Influence Of Social Identity And Role Identity

2. Do you see gender as an essential aspect of your “self”? Why/why not? How about your race? How do these social identities/classifications influence your role identities? Use your sociological knowledge from class to provide and informative analysis/discussion. The sociological concept of self is our perception of who we are in relation to others and ourselves. The self is largely a social construct that is formed through our interactions with others and the world around us. The self is an abstraction that forms over time. For example, young children are known to have problems with role taking, which is the ability to use other’s perspectives to form one’s behavior. This shows that the self is a process and not a construct that all people

Furthermore, I will discuss how these social identities influence my role identities.

Firstly, I personally view my gender to be a predominant factor in my sense of self. Gender, unlike sex, is a social perception of how we or others view ourselves based on our behavior or presentation. For example, the terms “male” and “female” relate to sex, while gender is not determined by biology. I argue that it is difficult to separate oneself from gender, as gender is heavily intertwined with the socialization process that occurs starting from birth. For example, parents choose gender appropriate names that put their child down a designated path of socialization for their respective gender. Afterwards, we begin to be socialized by our families and peer groups as to what is deemed appropriate behavior, dress, and even language for the gender that we or others identify ourselves as. Furthermore, the media and culture that extends beyond the confines of families and peer groups has a substantial impact on gender socialization. This symbolic interactionist approach to gender socialization sees that many of our everyday interactions influence our gender and reinforce or foster a belief in how

I argue that it is difficult for a person to not view gender as a prominent part of their self due to the emphasis that society places on gender socialization. In terms of race, I do not see my race as a central part of my identity. However, I think that if I were of a minority race then I would see gender as a more central part of who I am as a person. Personally speaking, I view my social identities as producing a role-conflict with some of the role identities that I associate with my sense of self. Overall, the self is more than what a person does or who they are. I view the sense of self as the interaction between what ourselves and others expect us to