A2 Media Studies

The Media and Collective Identity

(02) What is Identity?

Identity refers to (a) a social category, defined by membership rules and (alleged) characteristics or expected behaviours, and/or (b) socially distinguishing features that a person takes a special pride in or views as unchangeable but socially consequential. James D. Fearon Department of Political Science Stanford University (1999)

"Identity is complicated. Everyone thinks they've got one. Magazines and talk show hosts urge us to explore our 'identity.' Religious and national identities are at the heart of major international conflicts. Artists play with the idea of 'identity' in modern society. Blockbuster movie superheroes have emotional conflicts about their 'true' identity. And the average teenager can create three online 'identities' before breakfast." David Gauntlett (2007).

On the one hand, identity is something unique to each of us that we assume is more or less consistent. Our identity is something we uniquely possess: it is what distinguishes us from other people. Yet on the other hand, identity also implies a relationship with a broader collective or social group of some kind. When we talk about national identity, culture identity, or gender identity, for example, we imply that our identity is partly a matter of what we share with other people. Here, identity is about identification with others who we assume are similar to us, if not the same, at least in some significant ways. David Buckingham

Mind map all the things that make up who we are