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Race, Gender and Identity

E

Epiphany

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Along the subject which arose from this thread, to what extent does your race and/or gender factor into your sense of identity? For me, I would say, very little. I view both as rather arbitrary. Not that my personality hasn't been influenced by the environment I was raised in, and society as a whole, gives more attention to such issues than I do. I view racial pride as a subtle form of racism and pride in one's gender as sexism; both of which, like nationalism, can fester into a disdain for anyone who does not belong to your group, or evolve into a sense of elitism. Are minorities in any given population more likely to identify with these characteristics in opposition to a perceived threat from the majority, whether real, imagined or exaggerated? I can understand it to an extent, as I believe that my personality is contrary to the majority of the population and feel a certain kinship with those who seem like-minded. Perhaps, I have even let resentment toward those who behave in extreme contrast to myself build up over time. Excessively loud people annoy me and if someone seems unintelligent, overly confident and lacking in self-awareness, I admit that I harbor a repulsion to their presence. Much of that has to do with the fact that many of these people seem to rise to the top of the social hierarchy, but I'm getting away from the topic. Maybe it is easier for someone who doesn't belong to a particular minority to form his/her identity on characteristics which don't pertain to such factors; although I'm not differentiating between sex and gender because most will agree that they are innate qualities that nobody has control over, regardless of how an individual defines them. That's what I appreciate about online correspondence. Unless someone divulges their race or gender, they are primarily judged by the content of their character or how they choose to convey it instead of prejudices and expectations cultivated by society.
 

Mole

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Along the subject which arose from this thread, to what extent does your race and/or gender factor into your sense of identity? For me, I would say, very little. I view both as rather arbitrary. Not that my personality hasn't been influenced by the environment I was raised in, and society as a whole, gives more attention to such issues than I do. I view racial pride as a subtle form of racism and pride in one's gender as sexism; both of which, like nationalism, can fester into a disdain for anyone who does not belong to your group, or evolve into a sense of elitism. Are minorities in any given population more likely to identify with these characteristics in opposition to a perceived threat from the majority, whether real, imagined or exaggerated? I can understand it to an extent, as I believe that my personality is contrary to the majority of the population and feel a certain kinship with those who seem like-minded. Perhaps, I have even let resentment toward those who behave in extreme contrast to myself build up over time. Excessively loud people annoy me and if someone seems unintelligent, overly confident and lacking in self-awareness, I admit that I harbor a repulsion to their presence. Much of that has to do with the fact that many of these people seem to rise to the top of the social hierarchy, but I'm getting away from the topic. Maybe it is easier for someone who doesn't belong to a minority to form his/her identity on issues which don't pertain to such factors; although I'm not differentiating between sex and gender because most will agree that they are innate qualities that nobody has control over, regardless of how an individual defines them. That's what I appreciate about online correspondence. Unless someone divulges their race or gender, they are primarily judged on the content of their character or how they choose to convey it instead of prejudices and expectations cultivated by society.

Yes, it is interesting - not only has the internet abolished space and time, but privacy has been abolished along with the individual.

And this is not all - for on the internet, "no one knows you are a dog", that is, no one knows your gender or race. So we can say gender and race have also been abolished on the internet.

Of course this is a major social change and it takes a while for our minds to catch up to the facts on the ground.

But slowly our minds are starting to realise that we are members of electronic tribes in the global village.
 

kiddykat

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I think race/gender strongly influences how one perceives his/her own identity (and reality)..

There's no denying how one is brought up or viewed in society can play social expectations on one's own outcome in how he/she perceives him/herself.

Denying aspects of our cultural identity (even socio-economic background) is like turning a blind eye to those differences, and denying the fact that people are treated differently. Acknowledging adversities in one's experience helps to create social changes needed to improve people's lives.

My personal experience with gender and race is that I've faced social inequality, but I don't let those factors define me. I define my own personal experiences. And, in some ways, by owning my personal narratives, I have more meaning to what I want to accomplish.
 

