Adrian Piper and Identity
  • Identity
    • Significance
    • Identity and Artmaking
    • Interdisciplinary Connections
    • Our Personal Reflections
  • Essential Questions
  • Adrian Piper
    • Piper and Identity
    • My Calling Card (1986-1990)
    • Mythic Being (1973-1975)
    • Our Personal Reflections
  • References
  • Author Bios

What is identity?

Identity: the fact of being who or what a person or thing is; the characteristics determining this.
(http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/identity)

Identity can be determined in many ways.  An individual may use personal characteristics such as race, gender, appearance, or sexual orientation.  Someone may define his/her identity based upon group membership, for example, nationality or political affiliation.  One's ethnicity and cultural origins also factor into identity.
    For many people, identity is a matter of pride, self-respect, and dignity.  People envision identity as a way of defining oneself and one's character.  In this sense, identity may be thought of as the answer to the question "Who are you?" (Fearon, 1999).


Ways we define identity: ethnicity, gender/sex, race, age, nationality, family, profession, religion, culture, geography.

Examples of identities:
  • "I am American"
  • "I am black"
  • "I am gay"
  • "I am Muslim"
  • "I am a daughter"
  • "I am a teacher"
  • "I am a Southerner"
  • "I am a man"
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