The Complexity of Identity: “Who Am I?” Annotation

Author: Beverly Daniel Tatum

Important Vocabulary: Charles Cooley. American sociologist who employed a sociopsychological approach to the understanding of society. Looking glass self. Cooley theorized that the sense of self is formed in two ways: by one’s actual experiences and by what one imagines others’ ideas of oneself to be—a phenomenon Cooley called the “looking glass self.” This dual conception contributed to Cooley’s fundamental theory that the mind is social and that society is a mental construct. Erik Erickson. Erik Homburger Erikson was a German-American developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst known for his theory on psychological development of human beings. Precocious. Having developed certain abilities or proclivities at an earlier age than usual. Jean Baker Miller. A psychiatrist who disputed traditional notions of social roles and developed a theory that serves as a foundation for treating women’s depression and other disorders through the building of fruitful relationships. Inequitable. Unfair, unjust.

Questions: What did the author’s personal development look like in regards to her identity?

Notable Quotes: “Common across these examples is that in the areas where a person is a member of the dominant or advantaged social group, the category is usually not mentioned. That element of their identity is so taken for granted by them that it goes without comment.” “Whether it is reflected in determining who gets the best jobs, whose history will be taught in school, or whose relationships will be validated by society, the dominant group has the greatest influence in determining the structure of the society.” “The thread and threat of violence runs through all of the isms. There is a need to acknowledge each other’s pain, even as we attend to our own.”

Initial Reaction: Patience is necessary, and takes work when the others around you cannot grasp the complexity of the issues you face on a daily basis. It is and has been difficult to talk to those in the cultural majority about the reality for those in the cultural minority, as a heterosexual, White male can never quite understand or live the experiences I have had. In fact on multiple occasions, in the midst of attempting to share my personal experiences, I have been told (as if it were a strange compliment, or goal of mine) that I don’t look Hispanic because I don’t wear heavy eyeliner, or that a close friend of mine doesn’t think of me as anything other than White. It can be frustrating and exhausting to constantly consider my actions and words in the context of race (and other aspects of my identity), however Tatum does an excellent job in reminding her readers to consider the systems of privilege they may be overlooking. In addition to my minority status, I am an able-bodied, upper middle-class, cis-gendered individual, and cannot forget my responsibility to acknowledge my experience of dominance in these aspects of life.