Issue of Identity

06 February, 2011

Lost with Meta-Identity

Identity! What does this mean to you? I have been trying to figure out the meaning of the word ‘identity’ for quite some sometime. I looked at the Oxford Dictionary, which defines identity as, “The fact of being who or what a person or thing is”. This definition mentions that identity refers to what the object is and who the subject is. It does not clarify the specific qualities of a human being such as race, religion, ethnicity, and many other qualities. How to define these attributes? It is an abstract thing to do, at least for me. 

The Cambridge Dictionary defines identity as, “who a person is, or the qualities of a person or group which make them different from others.” This definition talks a little bit about identity as somebody’s qualities. This is a little closer to what I am looking for but how to define and determine the qualities of a person is again not detailed. I read many articles related to the issue of identity such as problems of Hispanic children, and issues of African American youth and I get lost with the question of what is really identity. Identity is defined in relative contexts and is impossible to narrow down into an absolute meaning.
            Most of us may have some kind of identity card with us such as a driver's license, passport, citizenship, or permanent resident card. These identity cards are important in particular events. One day, I went to a grocery store to buy a beer. The clerk asked for my identity card to verify if I was eligible to buy alcohol. He saw my driver's license and asked me, “Where are you from?” I questioned him back “What do you mean?” When he explained that he wanted to know about my origin of country, I told him, “I am from Nepal.” But something struck in my mind, “What does it matter which country I came from?” I showed the clerk my driver's license but he was interested in a different kind of identity of mine. By law, what he needs is just my state-issued or valid driver's license or identity card but maybe it is human nature that we would like to know other attributes of other people that we encounter in our lives. I learned that my driver's license is not enough to answer the question of who am I.

            I used to work in a grocery store. One day, I was talking or to be more accurate, I was chatting with a customer and he was very closely observing me. My beard had grown a little long. My face is long, light dark with a long nose and my hair is black. On the other hand, I look or most people say, my face very much resembles an Indian or a person from some Arabian country even though I am none of them. He asked me where I came from. When I told him that I was from Nepal, he did not believe me. He kept saying that I must be from some Arabian country. I felt bad that he insisted on something that was not true. The conversation did not conclude as a romantic one-act play. Once he left, I thought how one person assumes who the next person is depends on the observer. The observer may have many influences on his or her personal life to assume certain people with certain qualities. In this particular case, may be that man has the assumption that persons who look like me are mostly Arabian people. This made me think that my identity is not always based on where I am really from but on what other people think about where I am from and who I look like.

            When I was in Nepal before I came to the United States, I encountered many situations where a commoner Nepali would regard all white people as American and all black people as African. The reason could have been because people there are not educated and they are not much concerned about world affairs. They rarely travel outside Nepal. Contrary to this, people of the United States are more educated and are much associated with other parts of the world because of its global position in power. I do not hesitate to say that still stereotype of identifying other people prevails here. People of the country which is directly involved in world affairs should have better knowledge of world geography and culture.

            During the month of October, Hindus in countries like Nepal and India celebrate their biggest festival called Dashain. This is like Christmas for Christians and Eid for Muslims. All the offices are closed for at least 5 days and most people are in a festive mood. I was used to this tradition for more than 27 years. When I first arrived in the United States about 3 years back I realized that the month of October was not anymore a festive month here. Actually, I had a test on the most important day of that festival. I know, I could have had an excuse for not attending that test but I rather felt comfortable taking it, because I did not see any festive mood around me. It was just a simple and regular day. I knew it was a very important day for me but my neighbors were busy in their daily activities. They did not care about what religion I belonged to and how important that day was for me. I apprehended the fact that one’s cultural identities are manifested differently. 

            Fashion could be another component of our identity. Somewhat, what we wear describes our personality and decency. If a man wears Daura and suruwal (long shirt and pajama-type clothes) and a woman wears a saree and cholo they look decent in countries like Nepal and India. If they wear the same dress in the United States, they may not be much decent. Rather, a woman wearing a mini-skirt could be very decent in American parties or office but the same fashion could be offensive or vulgar in Arabian and south Asian countries. I perceived that who and how a person looks decent is relative to the context.

            Even after analyzing all these circumstances, I am not clear on what is my identity. I am little convinced that identity carries relative meaning than absolute. I have still lots of queries that I am not sure about. Which characteristic of mine to reveal? Who is to blame for wrongly assuming my identity? Why do we have stereotypes of identifying others? If every human being has somewhat different genes and characteristics, who best describes the human being? I think the answer is everybody has their own altruistic identities that can be easily traced such as boy or girl and there are personal types of identities or contracting which are not easily traceable or are more personal such as origin of country, race, religion, faith, etc. No matter how the world is, we can still be more informed about others’ identity issues and learn to respect only then we can expect to be respected.