Apparently Appearance Matters As someone passes by, it’s natural for them to look another person up and down, make uninformed assumptions, and pass judgements. With assumptions and judgments being made, it allows people to place themselves, and others, into groups they think they belong, or don’t belong in. Individuals who hold a position of power tend to decide what groups others are supposed to be in based on their appearance and interests. In the process of categorizing someone, many factors such as social identity, power, and communication make a huge impact on making these decisions. Although labeling is crucial to maintain stability, it strips the value of individuality away from a person, causing norms to be the basis of society.
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People look at things in either a dominant way or non-dominant way, and the dominance seen in others places them in a group of their own. Someone in a dominant group can have “more economic and cultural power” (Allen 4). A few dominant groups that are considered dominant in today’s society are heterosexuals and Caucasians. There’s not a specific explanation to why this is, but the idea of identification could help to better understand an individual’s reasons behind their decisions. According to Philip Gleason, author of the article Identifying Identity: A Semantic History, Identification refers to “the process by which a person comes to realize what groups are significant for him, what attitudes concerning them he should form, and what kind of behavior is appropriate” (916). Being around a certain group of people can change how someone acts, their attitude, and their outlook on life. Identification can have a strong sense of power to individuals, and a whole society as well. When categorizing others, having power can “establish and maintain hierarchy” (Allen 27). Having a stable society may be beneficial, however, placing others into groups only eliminates the idea of someone accepting themselves in a world where anything outside of the norm isn’t
People look at things in either a dominant way or non-dominant way, and the dominance seen in others places them in a group of their own. Someone in a dominant group can have “more economic and cultural power” (Allen 4). A few dominant groups that are considered dominant in today’s society are heterosexuals and Caucasians. There’s not a specific explanation to why this is, but the idea of identification could help to better understand an individual’s reasons behind their decisions. According to Philip Gleason, author of the article Identifying Identity: A Semantic History, Identification refers to “the process by which a person comes to realize what groups are significant for him, what attitudes concerning them he should form, and what kind of behavior is appropriate” (916). Being around a certain group of people can change how someone acts, their attitude, and their outlook on life. Identification can have a strong sense of power to individuals, and a whole society as well. When categorizing others, having power can “establish and maintain hierarchy” (Allen 27). Having a stable society may be beneficial, however, placing others into groups only eliminates the idea of someone accepting themselves in a world where anything outside of the norm isn’t