First Post: Dimensions of Identity

In my mind the three most important dimensions of my identity are my gender, my status as a child and grandchild of my respective family groupings and my race. Beyond any of the other dimensions listed on the diversity wheel I believe these most make me who I am and directly affect many of the other dimensions. First, I am female which I believe is a specific mindset that rivals even race in its specificity. Being female means I face certain society pressures which my behavior and thoughts either support or defy. Being female affects such other dimensions as work style, organizational role, communication style, and income. The second dimension most important to my identity is my status as a child and a grandchild rather than as a mother or a grandmother. This dimension locates me in a specific part of the human lifetime. I have different responsibilities and freedoms in these roles and I make both day-to-day and larger decisions based on my status as a child. Last, I am Caucasian. This particular fact also contributes to a certain mindset, association with a certain community, and acceptance of a particular history which, while it is not as tangible, still directly affects most of the other dimensions of my identity.
In response to the second question, I believe that other people see entirely different dimensions as being most dominant to my identity. This is mainly because I live in a community of similar individuals. My college community consists mostly of Caucasian individuals who are my peers and are not yet mothers or fathers. Consequently, the dimensions of family status and race serve as a common ground rather than as important distinguishing characteristics. Within my community at Stonehill, my education, gender, and mental/ physical abilities and characteristics are significant dimensions of my identity. Outside of this particular community, however, I believe that race would again become much more important as a defining characteristic.
If I could change any aspect of my identity (I will qualify this as being only for a short time as sort of an experiment) I think I would like to change my geographic location, specifically the location that I was born in. Firmly entrenched in a Western consciousness I’ve always wondered what having an Eastern mind would be like. (Eastern in the sense of Asian or Indian). Would I suddenly perceive time not as linear but as cyclical? Would I think more collectively rather than individually? Or are these only the projections of what my Western mind considers to be Eastern thought? Maybe as an English major I’d have different insights into literature. In general, however, I don’t believe that I would like to permanently change any aspect of my identity. Perhaps this is because a part of me recognizes that I hold a somewhat privileged position in American society.