Identity is not innate.
It is not something we are born with it.
It is not natural.
It is manufactured and produced.
It is a series of acts that we perform over and over again.
If someone walks into the room that you are currently in, you automatically try to “figure them out.” Whether it is based on looks or previous experience with them you try to fill in the blank spaces and create an identity for them.
Now imagine if you walk into a room full of people. Immediately we present ourselves a certain way in order to influence how they view us. If it is your boss you laugh even if their jokes are dumb so that they don’t think you are stuck up. If it is your best friend you are probably complaining about how you had to laugh at all your bosses jokes.
We are constantly trying to navigate between different identities that are placed on us, and in return, try to influence our own actions to either conform to and break those identities.
I am a daughter. I am a pre-med student. I am Indian. I am a girlfriend. I am a Brockhampton stan. I am a sister. I am an intersectional feminist. I am a best friend. These are but a few of many identities that I am constantly trying to upend or maintain.
These identities are all tied to either someone else or something. And with each identity, there are characteristics that have automatically been attached to it.