ASCRIBED AND AVOWED IDENTITY PROFESSIONAL

No matter how good of a veterinarian I become, some farmers will probably think I am not a good large animal veterinarian because of my size. If I choose to go into large animal medicine, I feel one of my biggest challenges will be to overcome this ascribed identity. In order to resist this, I’ve restrained the animals for the vets at times and helped them perform the various procedures that needed to be done. They thought I would not be able to handle the cows and horses very well. Sometimes when shadowing a large animal vet, farmers and even some veterinarians have made comments that ascribe the identity of weak. When teachers and professors view me as a student, I do not resist it because it establishes the principle that I expect to learn from them. An avowed identity is one a person gives to. Also, when I am out with my friends, I try to be very frugal with my money so they don’t think I have a lot of it to throw around. In our world today every country has their own set of avowed and ascribed identities for its population. I resist this identity further by telling them that I have a job to make money, and even if my parents do have money, I don’t necessarily get handouts. In order to resist this identity, I try to explain to them that just because my family has some nice things, it doesn’t mean that my parents didn’t have to budget and save to get them. Some of my friends feel this way because both of my parents work and have a bigger house. Some of my friends think that I am from a higher class family than I am and therefore that I have a lot of money, also. This ascribed identity I did not try to resist because it helps me to establish relationships. Once people get to know me they ascribe the label of heterosexual to me.

ASCRIBED AND AVOWED IDENTITY PROFESSIONAL

This ascribed identity I did not resist because I wanted the students to keep a professional relationship, respect my position, and feel comfortable asking me questions. When I tutor students, they ascribe the identity of teacher to me. I show them I can manage a job, school, family, and social life, although I think my parents will always view me as a child to some extent, no matter how old I get or how responsible I am. I take on responsibilities and manage my time wisely so they can see that I am growing up. In order to make my parents view me as an adult like I see myself, I try to act as mature as possible around them. They explain some things to me in a very child-like manner and don’t trust me with some responsibilities that I feel I can handle. My parents sometimes make me feel that I am a child instead of an adult by the way in which they communicate with me. This is probably the ascribed identity that I have tried to resist the most.

My parents have ascribed the identity of child to me. To delve into these issues, this chapter examines identity as a complex and dynamic phenomenon, considers the relationship between language and identity, and suggests ways for addressing these issues in the L2 classroom.Young, Teacher, Student, American, Female, Adult, Heterosexual, Caucasian, Middle, Class, StrongĬhild, Teacher, Student, Heterosexual, Upper Class, Weak Studying another language provides a unique opportunity to reflect on our various selves, because our identities are often renegotiated when we encounter new cultures and navigate new social expectations. We present our selves in different ways across various interactional contexts (e.g., professional identity at work, familial at home). Some aspects are relatively constant, since societies and social groups strive for stability (i.e., preferring little or slow change) others are malleable. Some aspects of our identity are determined for us others we control. These relationships shape our identity throughout our lives.

As we grow up, we get socialized into more and more social groups, including families, friendships, sports teams, religious organizations, or professional associations. Each individual represents a complex network of social relationships, starting with primary socialization by parents or caretakers (Duff, 2010 Ochs & Schieffelin, 2008).

Ascribed and avowed identity