Identity Pt II

My mind is spinning right now. I tried to focus my attention on one topic but that doesn't seem to be working. So.....

Recently, I was in a group discussion about identity and whom each individual identified with; was the core of their identity with their gender, race, religion, sexuality, personality, etc. ? I have a hard time answering this question because I feel it's a tie between race and gender. When I wake up in the morning, I definitely recognize that I am a woman. But when I go out into the world, I am Black. Behind closed doors I can be whatever I choose, but when I exit, I am labeled, I am categorized, I am "identified" as something.

My womanhood is definitely a key component of my identity. I consider myself a feminist (via dictionary.com : a person advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men) and I represent my ladies, as well as the "feminine experience" to the fullest. On the other hand, I am very in tuned with my race. The reason for this ( I believe) is because it's something that I have to face on a day to day basis, especially being a minority on campus. Being apart of two oppressed identities is quite interesting...to say the least.

In trying to answer the question at hand, I thought about...when I walk into a room do people notice my gender or my race? In describing me, would someone say, " That Black girl" or " that girl...she's Black."


The next thing I thought about was..... if I walk into a room and I see a group full of women and a group full of African-Americans (let's switch up the terms here. We just have a such a variety of names...Negro, Colored, Black, African-American), which one would I instinctively go to? My guess was the latter. I suppose I would choose this group because I'd feel more comfortable around people that look like me.

Just a random thought: How can you find comfortability with people that look like you and still feel uncomfortable at the same time?

I'll leave that to marinate.....

So as much as I'd like to say that I identify with women more, I'm starting to feel like race is the answer to this question. In a sense, I don't like this answer because I feel like external factors are leading me to this conclusion, rather than internal.

Especially with the presidential election, race is such a popular topic these days (not that it's ever been unpopular). The more racist and ignorant, unexamined thoughts I hear, the more angry I become.

In other news....I'm getting closer to my dreams. So I'm just going to pray about them and let God lead the way.....