Coriolis

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That's what I appreciate about online correspondence. Unless someone divulges their race or gender, they are primarily judged by the content of their character or how they choose to convey it instead of prejudices and expectations cultivated by society.
Interesting thread. I will have more comments later. For now, I will simply observe that failure to divulge characteristics like race or gender online does not stop others from making assumptions. Especially with gender, there seems to be a drive to put people into boxes, even absent any indications from the individual. Many months ago I posed the question: how do people, subconsciously perhaps, determine which gender to associate with online correspondents in the absence of convincing evidence? I was especially interested in what assumptions were made based on posting style (as opposed to username or avatar).
 

Mole

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LCDs and Ideals

Race and gender are our lowest common denominators.

For we all belong to a race or gender.

And we appeal to race and gender, our LCDs, when we don't want to appeal to our highest ideals.
 

Such Irony

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Race and gender are our lowest common denominators.

For we all belong to a race or gender.

And we appeal to race and gender, our LCDs, when we don't want to appeal to our highest ideals.


Yes, this is exactly why I don't see race or gender as an important part of my identity.

My identity, revolves around the unique things that make me, me. Things like personality quirks, likes and dislikes, interests, skills and knowledge, etc.
 

Valiant

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This is a pretty good text on the matter:
Part 1: http://www.tomatobubble.com/wonderfulrace1.html
Part 2: http://www.tomatobubble.com/wonderfulrace2.html


Being a White European man, I have certain ideals and obligations which I live up to.
I must be strong, courageous, assertive, knowledgeable and a doer.
I must be a good father, steadfast friend and loving husband.
And by the gods, I am.
I must also fight against whoever seeks to destroy us. And I do.
Courage today, victory tomorrow!
Our identity has been eroded by years and years of ceaseless propaganda and indoctrination...
We have been feminized, liberalized and we have no sense of direction like all other races.
Seeing those without it, I can only think back to the days where I hadn't awakened yet.
I look at others with a mix of hope and pity.

It is, however, in my blood to be what I am. And if you look deep into yourself... You can find that warrior there.
Some of you certainly do not like what I write. Today.
But you will remember me when you are forced to wake up from your liberal dream world.
You might have an itchy little precognition that it might just be crumbling all around you.
Soon, we will all live in Detroit conditions, and we will be a hated minority if we do not do something about it.
And you know, the dream will shatter and we are going to war again.
A lot of bad things will happen, but in the end we will regain our identity.

We have everything to be proud of, and nothing to be ashamed of that hasn't been repaid a thousand times already.
The world would be a very uncivilized place if it weren't for white people.
Anyone who tells me I can't be proud to be White can respectfully kiss my behind.
 

KDJ

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Along the subject which arose from this thread, to what extent does your race and/or gender factor into your sense of identity? For me, I would say, very little. I view both as rather arbitrary. Not that my personality hasn't been influenced by the environment I was raised in, and society as a whole, gives more attention to such issues than I do. I view racial pride as a subtle form of racism and pride in one's gender as sexism; both of which, like nationalism, can fester into a disdain for anyone who does not belong to your group, or evolve into a sense of elitism.

Interesting observations.... I have to say this particular subject is one Ive thought a lot about over the course of my lifetime. My observations have led to some similar conclusions. I find it kinda funny in fact that my own typology as an INFP appears as a filter for my experience as a biracial individual raised in a mall Midwest town. Its the interaction of these factors that yielded my conclusions on the matter. Being biracial means walking on a dividing between worlds. I see both sides in my family and can't choose sides. I effectively immerse myself culturally within each world as "one of them". At the same time I'm quietly observing inside, able to step back at an objective distances viewing with a critical eye each world as that outsider.

