We each have layers of identity within ourselves. And while we know that and can rationalize that objectively, we’ve gotten to a point in society where one element of someone’s character is extrapolated and dissected by society as representative as who they are and what they stand for. This leads to that individual being completely categorized into a box, rather than then being allowed to exist on a spectrum. It’s that social confinement that has led to a lot of the societal dilemmas we see today.
I recognize, that to some degree knowing how to define different elements within ourselves is important to better understand ourselves as a whole and how we interact with the world around us. Like, being able to differentiate a rock from a hamburger—a rock to you offers a lot less nutritional benefit than a burger because one is clearly just an object while the other is a food. Same thing applies with identifying things or situations that can potentially do you harm—it’s a survival mechanism hard-wired into us so we may live on.
However, we get ourselves into muddy waters when we try to apply this to people, especially as a means of defining character and social behaviors. As a society, it is nearly impossible to remove ego or subjective gratification and motive from the equation as we attempt to define socially acceptable character and behavior. With the idea of different cultures aside…this is how social stratification of society is born, and indirectly, our own morality as individuals of what we choose to accept and execute in our daily life. Heavy right? Honestly, this could be a 50-page analysis paper easily…but stay with me here, there’s quite some depth to this topic…hence “layers.”
So, moving along with this concept, we are tempted into the following defaults:
Instead of looking at the person as an individual first, we look to society to determine our perceptions of the individual. This has only been further amplified by social media with the ease of being able to connect and the speed at which we are able to share content. This means that unless a person fits into a particular societal category or even goes as far as to reject the category they are being placed in by society, we are prompted to ignore them—they don’t exist. From that point on, it doesn’t matter what they say to clarify or evolve their identity from common perception, we’ve closed our minds to gaining any sort of perspective to understanding these individuals. If individuals manage to fit into certain social categories, then they are held accountable to ONLY that social category by being celebrated for being a representation of it and being discouraged from straying away from it.
There are a few problems with this.
Ray of JoKay 