Social Identity and Identity Essay

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Social Identities

Social identity refers to an individual's sense of who they are, which is based on their group membership. The social identities identified and spoken about in the article are race, ethnicity, gender, nationality, sexuality, or religion. These identities have the effect of shaping an individual's thought patterns, a way of life, or the projects they undertake. The author does mention the development of labels for individuals. These labels are aligned with the social identifications that have been developed. The labels tagged or given to an individual do come with privileges or restrictions. In the example of the Rattlers and the Eagles it is clear that the two groups came in the camp with different identities, and from different backgrounds, but based on their groupings they managed to develop similar identities. The rattlers were labeled as tough while the eagles were labeled as sissies (Appiah, 2010). The individuals within the group had their own identities. However, based on their grouping they were able to develop and have similar identities as each other within the group.

Social identities are not a threat to autonomy because the distinctions are merely labels that have been placed on individuals. Social identities based on race, religion, sexuality, or gender have no effect on autonomy.

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The freedoms guaranteed by a state will be maintained for all, and an individual is free to maintain their identity provided they do not interfere with the freedoms of others. Appiah (2010) presented the case of the Sikh who wanted a law to prevent Sikhs from wearing helmets due to their religion, but this was not considered or accepted because it was deemed to me a way for the Sikh to not want to remove his turban. This clearly indicates that autonomy is not threatened in any way by social identities. Allowing social identities to have control over autonomy would result in different laws all in place for the various social identities.

A liberal state should be aware that there are different social identities available within the state and should only be concerned with ensuring that the legislations in place are equal for all individuals. The groupings that individuals identify with should not be used to determine if they are to observe the same laws as others. Allowing for different legislations would only result in different cases taking long and individuals demanding that different legislation is used instead.….....

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