Topic 4 Closing reflections

BRING THE FOLLOWING TO YOUR DESK IN 3 MINUTES:

  • Something blue
  • Something fluffy
  • Something sweet
  • A piece of clothing that belongs to you and you don’t wear it right now
  • The thing you like the least in the house
  • Weirdest thing in the fridge
  • Something that can hold things

DEFINITION OF IDENTITY

The word “identity” simply means being what one is! If we refer to your identity as a person, we just mean who you are.

In contemporary society, when we talk about the identity of a person we may refer to:

  • A person’s characteristics, qualities, feelings, beliefs, experiences, interests, preferences, and anything else which make them who they are
  • A person’s sense of self, meaning who they think they are, or how they view or perceive themselves
  • How a person sees themselves compared to others and how others see them

DEFINITION OF SOCIAL IDENTITY

When we refer to identities which are based on our sense of belonging to a group of people or to social categories―such as gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, class, profession and many others―we then refer to “social identities”. In this context, based on the social category linked to each identity, one can refer to different social identities, such as national identity (Greek or Turkish etc.), religious identity (Christian or Muslim etc.), gender identity (woman or man etc.), sexual identity (gay or straight etc.), professional identity, identities linked to things one likes or does (sports fan, athlete etc.) and the list goes on.

COMPONENTS OF SOCIAL IDENTITY