Questions about Race & Identity

May 13, 2009 17:30

(this is sort of copy & pasted and then re-written from a reading response for one of my classes--kristy, feel free to skip)

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the importance (or unimportance) of identity, and what it means to me that I am able to label and identify myself in terms of my race, gender, sexuality, etc. Foucault points out that sexuality didn’t become part of one’s identity until the 1800s, when those in power sought to eradicate homosexual behavior. Prior to that time, people who engaged in sexual behavior did not identify themselves by that behavior--no one identified as either homosexual or heterosexual. Today, there are entire movements dedicated to claiming and embracing queer identities (those deemed not heterosexual), and figuring out one’s “true” sexual identity has become an adolescent rite of passage (although it is generally expected that most people identify as heterosexual). Foucault, similarly to critical race theorists Omi and Winant, was against these kinds of identity categorizations, as it served to keep those who identified as heterosexual and “normal” on top and those who did not (“deviants”) at the bottom.

In their article on racial formation, Omi and Winant discuss the process of racialization as a primarily negative thing, as well. In the past, groups of people were racialized with the purpose of keeping white people of European descent “on top” and those deemed “Other” at the bottom. Other races were seen as biologially and “naturally” inferior to whites; this reasoning served to excuse white domination.

Despite this, I am not sure that the experience of racialization has been entirely negative. In fact, in some cases it can be seen as empowering or beneficial to certain individuals or groups, in ways that operate at both the micro level (everyday lived experience) and the macro level.

1. Racialization can be helpful to a person at the micro-level, as he or she, as an identified member of a racial group, has “in-group” status and a built-in support system of people who understand “where he or she is coming from” (note: I don’t mean to say that the lived experience of different people in a certain racial group is the same, just that by virtue of identifying as that certain race, one is able to reap the benefits of belonging to that community). (This kind of imagined community is applicable to almost any identity category, and can be a powerful--and empowering--resource.)

2. On a macro-level, there are oftentimes certain laws in place that serve to benefit members of racialized groups-a perhaps cliched example of this are affirmative action laws. These laws, which ultimately seek to rectify the institutionalized racism that has kept people of color away from certain privileges and resources that whites regularly enjoy, can be very beneficial for people of color in need of education and employment. (This can also apply to other identity groups, as well).

Still, I worry that these “positive outcomes” of racialization are sometimes seen as a way to “excuse” the way people of color have historically been treated by society at large, and whites in particular. Even though these positive experiences may exist, they wouldn’t be necessary if it weren’t for the centuries of oppression that people of color have experienced entirely based upon ridiculous myths about what it means to be “not white.” If we had never been racialized in the first place, we would not need race-based affirmative action. Of course, without race we would probably still be socially stratified based on other factors of our experience, such as class or gender.

I still struggle with the question of identity, though--would I rather have many ways in which to categorize myself (I am a Woman, I am Heterosexual, I am White/Mixed Race, I am Poor, I am Agnostic, I am Fat, etc.) or would I rather that these characteristics be merely adjectives, with no particular political importance placed upon them? While some of these facets of my identity serve to disempower or oppress me as an individual, claiming them can also be incredibly powerful and meaningful.

So, what would be better?
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