For my paper on N-identities, I had a hard time choosing a what I specifically wanted to focus on. I bounced back-and-forth between my identity as a female and my identity as an African American. Then I came across the idea of focusing on aspect of myself that involved a combination of both of these identities. I wrote about embracing the natural hair that I was born with as I entered into adulthood, despite the influences from the media, society, and my culture.
In my paper I discussed how growing up, all the Black women within the media had long, straight, silky hair. I was born with naturally, thick, kinky, curly hair and I always aspired to look like these women. I went through phases in which I would wear straight hairstyles just so I could look like the women I saw on TV. But one day it occurred to me that it's not necessary to conform to society's warped view of ideal beauty and I realized the happiness that comes in just being my natural self. I realized that this is that way that I was born; I had no control over what hair type I was born with, so I decided to just embrace it.
I really enjoyed the N-identity section in Gee's article. Prior to reading this article and writing the paper N-identities, I had never really thought of the impact that my hair had on my identity or the connection that my hair had to my identity as an African American female. My original view of identity was pretty narrow; I usually only thought about the basics (gender, race, and religion). It was interesting to see how the media, my culture, and society all influenced my decisions growing up.
I know it is said that the media often negatively influences society, but I also know there are TV commercials and shows that encourage men and women to be themselves and embrace their flaws. Do you think these forms of media are effective in doing so? Or is society more interested in attempting to achieve the unrealistic standards of beauty seen in the media instead?
Gee, J. P. (200). Identity as an analytic lens for research in education. Retrieved from http://www.jamespaulgee.com/sites/default/files/pub/Identity.pdf