I liken the experience to the description provided by Dr. Beebe of the Ne function. He describes Ne in terms of an old Indian Fable in which blind men are each feeling their way around an elephant examining a different part of it in excruciating detail to figure out what it is. They come up with different conclusions, based on different perspectives. What you get in such circumstances are differing conclusions based on varied edited perceptions, judgments, thoughts, etc.

What makes this so difficult is when you can see how each blind man is unwilling to examine flaws in their own thinking. There are always creative editing processes that can occur in our perceptions of things. Its important to ask to what degree we are willfully denying that which contradicts what you believe "is". Conclusions, beliefs and perceptions when unexamined act as self fulfilling prophecies we use create our personal reality with....

http://www.wordfocus.com/word-act-blindmen.html

In the end, because of thus, I've always affirmed my identity as a biracial person by saying I am both and yet neither. I find it fascinating to step back and see how much of what we perceive is a creation of our own thought processes. While our perceptions must by necessity reflect reality. They aren't always so much logical conclusions of reality as much as they are self-fulfilling prophecies for that reality we find ourselves in...
 

Entropic

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So we can say gender and race have also been abolished on the internet.

This is definitely not true because if it was true you wouldn't see sites such as Personality Cafe asking you the question what ethnic group you belong to on your profile, or have essentially every site in the world asking you about your gender and some don't even allow it as an option to keep it anonymous. Also, if this was true, then you wouldn't see memes such as "there are no women on the internet" floating around, or having men asking people they think are women based on the username/avatar where they live and the size of their physical features, or have people generalize and discriminate an entire group of players just because they happened to play on the same race in an MMO.

In a transgressive world some people will latch onto the definitions they know more than ever in order to feel secure. This applies just as much on the internet as in the physical world.
 

Entropic

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This is a pretty good text on the matter:
Part 1: http://www.tomatobubble.com/wonderfulrace1.html
Part 2: http://www.tomatobubble.com/wonderfulrace2.html


Being a White European man, I have certain ideals and obligations which I live up to.
I must be strong, courageous, assertive, knowledgeable and a doer.
I must be a good father, steadfast friend and loving husband.
And by the gods, I am.
I must also fight against whoever seeks to destroy us. And I do.
Courage today, victory tomorrow!
Our identity has been eroded by years and years of ceaseless propaganda and indoctrination...
We have been feminized, liberalized and we have no sense of direction like all other races.
Seeing those without it, I can only think back to the days where I hadn't awakened yet.
I look at others with a mix of hope and pity.

It is, however, in my blood to be what I am. And if you look deep into yourself... You can find that warrior there.
Some of you certainly do not like what I write. Today.
But you will remember me when you are forced to wake up from your liberal dream world.
You might have an itchy little precognition that it might just be crumbling all around you.
Soon, we will all live in Detroit conditions, and we will be a hated minority if we do not do something about it.
And you know, the dream will shatter and we are going to war again.
A lot of bad things will happen, but in the end we will regain our identity.

We have everything to be proud of, and nothing to be ashamed of that hasn't been repaid a thousand times already.
The world would be a very uncivilized place if it weren't for white people.
Anyone who tells me I can't be proud to be White can respectfully kiss my behind.

Newsflash: you define your own identity. You decide who you are. No one is taking anything or eroding anything away. I'd call it adaptation. Either you choose to adapt or be destroyed. That message should be simple enough for you to understand (although I could ramble more about the gender essentialist assumptions around the crisis of masculinity but whatever).
 

Entropic

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I think race/gender strongly influences how one perceives his/her own identity (and reality)..

There's no denying how one is brought up or viewed in society can play social expectations on one's own outcome in how he/she perceives him/herself.

Denying aspects of our cultural identity (even socio-economic background) is like turning a blind eye to those differences, and denying the fact that people are treated differently. Acknowledging adversities in one's experience helps to create social changes needed to improve people's lives.

My personal experience with gender and race is that I've faced social inequality, but I don't let those factors define me. I define my own personal experiences. And, in some ways, by owning my personal narratives, I have more meaning to what I want to accomplish.

