In the introduction, Adams (2010) mentioned that our social identity is made up of two perspectives: that of our own and that of others. However, I want to suggest the perspective of God in shaping our identities. In my own life the perspective of Jesus, who I know to be God, is the most valid perspective. I do not primarily look to others or even myself to shape my identity. I look to Jesus to shape my identity. Through him, I am loved, I am a lover, I am a woman of God, I am one with God, I have His spirit inside of me, I belong to His kingdom no matter where I am, I am seen and heard by Him, I am never discriminated against, I am a spiritual being, I am healed, I am perfect.
Furthermore, this perspective also shapes how I view others. People are loved by God, never discriminated against by Him, are spiritual beings, seen and heard by Him, in Him perfect and healed. I say that this perspective shapes my social identity in that I know I am valued no matter what category of a group I am in within society. Whether subordinate or dominate, God’s perspective and valuing of me or any person for that matter does not change.
The section about interactions at the meso level made me think about how our questions reflect how we ourselves can view people. I know that some questions I’ve received have indicated how people are perceiving me. Questions such as, “Where are you from?” or even “What are you?” that I’ve heard growing up have led me to believe that the first thing people are wondering when they meet me is my ethnic background, since it isn’t altogether clear. Consequently I have tended to note peoples’ ethnicity first and foremost when I meet them, especially in middle and high school.
From my own experience and as pointed out in this article, I realize how significant the questions we ask people are. As social workers working with clients, what questions do we ask our clients and what sort of message do we send through the questions? Our questions can reflect how we group people. For myself I have noticed that my questions, even just my thoughts, reflected my tendency to see people based on ethnic background because that has been a large part of the formation of my social identity.
It’s important and honoring to find out how people identify themselves because even the questions we ask people, in an attempt to know who they are, can hinder their ability to speak for themselves about who they are as a person.
References
Adams, M., Blumenfeld, W., Castañeda, C., Hackman, H., Peters, M., Zúñiga, X. (2010). Readings for diversity and social justice. Psychology Press.
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