In this post:
We look at what Identity is, why it matters, and its potential benefits and risks.
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“Who am I?”
- A quote from so, so many movies.
What is Identity?
Our identity is who we are.
Our identity can be inherent to us, chosen by us, and ascribed to us.
Inherent identity elements include genetic features – eye, hair, and skin color, height, personality, blood type, and so on.
Chosen identity elements can include things based on our preferred activities, favorite music, adopted traditions and cultures, hobbies, and so on.
Ascribed identity elements can include things based on where we live, where we work, whom we often interact with, and on associations others make based on their observations of us.
In my very first post, I identified myself as:
A USAF Captain
An Engineering Professional
A Management Professional
An Author
Each of these means different things unto themselves, but may be interpreted in different ways.
I am not only a military captain, and not only an air force captain, but a United States Air Force Captain. My identity ought not be confused with a United States Navy Captain, nor with a captain from any other military service, nor with any military rank from another nation, and, finally, my identity ought not be confused for any other sort of captain.
If a stranger was to meet me while I was in uniform, they might recognize that I am in the military and would most likely assume that I was a US, perhaps even USAF, military member.
I am an airman, but I’ve been asked about being a soldier. Soldiers comprise the Army, not the Air Force – and I am not a soldier.
Being an engineering professional has a meaning to me that likely differs from others’ meanings. To me, being an engineering professional means that my primary professional goals involve the construction or deconstruction of systems. One of the primary responses I get from revealing that I have a degree in engineering and work in engineering management is that I must be smart.
Being a management professional to me means being responsible for resources consumed in the pursuit of some goal. To others, it may mean being passably good at PowerPoint.
Is an author merely someone that writes, or someone that has published something? What counts as publication…?
“Who are you?”
- Another quote also from so, so many movies.
Why does it matter?
It varies.
Identity is an influencing effect.
The identity you choose for yourself influences your behaviors.
The identities set upon you influence others’ behaviors toward you.
Shifting the perspective, the identities others choose for themselves or that you set upon others influence the interactions between people and the world we all live in.
Consider Robert Downey Jr.’s portrayal of Tony Stark. As his character progresses throughout the Marvel films, his declaration of “I am Iron Man” has significantly different meanings:
Iron Man (2008): Tony Stark declares “I am Iron Man” to the public. The armored, suited entity that everyone has been observing in the media? He is that entity.
Iron Man (2010): Tony Stark defies Senator Stern’s demand that the Iron Man weapon be turned over to the government. “I am Iron Man.” The weapon system known as Iron Man consists not only of the suit, but also Tony Stark himself.
Iron Man (2013): Basically stripped down to the minimum but ultimately triumphant against the Extremis-empowered Aldrich Killian, the movie ends with Stark’s declaration “I am Iron Man.” Even without the suit, he has an iron will and will solve his challenges somehow or another.
His behavior through the movie series also adjusts: While he consistently demonstrates narcissistic behavior throughout the series, he also demonstrates over time his powerful desire to protect people.
Iron Man is a weapon system intended to protect; Ultron was intended to protect the world. He intended to eliminate all of the suits to minimize the threat his own creations seemed to repeatedly inflict on the world – a reflection of that belief that the suits are not necessary.
Similarly, as an officer airman, I ascribe to ideals of Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do. As an engineer, I aim for technical precision and efficiency. As a management professional, I concern myself with effective resource management.
Your teammates might share some elements of your identity while also maintaining distinct identity traits, but that is okay.
Both Tony Stark and Steve Rogers share goals of protecting people, but approach that goal in different ways.
Similarly, airmen, soldiers, and sailors all pursue goals of national defense in their own ways.
These differences may brush into conflict with each other, resulting in various outcomes – Civil War for our Marvel examples or exhausting budget committees on the Hill for our services. However, in our everyday teams, circumstances need not escalate to such extremes.
It’s valuable for each of us to understand the identities of our teammates, friends, peers, family members, and even our enemies to develop an appreciation for what influences them.
More tangible at the personal level, however, is understanding your own identity and how your self-selected and ‘natural’ identity influences your own behavior.
Benefits of Identity
My bottom line argument is that the benefits of identity essentially boil down to community access.
By simple virtue of identifying as whatever, you are likely to find and be accepted by others who share that identity. Your mileage will vary significantly depending on a host of additional factors.
Perhaps you identify as a fan of a certain sports team – but are you a local?
Perhaps you are a fan of Riot Games, but are you also an eSports fan, and if so, do you follow your regional eSports or only big events like the Mid-Season Invitational and Worlds?
I’m an Air Force member, but can I relate to the struggles of an E-4 or the strategic snags of general officers? Maybe not – but I can easily try to initiate a discussion.
Secondly, you are more likely to understand (or at least have awareness of) the cultural background and expectations of a given identity than someone outside of that identity or community.
Risks of Identity
I think there are two major pieces to the risks of identity.
The first has to do with that community piece. I believe healthy humans generally have a desire to belong to a group. That desire to belong may overpower healthy behaviors and may express itself with benign adherence to harmless community expectations or obsessive obedience to unhealthy rules for fear of rejection.
It’s not always obvious what falls within healthy or unhealthy behaviors. Just because you might not jump off a cliff because your buddy did doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t jump out of a perfectly good airplane.
Just because everyone else in a given community seems to smoke as a rule does not mean you have to do so, even if it threatens your acceptance within a community.
Secondly, we all progress through our lives with changes of varying degrees. Some changes are major while others may be subtle. Are you conscious of these changes?
Graduating from college can be a significant change with opportunities beyond anything you expected in the months leading up to completing a degree. Finding a network of people interested in your hobby may have subtle or massive implications based on who you talk to or what activities you find yourself exposed to.
Technology adjustments either from research and development or, say, a global pandemic, may shift the way you interact with the world.
It is worth taking a pause now and then to realign with yourself: determine if your identity as you consciously consider it is still valid. Perhaps you only attend intramural sports events because you always have, even if you don’t really enjoy it anymore. Maybe your church is not actually fulfilling to you and you actually need a change.
Perhaps it had been the case that war was fought by armies engaged in improvised hand-to-hand combat at one point in history, but modern warfare is distinctly absent of sticks and stones.
Wrap Up
Just because you identify as one thing or another does not mean you must behave in certain ways; take the opportunity to reflect on what your identity means to you, what it may mean to others, and intentionally influence your own behavior rather than merely adopt some default approach to life through mere identity.
72 Airman's Writings 