Introduction: Who Am I? Every person in the world has come to be where they are in a different way. Each possesses different traits and characteristics that influence how their lives will carry out. These different characteristics make up an individual’s social location. To be aware of one’s own social location will bring forth an understanding of one’s privilege and/or oppression in society. Social location includes certain identity traits such as age, gender, race, and sexuality. I am a nineteen-year-old Caucasian female. I am a heterosexual, able-bodied, Catholic, and was raised in a small town in Ontario, Canada. I am from a middle class family, and currently attend university. Each of these pieces of my identity make up who I am, and no one in the world has the same identity as I do, meaning that everyone’s way of living is different in some way. This paper will discuss how my social location has impacted my life, followed by the judgements and opinions I have, and finally how I expect my life to be in the future. How My Social Location Impacts My Life Although I stated that every individual has a different identity, they could have very similar social locations. Certain social …show more content…
Growing up I always believed that hard work and dedicate were the keys to success, yet I was unaware that social location played any part in advantages or disadvantages that people had. I think that part of this is because I grew up in a family of fairly privileged people. Perhaps if I were a different race or ethnicity or even sexuality I would have experienced oppression more closely, but because I was from a privileged group, I was ignorant to what was going on around me. Learning more about oppression has helped me see my own privilege as well as the oppression that others face every day. This has shown me how truly lucky I
Even though I have had these disadvantages and probably many others, I am not going to let it stop me from being successful. I have made it this far so I can’t stop now. In this paper, I talked about my social location and identity, my life experiences and my privileges and disadvantages. The point of this paper is to allow me to reflect on who I am and at this point I think that I am a motivated, hardworking, young African American woman with a bright future ahead of
Experiences with people, places and/or things, shape and affect an individuals choices, either to strengthen or break connections and relationships. Through past and new memories and experiences, we are able to reflect, assess and explore our owns concept of connections. There are however, obstacles and barriers one must meet to fully understand our selves and the complicated world of connections and belongingness. The environment or culture we are exposed in since we were infants for instance, greatly affects our identity- behaviour, values and actions- as we get older. Imagine two people from different countries, one grew up in Cambodia and the other grew up in the US.
Social location is a self-identify term, which refers to an individual’s status in the society. People are socially constructed into a number of relationships within our family, school, church, and working place. Social location includes race, class, gender, sexuality, religion, age, education, and political stance. I found that Black Life Matters relates to my social location. Even though I 'm a young Asian guy, my political stance is the same as those black people that is being a minority in this white-norm society.
Gordon Waitt and Andrew Gorman-Murray, "It's About Time You Came Out The article talks about how the understanding of home and the understanding of self can become an enigma for a person who is unable to conform to the social expectations of the society he lives in. A man who does not conform to who is regarded as a "normal guy" in a given society will find it difficult to live in comfortably in his home. A 16-year-old Australian man view of home is disoriented because he is unable to fit in the social formations of that society.
The public often stereotypes low-income youth of color as uneducated, lazy, lacking good family values, unintelligent, unmotivated, etc.. However, poverty among minorities in the United States is not the result of individuals, but rather is the result of structural, social issues that contribute to the poverty. New York City has some of the worst aspects of the American city when it comes to racial issues. In New York City, people of color have being unconsciously marginalized by using various tactics to isolate them. Studies have found that more than half of black and Hispanic youths are terrified of discrimination.
Henry David Thoreau was a philosopher, poet, and a very outspoken person about society. He discusses his opinions on how people should live in his essay “Where I Lived and What I Lived For.” Thoreau's philosophy of simplicity and individualism and self-sufficiency poses many dangers for communities as a whole. Although there are many setbacks, his philosophy is, however, still viable today. Thoreau strongly advocates self-sufficiency and individualism in this essay.
One’s environment plays a positive or negative role in shaping a person’s identity depending on where they live. Growing up in a bad neighborhood, one might be surrounded by gangsters, dangerous streets, and have a higher chance of becoming a burden on society. Growing up in a rich neighborhood, one might worry less and get whatever they want; so life is not a burden. But being exposed in a poor environment shapes one’s identity positively by motivating a person to grow and evolve for the better. Experiencing sufferings in an environment may inspire a person to change for the better.
The environment in which an individual grows up in can affect life greatly. Our surroundings influence one’s personality, self-expression, and individuality, otherwise known as identity. Finding one’s true self is the most grueling stage of life and expectations of family and society make the process even harder. One’s true identity can sometimes clash with hopes of others, thus breaking tradition and/or family ties. Pressure to change will always be present, but staying true to uniqueness will prevail.
How others see you is influenced by material, social, and physical constraints. This causes a tension between how much control you have in constructing your own identity and how much control or constraint is exercised over you. How we see ourselves and how others see us differ in many ways, but is an important factor of our identity. “A Lesson Before Dying”,
Introduction Integrating theory into social work practice is essential in defining why social work is needed and how to practice it effectively. This paper will discuss two theories; intersectionality and life course theory, as I believe that these two theories are collectively suitable and effective in interrupting the cycle of oppression. I will draw upon both my own experiences and literature to analyze the strengths and limitations of intersectionality and life course theory. This discussion will exemplify how intersectionality and life course theory enhance each other and can work synergistically to inform my social work practice. Intersectionality Intersectionality is a macro theory, which looks at the complexity of an individual’s identity
Positionality Paper Throughout the semester, we have had the opportunity to study many different social identities and their impacts on my life. For the purpose of this paper, the three social identities I have decided to focus on are: gender, nation of origin and race. Key Influences/Specific Events My gender was my first known identity, even before my name was given or before I had taken my first breath.
As I mature, my perspective of life and what it is to be a unique individual is ever changing. I believe that an individual’s environmental and surrounding contributes to their identity greatly. The culture in which one grows up in is a element that shapes one’s beliefs. When I was younger, my friends aided to shape my identity. My peers had a great influence on how I defined myself in early childhood because I deeply valued and cared about what others thought of me.