Varin Week No. 1: Individuals vs. Identities

Does one aspect of who you are define yourself entirely? Can you be adequately described with just that aspect? It is incredibly likely that the response to this question is a resounding “NO” from most, and yet, with the advent of social media and the internet an alarming number of both historically oppressive and oppressed groups have started to discriminate against all members of groups they dislike. Thankfully, the problem has not been overwhelming, though its increase is depressing news nonetheless. 

Essentialism–an idea that there is a specific quality of certain groups of people that cannot be altered, and these groups can be split up by specific criteria such as race, gender, nationality, etc.–is steadily growing. At first, this sort of categorization may seem harmless, but in actuality essentialism forms the basis of and maintains discrimination of these groups, determined based on who marks a specific aspect and who is marked by that aspect, enabling historical oppression. These qualities form the basis of one’s “Identity”, to essentialists. Now, I would like to state that identifying as part of a particular group is not an issue, nor do I believe is acknowledging it. The problem comes when that part of a person’s identity is all that is being looked at.

                                                                

So how can we shift our thinking to counteract this? Well, the answer is quite simple: separate your identity from singular aspects of yourself as a person and embrace your individuality: you are your own person, with your own beliefs, morals, ideas, etc. A person cannot be adequately  summarized by their gender orientation or country of origin, they are, simply, who they are. Take the flower above, for example. It’s in the crowd of flowers because it is a flower, but it remains different due to its color. Like the flower, we may share similarities with others around us, but ultimately we are unique. 

This likely already comes naturally; when you meet someone new at school you are likely to be more curious about who they are as a person rather than what they look like or where they come from. I am sure most of us go beyond surface-level analysis of those around, as long as people continue to keep that in mind, essentialism will be mitigated.

Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons