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Personal Cultural Identity Paper

Emma K. Pedersen
College of Social Work, University of South Carolina
SOWK 331: Diversity and Social Justice in Contemporary Society
Professor Bree Alexander
October 5, 2022
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Personal Cultural Identity Paper

Social Identity Identification

People have various social identities that make them who they are and can also lead to

advantages or disadvantages that are based on these identities. Many people look at each identity

individually, but in order to gain a full understanding of a person and the manifestations of their

identities, we must examine how they intersect with each other and produce many different

groups and therefore many different experiences. I, myself, have multiple different identities-

some putting me in the agent group and some putting me in the target group. I identify as a

white, able-bodied, bisexual, biological woman who is a young adult that is part of the working

class and is agnostic.

As a person who is white, I am a part of the agent racial group. I experience many

privileges that are due only to my skin color- such as seeing myself represented in the media, not

fearing police, and generational wealth- that people of other races do not get to experience. It

was easy to identify this group as the agent group because there is countless evidence of the

advantages given to white people throughout history. I am fairly aware of this identity because I

try my best to be aware of the privileges that I experience and identify instances when I can use

this privilege to help others in a different racial group. Another social identity that puts me in the

agent group is being a temporarily able-bodied person. This is the identity that I think about the

least because I never have to worry about if I will be able to participate in or access something

due to the organization or system not providing the right resources for me. Since joining the

College of Social Work, I have become a lot more aware of this identity and how to be an

advocate to those who do have to worry about these things. On the other hand, being a biological

woman makes me a part of the targeted sex group. We live in a patriarchal society where every
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system- the government, religion, and family dynamics- puts men at the center. This is clearly a

targeted group as history shows the continued oppression and misogynistic attitudes towards

women like denying them the right to vote, the gender wage gap, and, most recently, the reversal

of Roe v. Wade. This is a group I am extremely aware of and can cause me a lot of anxiety at

times when things such as the abortion bans begin to happen. In both my personal and

professional lives, I am constantly thinking about how to make others take me and my ideas

seriously. Society has made it harder for women in many aspects, with examples of how we are

targeted in almost every system there is.

The social identity of bisexuality is a little harder to discern whether it is a part of the

agent group or the target group. Society does not really give advantages to those who identify as

bisexual, but they also do not really actively oppress them like they do those who identify as

homosexual. It is a part of my identity that I have become more aware of the more that I

outwardly express it and it has been met with both positive and negative regard. My

identifications with the working class and the young adult population also fall along the blurred

lines of target and agent group like bisexuality does. While society looks upon those in the

working class as lesser than and does not make things affordable enough to where they can

afford the things they need with good quality. As I’ve gotten older and moved out on my own

and am now supporting myself, this identity has definitely become more apparent and feels like

more of a target than when my parents said we were a part of the working class. Society also

treats young adults similar to this. They make you feel as though you do not have to have

everything figured out, but do not offer much support when you ask for help. They want the

young adult population to pursue an education and career, but they have not designed a system

where young adults can do this and support themselves simultaneously without going into debt. I
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am pretty aware of this identity most of the time because it a constant battle that I’m right in the

middle of. I do feel as though times have changed and that both the working class and young

adult social groups have become more of a target over time.

Our society greatly values the Christian religion and oftentimes blurs the lines of church

and state by imposing policies and norms that align with that religion over others. Although we

do have freedom of religion in America, other religions are often looked down upon and not as

acknowledged. This is why I believe that identifying as agnostic is a target group. Often when I

tell people my religious beliefs they assume I have the “wrong idea” about Christianity and that I

must not hold the same morals as them. Even though there are not oppressive policies against

people who are agnostic like there are with other religions, I think the judgements and

stereotypes these people receive do make them a target group. Especially living in the south, my

religious identity is something I am very aware of and often do my best to not bring up in order

to not change how I am perceived by others-especially older individuals.

Responses to Triggers:

There are times when I have felt triggered both by being a part of my target groups and

agent groups , although the reasons are very different. I mostly feel triggered through my target

groups when I feel like those identities are disregarded or shamed. On the other hand, I feel

triggered as a part of my agent groups when I observe others in the group taking advantage of

their unearned privileges or talking down on another group and refusing to acknowledge the

unfair systems that are in place.

My response to being triggered does vary with what specifically triggered me and the

social group that they are attacking. When men, or even other women, downplay my abilities due
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to me being a woman, when they make snide or catcall like comments, or unwanted sexual

touches and advances, I tend to respond by confronting and oftentimes attacking that person. I

want this person to know that what they said hurt me or made me uncomfortable and that I would

not like to be addressed or touched in that way. With men and unwanted sexual comments or

touches, I honestly do try to hurt their ego by insulting them with things like, “why would

anyone want to do that with you” or calling them inappropriate names. I think that over time as I

have been subjected to instance after instance of these similar things happening that they make

me more and more angry and upset and that I do jump to attacking more often than nice

confrontation. On the contrary, when I get triggered through being shamed for my identities as

bisexual and agnostic, I respond differently. Instead of confronting this person, I tend to draw

back and avoid this person or these types of conversations with this person in the future. I think

this is because I know that these identities are more controversial and people view them as more

of a “choice” than being born a woman, so I do believe I internalize those views sometimes and

respond accordingly. Oftentimes, I don’t see it being worth it to try to change the person’s mind

about their beliefs and would rather just not exert my energy into a hard conversation like that. I

don’t know if this is the best response to being triggered, but it does lead to less conflict and

helps me to not let them disturb my peace.

Similarly, whenever I feel triggered as a member of one of my agent groups, which is

often as a part of the white racial group, I also pull back and avoid these situations. As I

mentioned earlier, I feel triggered as a part of this group when other members of the group fail to

recognize their privileges. For example, when a white person says things like “everyone has the

opportunity to succeed if they work hard enough” or “I don’t see color.” These comments make

me angry because I don’t understand how people can’t see the trend of oppression throughout the
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years and the systems that automatically put others at a disadvantage. I used to be the person who

would speak up and argue with family members or other people about things like this and try to

educate them on the reality of the situation, but it was often met with defensiveness and a

stubborn attitude. I see myself doing the same thing I do when I feel targeted for my religious

beliefs and sexuality: avoiding these people and these conversations. I do feel guilt sometimes

about doing this because I feel like if I’m not the one to speak up then who will, but I’ve found

that speaking up created a lot of conflict in my life- with some family members no longer

speaking to me. I do think that the avoidance response is an easy way out of these situations, but

often leave me feeling like I didn’t do enough. In other situations in public, when I see other

members of my agent groups acting in oppressive or discriminatory ways, I feel as though I get

triggered by that person for the same reasons I’ve mentioned above, but I also feel as though I

get triggered for the person on the receiving end, as well. In situations like these I always try to

use my position of privilege and respond by confronting and calling out the action. I do think that

it is important to recognize instances where we, as members of the agent group ourselves, need

to step up and say something instead of just being silently frustrated with the person and their

actions.

Critical Incident Inventory:

The most aware that I have been that my identity as part of a specific social group was

causing me to be treated differently was honestly more recent. I have been aware of and

acknowledged the benefits I’ve received due to some of my agent social groups such as white

privilege and being able-bodied, but these are things that people can tell about me just by looking

at me and treat me that way right off the bat. My identities as bisexual and agnostic are social

groups that I have began to identify with within the past three years and it is when I bring these
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identities up that I become really aware of the shift in treatment that people give me. The first

person who I told that I was bisexual was a guy that I had been romantically involved with. It

was a part of my identity that I had been struggling to come to terms with and nervous about

what other people would think-already assuming that I would be treated differently- and I was

right. The guy said that it didn’t bother him and that he was okay with it, but he began to make

tiny comments about things that I did or female friends that I had and often overanalyzed

situations. The way that people interact with you romantically definitely changes when they

know that you aren’t straight. Many guys think that they can change your mind or think that it’s

just experimenting-oftentimes they are very dismissive of this part of my identity and that

doesn’t make me feel good. Before telling people that I was bisexual, I had never experienced a

dismissal of my social identity before or experienced feel less than others because of that

identity. I had never felt judged for one of my social identities until this point in my life. A lot of

these same things happen when I tell people my religious beliefs, as well. Many try to change my

mind or educate me, say that it is a phase and are dismissive of my identity. It has been a very

eye-opening couple of years experiencing these things firsthand because prior to this, I had never

personally experienced judgement and slight out casting due to any social group I was a part of. I

believe it is important to carry these experiences with you and use them to facilitate empathy

towards others who are treated differently due to their own social identity groups- especially in

the field of social work.

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Appendix
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