Obligations to Identity

This Bridge We Call Home, Section V.
"Shouldering more identity than we can bear"...seeking allies in academe
Mehrnoush Karimian and Sarah Sample

“By being one of the few recognizable faces in a sea of white academics, we, whether we want to or not, represent our raza. This is not necessarily a good thing. We are just who we are- individuals. We are not representatives of countries, gender, ethnicity, or sexuality. Yet, because there are so few of us, we often end up shouldering more identity than we can bear.” (p.364)

Does being part of a specific marginalized group automatically make you a representative or teacher for that identity?
Do we have a responsibility to our group to educate others?

“Transformation requires new strategic approaches… I argue for a politics of shredding the fabric of institutional regiment through refusal, sabotage, thievery, defecation. In doing so I acknowledge the necessary connectedness of subcultural resistance to other resistances, especially that of unlikely coalition- building.” (p.379-380)

What are appropriate sites of change? (i.e. the work place)
While reconceptualizing and critiquing your own identity, at what point do you cross the line between being collegial and being true to yourself, no matter how disloyal that may be?
At what point are you allowed to take action against the academic institution without risking your job?
What are some strategies that you use/feel could be used to build a union between subcultures and/or create a more inviting environment for people to learn more through asking questions? (i.e. the Cry-Smile mask-p.397)
Once you do get a coalition built and running, what is the next step to reaching out to people who are not as willing or open to learning about different subcultures and identities?
What is the incentive for a majority group to be pro-active?
Do you look at tokenism as a first step to diversity or as a hindrance to it?

“After a number of similarly uncomfortable encounters, I begin to understand that I have to be careful, and that perhaps it isn’t wise to be open about my life.” (p.392)

If your lifestyle reflects a certain groups’ identity, but you don’t actively proclaim that you are a part of that group, are you hindering that specific groups’ movements?
If you don’t identify with a social group, how can you claim to support the issues that they deal with?
How do you incite change in what you feel to be an unsafe environment, one that you specifically feel is unwelcoming to someone of your group?



* What is our individual responsibility to bringing about diversity to our sites of change?