Identity and Belonging September 9, 2010

By Rukshan

As we the youth of today venture into the years of our adulthood, we are constantly confronted by forces that make us contend with the prospect of negotiating who we are, what we stand for and what our existence means. This negotiation is essential to the development of our sense of self, and gives us the ability to categorize ourselves in a world, that is adamant on labelling us and forcing us to fit into pre-existing notions of normality. If at any point, we fail to fit into these categories, those around us do their best to structure our existence in order to normalize us and make us adequate for life in this social world. But what is to happen to those of us who have multiple identities, who must struggle with facets of our being that are neither normal, nor the norm. Immigrants, women, people of colour, homosexuals, people with diverse religious beliefs, people who choose non-traditional occupations, people with disabilities, those from lower socioeconomic statuses must constantly contend with and negotiate their sense of self. During the period of adolescence and adulthood, these negotiations become even more complex and consuming, and it is at this time that we begin to feel the need to conform, to belong, to fit in and to mould ourselves to be adequate or to be recognized as worthy of societal acceptance. But what does this negotiation mean to those of us who were never allowed to explore these divergent facets of our being? What does this negotiation mean to those of us who have come out of this phase of our development with no reconciled sense of who we are and what our aim in life is. Again the idea of belonging is so intrinsic to our self worth, and how far are those of us whose identities are marginalized to begin with willing to go in order to belong? (more…)