Blog Post #2

In the past few classes we have been discussing the ideas of identity, social construction, and perception. One of the points Warren and Fassett make talks about different personalities among various contexts. They say, “On Friday night, you may be an avid poker player or enjoy going clubbing, while in class, you may be quiet and studious. These different selves are perfectly normal; in fact, the only thing that remains exactly the same about who you are is that you’re always changing with context and time” (Warren & Fassett , 2015 p.102). This quote really stood out to me, as I can relate to it on so many levels. In high school, I was super involved in my community and was a cheerleader for my high school. Most people only saw me as a peppy cheerleader on Friday nights. However, I was also in all honors classes and did well in school. In class, some of my peers would even disregard my comments or thoughts because cheerleaders were not supposed to be smart. I even had a math teacher my junior year of high school that would not discuss a test grade with me, because I was “a blonde cheerleader who didn’t deserve to be in that class.” I think much of this goes back to the culture and stereotypes of cheerleaders and other’s perception on how we are “supposed” to act. As much as stereotypes stem from some seed of truth, I think they are over generalized and not a fair representation of the group as a whole. The identity my classmates and teachers had created for me was not a reflection of who I was as an individual.

Another example of someone having different identities based on the context would be the Kardashian family. Now, I don’t know a lot about their family, nor do I really pay attention to any of the news that surrounds their family, however they seem to present themselves in very different ways depending on the situation. For example, the way in which the Kardashian women present themselves on the red carpet is very different than the way they would present themselves on say, their reality TV show or at a promotional event for their brand. These different identities are not wrong, they are different for the given situation.

Going back to the quote, I think we each have different parts of ourselves that are reflected given the context of the situation. On Fridays, I was the peppy cheerleader as that fit the situation and the role I was playing in that moment. I was a very different person in the classroom, and that went against everything people expected of me. I think challenges like this help us grow and reform our ever-changing identity. 

Warren, J. T., & Fassett, D. L. (2015). Communication: A critical/cultural introduction. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publication.