Who Am I? Critical Reflection #2
In “The Complexity of Identity: ‘Who Am I’”, Beverly Daniel Tatum expressed the intricacies of finding who you are. There are two main categories that are shaped by society that either put you into dominant or subordinate groups. There are many identities that one person can have that put you in either a dominant or subordinate group. Tatum discovers that the subordinate identities are stated more than the dominant ones because those are the ones most deemed negative by society, the ones that people recognize, or notice about your identity before getting to know you. For instance, while in a class Tatum asks her students, “to complete the sentence, ‘I am____________,’ using as many descriptors as they can think of in sixty seconds... Students of color usually mention their racial or ethnic group: for instance. I am Black, Puerto Rican, Korean American...But in general, White students rarely mention being White.”
For me personally I am an African American female. I state those identities I don’t use heterosexual or Christian because those are dominant but I use my race and gender because they are subordinate and I have to state them in order to feel like I embrace them. For instance, Tantum uses the example, “Blacks have historically been characterized as less intelligent than Whites, and women have been viewed as less emotionally stable than men.” Therefore, Black people have come up with slogans that defeat the subordinate feeling and theory such as “I’m black and I’m proud, say it loud”, “My Black is Beautiful” and some new phrases are, “I am Black Excellence”, “Black Girl Magic”, or “Being Black is lit”. Hashtag Black Girl Magic (#blackgirlmagic) is a hashtag I use or see almost daily on the internet, but there are no (#whitegirlmagic) hashtags or “I’m white and I’m proud say it loud” saying because that is a dominant category that has yet to be degraded for being White.
There are many misconceptions about identities but as Tantum points out, “The truth is that the dominants do not really know what the experiences of the subordinates is. In contrast, the subordinates are very well informed about the dominants.” The dominant have many misconceptions about the subordinate but the subordinate having a better understanding about the social inequalities between the two and are able to break those stereotypes and also fight for the same equal treatment that is giving to the dominate. By protesting and standing out Tantum notices that, “they [will] call the whole system into question. Miller writes that they ‘expose the inequality, and throw into question the basis for its existence. And they will make the inherent conflict an open conflict. They will then have to bear the burden and take the risks that go with being defined as ‘troublemakers.’” I relate this to Black Lives Matter and the march and protest that receive huge controversy. Coming from a subordinate group trying to stand up for yourself and make change is seen as negative and radical. I feel like I often struggle with my own identity being the Black person in the room, but I often find myself relating to my own identity. Being a minority it is hard to find common ground owning up to my identity as an African American female and trying not to be defined by only those two identities that do not make up the whole picture of who I am.
