© Chris Port
Central School of Speech and Drama, 1998
Aims
- To enable students to consider their identity in three ways:
- Personal identity
- Cultural identity
- Sexual identity
- 4.1: Questionnaire Who Am I?
- Photocopy Resource 4.1: Questionnaire Who Am I? One copy per student.
- Distribute photocopied resource as above. Explain that this is the students’ property and will not be handed in.
- Allow approximately 15 minutes for completion of the questionnaire. Explain that these are not examination conditions. Encourage discussion and collaboration but monitor students to stay on track.
- Read out loud each question. Ask students for their answers. Debate and expand on answers given.
- Ask students to criticize questionnaire. Encourage alternative suggestions.
- Ask students to design their own questionnaires on the theme of Who Am I? Allow approximately 15 minutes for design.
- Ask students to exchange and complete each others questionnaires.
- Debrief and feedback. Has anything changed?
* * * * * * * * * *
This sheet is yours to keep. You will not be asked to hand it in.
This is a questionnaire about identity. There are no right or wrong answers. You might not agree with some of the questions or explanations. You might think of better questions or explanations of your own.
There are many ways to think about your identity. Here are just three of them:
- Personal identity
- Cultural identity
- Sexual identity
Your personal identity is all those things that make you different from other people: the way you look, the way you feel, your personal habits, the thoughts and experiences you have. You may be able to think of other examples. All these things are unique to you.
List three things that make you different from other people:
1.
2.
3.
Some people think that you are born with a particular type of personality. Other people think that your personality is shaped by your circumstances. Some people think that it may be a combination of the two. This difference in ideas is sometimes called the ‘nature versus nurture’ argument (although debate is probably a better word). Write down briefly what you think (you can change your mind later if you want to):
Your cultural identity is all those things about you that make you similar to other people: your ethnic origin, the country you live in, stories, music, food, clothes, language, religion, beliefs, ideas. Again, you may be able to think of other examples. All these things are part of a culture which makes you similar to other people.
List three things that make you similar to other people:
1.
2.
3.
Culture is a shared thing. There is also more than one culture. Britain today is a multicultural society. There can also be cultures within cultures. These are sometimes called subcultures. When young people share a particular interest that makes them different from older people, this is sometimes called a youth culture or subculture.
Do you and your friends share an interest that makes you different from older people? If the answer is yes, can you say what it is? If the answer is no, can you say what interests you share with adults?
In the ‘nature versus nurture’ debate (mentioned earlier), your personal identity is influenced by all the different cultures and subcultures of which you are part. As an individual, you also influence the cultures and subcultures of which you are part.
Make a list of all the different cultures you belong to and the things that make up those cultures:
What does this list say about your own personal identity?
As you get older, there is another very important influence on you: sexual identity.
Your sex is female but there is more to your sexual identity than that. Your sexual identity is how you feel about being female, how you feel about males and other females, and how you think that they feel about you. Sometimes these feelings can be exciting. Sometimes they can be very confusing or embarrassing or frightening. Sometimes you might not know how you feel. At other times you might feel pressured into behaving in a way that you don’t really want to. All of these things can make your sexual identity difficult to think about.
You will probably have come across the words sexism and racism. Sexism is prejudice or discrimination against people (and especially against women) on the basis of their sex. A sexist makes assumptions and judgments about a person on the basis of their sex before finding out anything else about them. (Similarly, a racist makes assumptions and judgments about a person on the basis of their ethnic origin before finding out anything else about them).
In Britain today, sexism and racism are against the law in education, employment, legal rights and representation. However, some people think that sometimes, secretly, it is still there. Also, some people think that sexism and racism still exist in advertising and entertainment (for example, magazines, television and films). Think about the assumptions and judgments you make about other people and yourself based on what you see, read and hear.
List three feelings that you have about your sexual identity (for example, how you feel about being female, how you feel about males and other females, and how you think that they feel about you:
1.
2.
3.
Use the space below to write down any more thoughts that you have. Did you disagree with any of the questions or explanations? Do you have any questions or explanations of your own?
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