Analysis Of Individual Identity

Identity is not fixed; it is varying and transforming over lifetimes among individuals in society. Although we may find certain identities overlapping to some extent, each person’s identity is unique to their experiences, and social encounters. It would be incomplete to analyze any identity without first understanding how this identity is formed. More importantly, to discover and analyze an individual identity, we must adjust our preconceived notions of what it means to fit into an identity category. In this paper I will demonstrate that, although many people assume that gender is based on genitalia, gender is learned, internalized, and is performed, through social interactions. Although identities differ, certain social psychological influences, …show more content…
Since my birth I have been submersed into a very close family, surrounded by very influential and powerful women. My mother, grandma, and aunties all had a vey significant impact on how I cam to terms with my identity as a girl. When I was born I had no say in how my parent decided to dress me or comb my hair. They had already been socialized to accept that because I was born as a female I will become a girl and then eventually, a woman. As soon as the doctors told my mom, “congratulations you are having twin girls,” the line between gender and sex had been …show more content…
We both originally construct a definition of what it means to be a girl through family, who has already been socialized to attach being a female to also being a woman. As children there is immense pressure into fitting into normative heterosexuality. Judith Butler, a feminist theorist, questions the belief that certain gendered behaviors are natural and instead goes on to argue that one has learned performance of gendered behavior, masculinity and femininity. From this rudimentary definition of what being a girl means, our journey begins to diverge. I began to feel more comfortable with this identity and perform my gendered expected role, while Bo began to come into a state of overwhelming confusion and loss because his sex does not match up with his gender. According to Butler, we preform our masculinity and femininity in a certain way to be in compliance with normative heterosexuality which basically is, the identification of men to identify as male and as a result be attracted to woman, and female to identity as woman and therefore be attracted to a