Sheep’s clothing & Identity Politics
May 7th, 2010Accepting that there are some elements of our identities which are pre-detetermined such as our appearances, the prevailing culture where we are born and the things we experience from our surroundings - What makes an individual’s identity unique? We are social animals, meaning that if we are ‘normal’, we live in contact with others – friends, family, significant others and acquaintances. As a result we are constantly comparing ourselves to each other and tend define ourselves in reaction to other people and their perspective stereotypes. More specifically, we are influenced by others. There is no such thing as identity without a socio-cultural/politcal context to relate it to in the first place. We either act to be identified with or apart from certain stereotypes and pre-conceived notions which we think other people have awareness of and can relate to.
It seems that in making choices about how one wants to be perceived in our information-age societies of pre-packaged social norms, there is only the choice between conforming or being the outcast. An example of such behaviour is putting on one’s best outfit for a job interview with the understanding that people who wear well tailored suits appear more capable and successful. The flip-side to that would be someone who constantly wears casual attire to make a statement that they are carefree as opposed to being ‘preppy’ for fear of being perceived as a ’stiff-nosed tosser’. However I’m sure that most of us a familiar with the phrases ‘mutton dressed up as lamb‘ and ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing‘…
Take Michael Jackson as an example of a paradox in identity politics (see hyperlinked article). He was inspired by read more…
