Social Identity Essay

Identity, there are many different kinds of identity, all in which shape each other and mold one another into being different, just shifting the way these identities are. You ofcourse have the kind of identity that is controlled and modified between your ears, this kind of identity is your personal identity. It is the identity that you only see and feel, it is the identity you can either choose to show to the public eye or you can keep all of your personal identity locked up inside. That is totally up to you though. There is your social identity, the one that you are observed by, the kind of identity that other people see you as. It describes the type of person you are and it is what people will describe you as when asked who you are. This is the type of identity you need to make sure you pay close attention to because this social identity can alter the way you think about your personal identity as well.

These two types of identities both alter, shift and change the way your mind thinks about yourself or about other people, which in the long run may affect the type of relationships you develop, which can also alter your life and your life goals. You see how this is like a trickle down effect? That is why it is so important to make sure all of your identities are healthy, whether they are just thought or if they are the real you that people see. Everyone wants to live the American Dream with the big happy family, steady job with a nice paycheck, nice neighborhood for your kids to build lifelong friendships, and everything all peaches and cream everyday. Sadly, some kids, some mothers, some fathers and some people just are not able to live those kinds of lives. Whether it is the specific environment they grew up in, the relationships they have with their parents, work, fear/violence, etc.

All of these things that people go through in their lifetime can really alter a person’s life, it can happen fast or it can slowly escalate over time. After a while of having to reassure or check your social identity and your personal identity it starts to diminish your mindset and outlook on a lot of things in your life. Some people change their physical appearance, some people confuse their true self compared to their false self and they may expose their false self to the public, which is bad for both parties. Yoshino dealt with a lot of racism and people deteriorating his race and all of that, so Yoshino went to “covering” which is, “To tone down a disfavored identity to fit into the mainstream,” (Yoshino 479). In more broader terms covering is the act of hiding your true self from the modern day society because you feel as if you will just be bashed for what you belive in or what you look like. This is bad not just because it is unethical as a human to have to hide who you truly are because you are tired of being verbally, physically and mentally assaulted because of your beliefs. But this is a bad thing because after a while of “covering’ you may get your true self and your false self mixed up and you will personally diminish your personal identity along with your social identity.