I second this very much. If we deny our personal biases we are just ignorant and blind. Race and gender are not important to me when it comes to my personal identity but it depends on what aspect we're talking about. If we're talking about music then gender suddenly matters due to the gendered discourse that surrounds metal music, and if we talk about class then race and gender matter again because gender and ethnic belonging are both important factors when understanding class, and if we talk about intelligence it matters too.

I do however not concern myself much with race and gender on a daily basis but put me in a situation where my race/gender is brought up and it will matter a great deal.
 

Valiant

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Newsflash: you define your own identity. You decide who you are. No one is taking anything or eroding anything away. I'd call it adaptation. Either you choose to adapt or be destroyed. That message should be simple enough for you to understand (although I could ramble more about the gender essentialist assumptions around the crisis of masculinity but whatever).

Well, i'm not a reed blowing in the wind, that bow down to this particularly foul-smelling wind.
But yes, I do definy my own identity and I will inspire those around me to take back theirs.
I will fight those who say we are nothing and those who seek our destruction.
That's simple enough to understand, too, I reckon.
 

Coriolis

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But yes, I do definy my own identity and I will inspire those around me to take back theirs.
I will fight those who say we are nothing and those who seek our destruction.
That's simple enough to understand, too, I reckon.
Who are "we"? Who is seeking your destruction, and in what ways?

This sounds more like an adventure film than a psychological discussion.
 

miss fortune

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I really don't think that my race or gender would even cross my mind if other people didn't remind me of it from time to time... usually in a resentful manner indicating that I get more perks for being a white chick (which is funny because I'm not really all that white background-wise, though I have the complexion of vanilla soy milk :dry:). It doesn't really have a strong impact on how I view myself though :shrug:

I'd say that my life experiences and background play a bigger part than race and gender. My family migrated north from the south during the 20s, which was a pretty common thing for more than one race to do at the time and I come from a family heavy in auto workers as well. I identify a lot more with my class, I suppose, than I do with my glow in the dark skin.

Of course a funny example as well would be the boyfriend, who doesn't particularly identify with his mixed race heritage (he never even knew his dad) and identifies with the city as opposed to race, region or anything else. I've joked that he loves the city enough that if a cultural ambassador position to it ever opens up I'm nominating him :dry:
 

Orangey

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Of course they factor into my identity. They factor into everyone else's, too...whether you guys want to recognize the fact or not.
 

Mole

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This is definitely not true because if it was true you wouldn't see sites such as Personality Cafe asking you the question what ethnic group you belong to on your profile, or have essentially every site in the world asking you about your gender and some don't even allow it as an option to keep it anonymous. Also, if this was true, then you wouldn't see memes such as "there are no women on the internet" floating around, or having men asking people they think are women based on the username/avatar where they live and the size of their physical features, or have people generalize and discriminate an entire group of players just because they happened to play on the same race in an MMO.

In a transgressive world some people will latch onto the definitions they know more than ever in order to feel secure. This applies just as much on the internet as in the physical world.

We would naturally think that race and gender are relevant on the internet because they have been such prominent categories in our print culture.

And it takes a while for our minds to catch up with the new media of the internet, so naturally we drive forward looking in the rear vision mirror of race and gender, when the internet, race and gender free, is racing towards us through the windscreen.
 

Pseudo

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I think my race in gender only define my identity relative to others. When alone I don't think I filter my experiences through race or gender and I don't feel any urges to express these aspects of myself. I don't think there is anything intrinsically feminine or race specific about my thoughts/feelings. Those things only become significant when brought up by how other people evaluate me. Their expectations or beliefs about my identity. I guess there is a certain sense of being a neutral mind housed in a biracial, female body.
 

