Tam choosing to do my project over myself and the development of my identity and the key factors that were important in that process. Now, there are many factor/concepts I can talk about that play a hand in identity development, but I choosing just to focus in on just two factors. Those two key factors in identity development are the two concepts reference group and statutes. The first concept/ factor is Reference group: a group that provides a standard of comparison against which we evaluate ourselves.
Last concept/factor is status: a position in a social hierarchy that carries a particular set of expectations. I will be going over why I was motivated by this topic, what | would like to research further on the topic. Lastly, I will write about my creative representation of the two factor/concepts and why they are important personally to the development of my identity. I was motivated to pick, this topic of identity development because I feel that it’s the best way to describe my Identity in a sociological manner.
I also think that the shaping of identity is very complex process starts at a very early age. Which, is way I found this topic to be rather interesting because the early stages of forming identity can be really amazing and crucial. There is just so, much going on when you a little kid and so much to experience, not to mention all the decision that have to be made and path needing to be chosen. The end result is figuring out your identity, though things like reference groups and statues which are invisible forces that are unconsciously or consciously used to help shape identity.
If I could look further into the topic of development of identity, I would want to do more deep research on what other things contribute to the process. I would also like to know other things, like what age do children really start forming and thinking about their identity. I would also like to, read up on anemic journals about forming an identity. However, I do have my own experience with the concepts of reference group and statues. I firmly believe they had a huge impact on me shaping my identity, and I was able to represent each concept in the form of a creative representation.
The creative representation I decided upon is two separate drawings of each concept/factor, that I will clean up in photoshop and color. The first creative representation will be clear drawing highlighting, the reference group and effect on my life and me. Now while I was growing up, I had the pleasure of having four older siblings ranging from 8 to 2 years older than me. Since they were there were older than me they got to discover and try things way before me. So, it safe to say that I was constantly comparing myself to my sibling, while I was growing obviously making my family my reference group.
I looked up to my sibling and for the first couple years of my life, they all I had to compare myself to. I could not compare myself to the cartoons I watched since, Thad no way of identifying with them because all the cartoons I watch were mainly of talking animals. I loved my sibling the were so interesting and had so many hobbies and skills! I guess you could say I was like a little duckling that followed after them. I measured myself up against my old sibling often, that lead me to learn how to do my own laundry, cook basic thing, clean dishes and other life skills at a young age.
Kind of like, how when my family moved into a twostory house when I was one year old, I apparently very quickly learned how to get up and down the stairs. Moreover, my sibling had many different hobbies and accomplishments from each other, my parents praised all of them for their hobbies and accomplishment. The first drawing show’s me looking at all my sibling in awe and surrounded objects that represent each hobby they all had. Which is to represent that I viewed my siblings as the ‘standard’, as in something I should live up to.
From that, I thought I could become like them if I got involved in the hobbies they did. Which is why my drawing shows me surrounded by all the object representing all their hobbies. Proving why I took up art, go kart racing, and interest in color guard. The list of hobbies I took up is endless, most of my young life revolved around things my sibling did. I did this because my parents would praise my sibling and my sibling were happy in engaging in those actives. So, I came to think that those hobbies and activities produced ‘desirable qualities’ and would help me grow into an adult my family would be proud of.
So, I took up those same activities in pursuit of achieving those ‘desirable qualities’. For example, in middle school, the skill of art became a major part of my identity during those years. I only thought that way because, when my older siblings went to middle school, art was a big part of their identity. To this day, my reference group or siblings still play a part in controlling my idea of ‘desirable qualities that affect my identity. My next drawing will highlight expectations expected from my because of my status in life more specifically my ascribed status.
Now an ascribed status is status an inborn, usually difficult or impossible to change. My second creative representation is a drawing of me with arrows that point out my two most noticeable ascribed status. I chose the concept of ascribed status to represent in my artwork because it helped me think about my identity. Which thus helped me think about my topic, which is about the development of identity, and how ascribed status took part in my development of my identity. Now one of the ascribed statuses pointed out in my drawing was female.
The fact I am a female is something I had no control over and is nearly impossible to change. During my childhood, people around me made sure I was aware that I was a girl. With being a girl, the whole bunch of expectations came with that status of being a female. I would be lying if I said that the expectation of being a girl did not play part in the development of my identity. It was a major factor on figure out, who I was. I would not have been told thing, about the expectation of feminine beauty by my grandmother.
I would not have spent growing up thinking that skirts, makeup, and high heels were my future. Also if I did not have the status of being a girl, I could have joined boy scouts. My dad would have treated me like how he treated my brother. I would not have been allowed to wear dresses growing up. I would have been a completely different human if I did not have the ascribed status of being a female. My current identity that I hold, is partly made up of the concepts of reference groups and statues So, as proved above the reference group and statues did have an impact on my developing of my identity as a child.
In layman’s terms is reference group is really my family having an impact on my identity. It’s the fact that my statutes as a female also helped shaped my identity. Both concepts got my thinking that maybe, my identity is not really my choice? Looking at how reference group and status play a part in identity, it just shows how little control there is. That means that identity is all up to the conditions the person is living in. My identity only came out the way it is because of my family, gender, race and events that have taken place during my life.