Evaluate the claim that personal identity is self- defined Essay

Your individuality is what makes you who you be and what makes you unique as an individual and distinct from anformer(a)(prenominal) deal. Identities be not static further high-powered and constantly changing. A individualized identity is made up of some(prenominal) different aspects, and shag be delimit by culture (nationality, religion and gender) as easy as family and c atomic number 18er. Your identity is delimit by how you encounter yourself and a like by how you atomic number 18 seen by others. It is bug out given and part taken and besides asshole be several(prenominal)thing we are born with. In some instances an identity may be something you are given and may not be with quality. I am pass to look at what makes a ad hominem identity and is it self-defined and made without the assistance of anyone else. I am too going to contrast the opinion of the idealogues Erik Erikson and Sigmund Freud and I pass on be using the eluding findings of the res earch h previous(a) into go a acquire for the first base quantify and more(prenominal) importantly the model of Silma and her experiences, this was a research programme which include detailed interviews as well as observational research.There are numerous airs in which our Identity can veer, for example our bodies change and how we look alters as we get older but our look and our bodies can in addition be changed by quality for example hair colour, cosmetic surgery etc. (chapter 4, Exploring favorable Lives) Our identities in any case change through practices and when there is an bemused to our normal routines and we need to establish bleak ones or learn new skills, this as well as has an impact on our identity. This is the case when practices subroutine into routines and we no longer need to bet more or less doing them as they reverse abet nature. Finally we also experience race changes where our views on who we think we are is influenced by the opinions of o ther people and how they see us. We become who we are and modify ourselves through the course others treat us and respond to us. This is witnessed when a woman becomes a mother, she may be treated other than by her parents as a result of moving to line of descent herself.This was the claim for theorist Erik Erikson who studied that our identity changes are influenced by past experiences, the moment-by-moment activities and descents we expect daily. This is spanned over a feel era and although can happen at any time, Erikson defined 8 stages in which identity is change in unique rooms, as musical passage was not a smooth process, these stages he called identity crises. These stages were seen as times when remainder was introduced, contest is contending with happenings in everyday life that stops life running as smoothly as before. Conflict is universe faced with choices, feeling confused and although he uses the example of passing from adolescence into adulthood it could a lso mean becoming middle aged, old or moving into parenthood. (chapter 4, Exploring Social Lives) Everyone experiences conflicts and in turn experiencing conflicts make us who we are and give us an identity champion way our identity can change is through identification, which is what it is called when we try on mortal elses persona. We try on other peoples identity and see life through their eyes and commiserate with how they felt at a real time, for example when you become a mother you can empathise and understand how other mothers feel. This was the case with Liyanna, she used to look at pictures of her mother with her sister and the mother little girl relationship meant nothing to her, however instantly she is a mother herself she looks at the vulnerability differently and can identify with the go to sleep and the emotion her mother was feeling when the video was taken. She says that now she looks at the photo and she knows incisively what her mum was feeling, she sees her mother in a new light and because of her testify experiences can now wander herself in her mothers garment. She is now identifying with her mother.The theorist Billig looks at identification and associates it with groups of people and how they are connected by the common grapheme or interest that they share. Sigmund Freud also claims that identification is the expression of an emotional tie with some other person, an identity can be borrowed from mortal else. The theory suggests that there are deuce kinds of identification, projection which is the message we give dark and introjection which is the messages we take in. Both are through with(p) unintentionally and unconsciously to furnish ones identity. (chapter 4, Exploring Social Lives).All these theories can be plunk for up by the case study completed on first time mothers and in particular Silmas case. Silmas identity begins to change with practices, she has had to learn a whole new routine which will need to adapt as her frustrate grows. She also has a new relationship to establish as mother and female child with her new baby, the relationship with her husband and family will also change. Silma has also to deal with the conflict of becoming a new mother, this conflict between being the indulged eldest little girl to motherhood and also between good-natured yourself and having to put your baby first are all aspects of defining her new identity.Silma is also seen differently not yet by her neighbours but also by her family and in particular her aunts and her sister. Silma feels she is treated with more respectfulness by her aunts and is now welcomed into their group as a mother. This is a generational trip for Silma and where she once thought of her aunts as drilling who only talked about babies she now finds this kindle and likes to stay around them and can really relate to them and now sees herself more like them.Silma also starts to be deport differently and sees herself differentl y because people are treating her differently. Silma admits that she has left her roughshod days behind and become more mature and motherly and spends more time with her family. This has also had an effect on her choice of turn and prior to becoming a mother Silma preferred to wear jeans but now she is a mother her choice of clothing is now the traditional salwaar kameez, she refers to these clothes as normal and now feels little comfortable in jeans. Silma received several gifts of salwaar kameez for her birthday after becoming a mother which may have promote her decision.Silmas new identity has also caused conflict with her sister who now sees her as becoming like her aunts and gives Silma a knotty time for being boring and because she prefers the aunts company. Silma has also taken on the identity as a mother and this is implemented in her concern for her younger sister and the way she assoils, she worries that by staying out late she may get hurt but in actual fact this was the same way Silma used to behave prior to becoming a mother. Silmas sister makes role to the fact that Silma used to be worsened than me but Silma puts this down to her having changed. Silma talks about meeting up with old friends at McDonalds and although we cannot assume that she would wear the salwaar kameez this is a see distinction of how Silma has changed and her new identity as a mother is the dominant one.We have looked at various theories on what makes up personal identity and it is clear that self- explanation on its own is not sufficient. person-to-person identity is made up through interacting with others and through projection and introjection, its a two way thing people see you differently so you behave differently. When we use identification it can only be done through other person to allow you to identify, this is not self-defined as you need another person to be able to do it. You need to put yourself in someone elses shoes and yourself definition shifts when you look at someone else. Also some identities are already defined by others and you are go into this social category without choice, as was the case for Silma when she became a mother, this identity is social and it is defined by how a mother should behave. If we have others to create our identity then our personal identity cannot be self-defined.