Pseudo

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This is a pretty good text on the matter:
Part 1: http://www.tomatobubble.com/wonderfulrace1.html
Part 2: http://www.tomatobubble.com/wonderfulrace2.html


Being a White European man, I have certain ideals and obligations which I live up to.
I must be strong, courageous, assertive, knowledgeable and a doer.
I must be a good father, steadfast friend and loving husband.
And by the gods, I am.
I must also fight against whoever seeks to destroy us. And I do.
Courage today, victory tomorrow!
Our identity has been eroded by years and years of ceaseless propaganda and indoctrination...
We have been feminized, liberalized and we have no sense of direction like all other races.
Seeing those without it, I can only think back to the days where I hadn't awakened yet.
I look at others with a mix of hope and pity.

It is, however, in my blood to be what I am. And if you look deep into yourself... You can find that warrior there.
Some of you certainly do not like what I write. Today.
But you will remember me when you are forced to wake up from your liberal dream world.
You might have an itchy little precognition that it might just be crumbling all around you.
Soon, we will all live in Detroit conditions, and we will be a hated minority if we do not do something about it.
And you know, the dream will shatter and we are going to war again.
A lot of bad things will happen, but in the end we will regain our identity.

We have everything to be proud of, and nothing to be ashamed of that hasn't been repaid a thousand times already.
The world would be a very uncivilized place if it weren't for white people.
Anyone who tells me I can't be proud to be White can respectfully kiss my behind.


The world would be very uncivilized with out the contributions of many white and non-white people.

The most confusing part of this is that some you feel justified in taking credit for the actions of past great white people, as if it had anything to do with you as an individual.
 

Valiant

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The world would be very uncivilized with out the contributions of many white and non-white people.

The most confusing part of this is that some you feel justified in taking credit for the actions of past great white people, as if it had anything to do with you as an individual.

Well, fact is that most everything that makes this world what it is originates from a single race.
Most others have done some improvements on some things, but almost all the truly original ideas came from us.
Now, why would anyone want to wipe such a creative breed out of existence?

Do you believe that the mind is not biological in nature?
We sure do have unique brains, and we are a people.
Others are good at different things. We are the people who invented civilization.
Civilization will surely falter, halt in its tracks, and die out if we are not around.
Culture-creators, culture-bearers, culture-destroyers.
Three categories which summarizes humanity.
I'll leave it up to you to decide who belongs where.

Do you want the death of this planet, or do you want us to achieve higher goals?
The end-all is not the survival of the European race.
It is just a crucial point in our existence. We must secure it if humanity is to have a future at all.
If not, we are never going to flourish and spread beyond this rock.
It will just be that if we don't win. A dead rock moving through space.
 

Pseudo

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Well, fact is that most everything that makes this world what it is originates from a single race.
Most others have done some improvements on some things, but almost all the truly original ideas came from us.
Now, why would anyone want to wipe such a creative breed out of existence?

Do you believe that the mind is not biological in nature?
We sure do have unique brains, and we are a people.
Others are good at different things. We are the people who invented civilization.
Civilization will surely falter, halt in its tracks, and die out if we are not around.
Culture-creators, culture-bearers, culture-destroyers.
Three categories which summarizes humanity.
I'll leave it up to you to decide who belongs where.

Do you want the death of this planet, or do you want us to achieve higher goals?
The end-all is not the survival of the European race.
It is just a crucial point in our existence. We must secure it if humanity is to have a future at all.
If not, we are never going to flourish and spread beyond this rock.
It will just be that if we don't win. A dead rock moving through space.

Algebra, the crossbow, blood banks, astronomy, the 0, gas masks, carbon filaments, plows, the list of non-white inventions is really long and not that hard to come across. Unless you'e willfully ignoring history, I don't get how you can make the claims you do.

Just historically it's very clear that a large part of Europe was considered "barbaric" in comparison to other parts of the world (Mesopotamia being recognized as the source for the beginnings of "civilization" which really refers to a shift in living rather than any inherent superiority).

Really what your saying just isn't supported by any logical or historical evidence at all which surprises me (you know since you have that uniquely gifted white brain).
 
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