#selfandothers

Identities have always been a hard concept to grasp. One can say, “This is my identity.” And yet not completely understand the whole extent of said identity. We try to learn it by understanding ourselves better but we may fail to include that to understand ourselves is to also understand our relationship with others.

“It starts with the self.” Ms. Alcantara had said.

Another way is to see it as how we view ourselves and how we relate that to others. Or better yet, how we view ourselves concerning others. We categorize ourselves with similarity and comfort. This breeds a level of closeness that is also achieved through the process of relating. With this, we can at least conceptualize our identity.

Of course, there are restrictions to this. What we don’t know about ourselves cannot be equated to others since it is an unknown trait or characteristic. We must also take into account our experiences. Because of these, there may be a change in our mindset. Which can also affect our relation to others. Each event in our life may cause us to change and this change can affect the levels of closeness we have already achieved.

To sum it up, the self, or how we view it, is related to others. Experiences may affect the way we relate to others which in turn can change how we view ourselves. Which changes the identity we have already established. Think of it as constantly evolving identities bred by experiences and relationships.

With this identity, we have a place in society. By living in a world where it’s inherent to label and define everything, having an identity means we are already classified to identity groups or subgroups. Where, unfortunately, some identities are not equal. This means that some are more favorable than others. Note that some identities we cannot change. Race is a very good example of this. Age, while constantly changing, is not something we can also change on a whim. Identities such as these have hierarchies, though some may not be as pronounced. This leads to oppression and discrimination.

What is wrong with hierarchy and identity discrimination? Aside from the fact that it disregards equality, hierarchical identities are advantageous to those who are at the top.

Another word for this? Privilege.

Privilege, as said before, is a product of identity discrimination and hierarchy. It is the unearned benefits given to those who are considered to be more favorable. Most of the time, some privileges are unacknowledged yet practiced daily. To say that someone has earned an honor in something because of hard work have underlying privileges. For example, a student coming from a well-earning family can comfortably study without worrying about other things. Compare this to a student who needs to work to pay for his own tuition instead of studying. The family we are born into is already an unspoken benefit/disadvantage we don’t acknowledge. Privilege comes with discrimination in terms that we see people without or with less privilege as us as lower. This ultimately affects our experiences and self-identities.