive within individuals as she goes on to say, “this [in fact] is what has driven the evolution of society.” Though many historical events such as the Holocaust and the Trans-Atlantic slave trade have not been greeted with gratitude nonetheles...
Humanity is defined by one major factor: one’s understating of the self. By understanding one’s self, one can understand society and the world that surrounds themselves. There is one thing that can often distort one’s personality, one’s identity. By identifying as one thing a person can often change how they act or do certain things. This is often found to hide one’s true motives or intention, but it can also be used to hide hidden factors that aren’t as prevalent. One’s personality and identity are very closely linked, and tend to play off one another. This fact can be show in within multiple works. To name a few authors who demonstrate this fact: Clifford Geertz, Horace Miner, and Andrei Toom. Their works seek to dive deeper
In the analysis of society in today's times, the motives of social change, control, and conformity provides the basis of how society controls human behavior. The ideals and expectations place onto people in modern society are established through means of control where people are expected to behave within a spectrum of normality and what society deems as acceptable behavior. Forms of social influence as simple as peer pressure and wanting to fit in transform into major controls of society like laws, law enforcement officers and the government as a whole. The way that people make sense of their environment is through formed first impressions, interpretations of other people's behavior and how that behavior affects their attitudes, stereotypes, and perceptions of other types of people. The overall impact of these ideas on individuals shows how conformity, persuasion, stereotypes, and culture affect how society maintains and changes social norms.
Historically, societies have had a great deal of influence over the individuals making up their respective civilization. Every society, regardless of how autonomous their society allows their populous to be, directly and indirectly extends a level of control. Self-governing persons often think of themselves as immune to society’s invisible sway; and to varying degrees they are however, their core identity is ultimately shaped and molded by interacting with other members of humanity.