Constructing an Identity

Many people have their own identities, some often can relate to others but there are many factors that play into someones identity. Constructing an identity could take from seconds to years of development. Some people find who they are and want to portray themselves to be in a matter of one to two experiences, while others find it hard to really find a group or as Judith Howard would say, a social structure. She goes into saying how there is an instability to identities and how they can shift according to the key components of their ethical identity. Those components range from religion, to race, to gender, all the way to self-esteem and self confidence. When constructing an identity, it truly resides with however that person can emphasize their purpose or beliefs. Identity plays on many social interactions and really prevails when a person strongly represents themselves in a light of morale and spirit. Judith Howard says that “cognitive and interactional processes are intimately intertwined.” For example, Wardell Milan has a piece called “One could still dream to devise an optimistic antidote against the defeatist and cynical claims of the Return to Order, 2008” and it’s a digital c-print that looks like detritus left from an unknown disaster. He explains how his illustrated work is not to indicate a connotation of a violent explosion, but to consider the objects individuals collect and value. He explains that those objects are only “ephemeral material easily forgotten when one is in search of the return to order.” Milan has a unique way to portray the idea of us as individuals who forget some objects contain the key components to our identity when in search for a definition of it. One can argue that many of those objects are just things that you’ve grown alongside of because of the cognitive and interactional processes that comes along with who raised you or whom you’ve resided with for most of your life. If they have been the voice telling you what to value and what to keep as a memory then I think that plays into constructing an identity because eventually you dwell out those memories and values that contribute to making who you are as a person. 

One item that stood out to me the most but was not a part of the Constructing American Identity exhibit, is Shannon Linder’s “Grievance Quilt, 2018.” Her inspiration came from one of her college roommates who would often let out all her complaints about her day. She then took the liberty to stitch together all of her grievances sho she could metaphorically “shake them out into the wind, therefor airing them.” Her work ties into the theme of constructing an identity because she carefully evaluates the negativity in her life and decides which ones should no longer reside with her. As an individual, I agree with Judith Howard when she says that “the basic premise of symbolic interaction is that people attach symbolic meaning to objects, behaviors, themselves, and other people, and they develop and transmit these meanings through interaction.” Being able to consider a change and finding solutions to becoming a better version of you is probably one of the most important elements there is to constructing an identity. You are wielding away at things that you hold your beliefs in and taking the opportunity to adapt to change. 

Although many might think it’s easy to make these decisions, one can argue that “identity management strategies are often used to manipulate group comparisons for purposes of social identifications.” Another piece that I found important was Barbara Kruger’s “Untitled (seeing through you) 2004-05” Her background as a graphic designer and art director involves the viewer in interrogations about the struggle for power and control. The expression in the woman’s eyes along with the juxtaposed test allows for multiple interpretations, the act of seeing is one connected with power, and her goal is to intercept the stereotype, code or convention by which the power is applied at by chance. Her work truly does interrogate who’s in charge, who has the power. According to “Understanding Patriarchy” from The Will to Change, we are socialized into this system where females as well as males learned patriarchal attitudes in our family of origin, where it was reinforced in schools and religious institutions. So who in the end is really in charge of our beliefs and morales? The answer is in the problem, we are. We adapt to beliefs and morales through the experiences we encounter. Like Judith Howard would say, our social structures are constructed by interactionism. 

Many would argue that interactionism is the cause of our problem when it comes to constructing an identity because it’s not truly a self-involved experience. On the other hand, others would argue that interactionism influences an identity in a positive manner where patriarchy is the fuel to many female artists and their self-concept of their identity. Melanie Yazzie is a printmaker, painter and sculptor, and in the exhibit there was her piece “Thelma and Me, 2001.” This piece is a colorful portrait of the artist and her beloved grandmother printed onto of a spread from the Navajo Times newspaper. She further provided a statement where it said that they had their own newspaper and were very much alive. They were free of stereotypes, and this print showed “real Navajo women as [they] are,” and their strong bond and friendship. She talks about how women work the land, they raise the kids and they preserve the culture and traditions. One can say that Yazzie is someone who identifies herself as a strong woman who holds the great responsibility of preserving the culture and traditions. When Judith Howard says that our social structures are constructed by interactionism, Yazzie’s work shows that she identifies her role as a Navajo woman and this great bond with her grandmother she values, is a key component to the construction of her identity. In conclusion, what it means to construct an identity is that many factors play with the time it takes to construct one. Factors can come from places like race, ethnicity, gender and home but they can not have restrictions on the development of your identity for it is us who conclude who we are.