I think for social workers it is very important to have a good sense of self. The first chapter of the text "The Complexity of Identity" talks alot about figuring out who you are (or in this case, your clients). I love the line "Integrating one's past, present, and future into a cohesive, unified sense of self is a complex task that begins in adolescence and continues for a lifetime."
It may be really hard for some to come to peace with their past, and for others it may be scary to look towards the future. So for this equation, it makes it very hard to focus on the present.
Being Myself: The Micro Level
The Micro level refers to the individual, their traits, their likes, their experience, and their characteristics. In a setting where there is no judgement, this is the Micro level. Identity formation is critical because it is the structural foundation of who we are. Identity formation is not something that someone can achieve overnight, rather it is something formulated over our life time, until the very end of life even. We learn and pick up things from our surroundings and the people we interact with. Influences come and go everyday, so I think identity formation is difficult because we are always accumulating and experiencing new things, exactly when this "formation" stops is hard to say, to me at least.
Community Recognition, Expectations, and Interactions: The Meso Level
Being Myself: The Micro Level
The Micro level refers to the individual, their traits, their likes, their experience, and their characteristics. In a setting where there is no judgement, this is the Micro level. Identity formation is critical because it is the structural foundation of who we are. Identity formation is not something that someone can achieve overnight, rather it is something formulated over our life time, until the very end of life even. We learn and pick up things from our surroundings and the people we interact with. Influences come and go everyday, so I think identity formation is difficult because we are always accumulating and experiencing new things, exactly when this "formation" stops is hard to say, to me at least.
Community Recognition, Expectations, and Interactions: The Meso Level
The Meso level refers to institutions in which we are a part of. At school, at work, at the mall, and even at the grocery store is where most of us interact with others and get small tid bits to the question "Who are you?" Slowly, with incremental sections of the conversation, we find out more and more about the people we are with. Here many assumptions of shared values, interests, and culture come up. Here are some examples I have come up with.
A simple one:
"Oh you're at the farmer's market getting carrots again?"
A simple one:
"Oh you're at the farmer's market getting carrots again?"
"You must be a healthy person."
The expectation here is that you find only the freshest and high quality vegetables and fruits, so of course you would take your health into consideration. Obligations to your health says you eat only the LEANEST carrots with NO TRANS FAT or preservatives (huh?!).
Now that we have the concept down, the point is that people automatically have expectations and demands based on how we talk, the way we look, and their "knowledge" of the group they think we belong to. This can either create a lot of confusion for the self, or create an affirmation that makes us say "No, this is who I am. Let me show you."
"No, I am not healthy, I was just getting carrots to coat them in three layers of chocolate so I can deep fry them later."
Social Categories, Classifications, and Structural Inequality:
Macro and Global Levels
Social categories and classifications create much social inequality and make for less social justice than wanted. You have the dimensions of gender, race, class, sexual orientation, religion, and so much more. When you combine some of these together, the individual who already faces hate and discrimination only suffers more, especially in cultures where social justice is nonexistent. In social work context, clients may feel like they either belong to the "dominant" group or the "subordinate" group. This can either help with empowering them as an individual or hinder the process if they come from an at risk population.
What does all this mean? I think looking at all three of these levels, it is important to consider where people come from and what they think of themselves at the Mirco level. From there we look at what they've gone through, and what they will come to face on the Macro level. This is by no means a social work action plan or anything related to it. I just linked these levels to give myself an idea of how they differ and connect. How did you interpret these different levels? I looked at this from a sociology standpoint (I took a course on this), so it might differ from yours.
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Here is something really neat that I would like to share. Its a book called "Where Children Sleep" by James Mollison. This book contains pictures of children from all over the world and shares with us what their rooms looks like. From the rooms we can see what kind of life they live. We can see their social and economic backgrounds. We can see their personalities, but more importantly it contrasts how different each child's different situations are. From New York to Nepal or Kentucky to Houston, the differences in economic background is pretty shocking. Keep in mind this book was intended on showing social issues around the world and I believe it was very effective. So I just wanted to include this as I see it tying in with the text on Privilege. Let me know what you guys think.
14 years old, Nepal
8 years old, New York
4 Years Old, Outside Rome, Italy
4 years old, Tokyo, Japan
15 years old, Kenya
14 years old, Scotland
8 years old, Cambodia
9 years old, New York
Photos can be found at http://www.jamesmollison.com/wherechildrensleep.php
I think these pictures are a great example of learning about different identities through the different levels. I first immediately notice that the three children who appear white complexioned, are the only three children who have a room with enclosed walls and a bed. The poverty and socioeconomic class is very apparent with these children. I also found it interesting that personality is so much more apparent with the children who seem to have a higher SES- they have items in their rooms that reflect their personalities (the child in japan, scotland, and new york). It isn't blatantly apparent with the children in cambodia, kenya, and rome, possibly because of their SES. This is what I immediately notice.
ReplyDeleteWow! I am reminded of how having Privilege can also mean having the ability to express oneself. Poverty is a harsh reality and hinders people from pursuing the things that they want or from being able to show their personality. I have never lived in poverty and I forget that even my ability to pursue my interests and express myself is something that I take for granted as a person who has wealth.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing!