Running head: SOCIAL IDENTITY 1

Social Identity: A Personal Analysis

Ashley Michelle George

HED 609/01: Student Development Theory 2

Instructor: Dr. Morolake Buggs

Date Friday, January 31, 2020

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Social Identity: A Personal Analysis

Introduction

Social identity is the understanding of who we are and the development of

our own identities through particular social categories or classifications. Social

identity is essentially an identification process in relation to others and what we

have common with others. So, who am I? I am a colored American dipped in

milk and honey, flavored and seasoned with the caressed rays of the sun. This

analogy is how I currently describe my racial identity and skin complexion. If

someone was to have asked me ten years ago if I thought my skin complexion and

identity was beautiful, I would have shaken my head “no”. As a colored woman in

a white world, the white community didn’t embrace who I was originally, so I

embraced an identity that I was not to survive socially. Social identity theory

analyzes how a person’s self perception is shaped through other groups and when

unfavorable intergroup comparison arises then it produces a negative assessment

of one’s own social identity.

Coming from Birmingham, Alabama, I had no contact with white people,

so moving to Greensboro, North Carolina was a big adjustment for me. I moved

from being surrounded by my kinfolk to being surrounded by those who looked

the opposite of me—white. I had to work twice as hard to even be considered an

equal by my peers and it took a tole on me. The outlet that I utilized to deal with

this type of marginalization was creative writing; thus, the reason I will start out

most papers with expressing my thoughts creatively in a space I feel most

comfortable doing so. This paper will creatively analyze and encompass the
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theoretical frameworks of my sense of social identity in relation to the concepts of

race, religion, non-visible disability, and marginalization.

Racial Identity

An aspect of social identity development is that social and personal

identities can be shaped by the interactions that they have. Social Identity is based

on societal expectations and how other people view you. When others view you in

a negative light because you don’t fit into their social groups, then that culture

may negatively shape an individual’s identity. My negative experiences have

shaped the way that I viewed my racial identity. I could not change my

complexion, but I could change how others viewed me.

Colored woman are oftentimes marginalized and considered second class

citizens based upon historical precedence’s and other factors within the United

States. I was the only colored American in all my classes, and I began to

assimilate to my environment. The first week of living in North Carolina, I was

spat at for being, speaking, and looking different. I had made a pact that I would

never again get bullied for the way that I talked, walked, and even dressed. I had

decided to shape my identity and appearance into a version that resembled my

white peers. I even permed my hair. I had changed so much that my kinfolk in

Alabama could not understand who I was; thus, my decision to attend Winston

Salem State University (WSSU). For my undergraduate experience, I wanted to be

around individuals that resembled me and wanted to feel a sense of belonging

without having to drastically change my individualism. I learned so much about

black pride and the black culture that I started to develop and process my own
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individualistic experiences, rather than the experiences of the white society. These

life lessons have taught me how individuals can oppress someone and change the

trajectory of their personal and social growth.

Religion

When interlinking creative writing and philosophy with the conception of social identity,

I imagine social identity acting as a moving target—consistently changing and diverting

directions. I believe that social identity shifts and diverts directions over the course of one’s life.

We experience different capstone moments, events, and situations. Social identity is established

intersubjectively; meaning, that all these experiences structure us as we move from different

relationships. An example of this constant diversion of directions would be my religion and what

I practice and how I practice during the seasons that I may go through. I transitioned

denominations and that did take a tole on me because my family is Baptist and due to my status

in the church, it was considered scandalous to my family and church members. I transitioned

from being Baptist to being nondenominational.

Religion and my development of faith and spirituality are concepts that I utilize

interchangeably. Throughout my life, my identity development has ridden on the coat tails of my

spirituality; especially, as a graduate student. As a preacher’s granddaughter of a multimillion-

dollar church, I always had a standard to set and follow-- be in church, be quiet, be behaved, and

be involved. I grew up in a Baptist church and the concept of church grew within me. Attending

church every Sunday is not just a routine for me but a lifestyle. In a sense, being able to worship

freely is a privilege and I am blessed everyday to be able to have freedom of religion. I now

have branched off from the Baptist church. I am a Christian that attends a nondenominational

church.
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Disability

Additionally, my mind is like a coloring book creatively exposing my thoughts in a way

that is not quite understood by most. My creative writing is a mask for my sense of

empowerment within this program, where I feel that my color is not represented equally. Equal

representation is critical to students seeking an education but also students of color who have a

documented or even undocumented disabilities. In some, they believe that every disability is in

need of a cure and not in need of acceptance. I have no visible disability. I describe it as an

internal disability that God gave me to make me different than most of my peers.

As an undergrad, I was diagnosed with many things after having one major head surgery

and two minor surgeries that involved me shaving off my hair; which, at the time, my hair was

apart of my personal identity. I believe that having no physical limitations is a privilege within

itself, so I do not take being able to do most physical things for granted. I thank God everyday

that I can still do some physical things and do not focus on the other physical concepts that I

cannot do because of my head surgery that happened four years ago. Additionally, I have been

unfairly assessed and encouraged to buy into the statistics that I would not be able to have a

normal life. In a sense, doctors discouraging me to not do certain activities, in my eyes, that’s a

form of being oppressed. Through hard work and determination, I can successfully do the things

that the doctors told me I could not do. Being disabled is not limited to physicality but it can be

mental as well. Everyone with an imperfection are all true examples of what art truly is and how

God created imperfect people—a canvas.

Luckily, I am aware that my childhood experiences do not mold my final social identity. I

understood why I became who I became in the past but what is beautiful is who I am becoming

with the help of creative writing. I feel the real Ashley George brewing within my epidermis and
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smoothing out my canvas. I recognize that my past is not a version of self hate but of realization.

As an adult, I have found that perfection and assimilating to your own concept of perfection is

just a theory formulated under the notion that all those that do not look “acceptable” have

something wrong with them. I have learned to embrace my individuality and discovering my true

identities are still a work in progress. My most salient identities are being a colored woman, in

the disabled community, and a Christian. As I age, I am learning to embrace my identities and

see the value of each one of them.