“My face is painted red and yellow
and my body is painted blue. My pulse is
throbbing like a war drum. I want to
slaughter something…” Zora Neale Hurston
Today we live in a world that is governed by social norms
that are instilled not only through parental teachings, but also through a
possibly more powerful teacher, media. Children
are being exposed at increasingly younger ages to ultra-violent images,
pornography, and drug/alcohol usage.
Many of us have often wondered what the effects of this exposure will
have on our children. It is only after
studying Jacques Lacan’s idea of “deep signifiers” with Dr. Ragland, as well as
watching documentaries, and attending child raising conferences that I have
discovered that childhood exposure to parental instruction, media exposure, and
peer influence can have an immense impact on the identity formation of a
child. In this paper, we will explore
the pressures that children face during the most impressionable years for
identity formation, as well as what impact ancestors play in the empowerment of
the individual.
The first aspects of identity we will explore are the
various forms of childhood pressure that children face. I remember as a child growing up watching
G.I. Joe and playing “Army” with my friends.
We would run around with our bb guns shooting at Coke cans and milk
jugs, pretending that they were Nazi’s, Japanese, or other forms of “bad
guys.” Afterwards, we would all go
inside and play videogames that often involved some variety of male soldiers at
war and being rewarded with a scantily-clad female for accomplishing the
objectives. I also remember my cousin
Kimberly participating in our games, but then being discouraged as she grew
older. I always thought it was strange
that Kim was no longer allowed to play with us.
Rather, she was given Barbie dolls and was forced to grow out her hair
(she cut it low to be more like the boys).
When Virginia Woolf discusses the idea of “The Angel in the House,” she
is referring to these types of childhood norms that force individuals to
conform to the social norms of a certain group (245). As Woolf suggests, “every house had its Angel,”
and ours was no exception (245). For our
household, it was the double standard of boys being allowed to play Army and
cut their hair short, while Kim was prohibited from playing “Army,” was given
Barbies, and forced to grow out her hair.
The second aspect of identity formation we will explore
is the inhibiting factor that elders/ancestors can play during this
formation. The area in which I grew up
is a small farming community comprised of around two thousand people. The expectation in this community was that
the boys, if they graduated high school, were to work on a farm, or for one of
the local construction companies. This
was what was expected of me from my elders.
However, I had always enjoyed school.
Thus, in Virginia Woolf’s words, I “caught the Angel by the throat and
did my best to kill her” (245). To this
day, when I go back to visit my family I have people ask me if I would be
interested in working on their farm and/or construction crews. Blue collar work is great for a lot of
people, but I have always been drawn to the world of literature. As for the “Angel in the House” I fully believe
in Woolf’s words of “had I not killed her (the Angel in the House) she would
have killed me” (245). Perhaps she would
not have killed me physically, but mentally I am convinced
Upon exploring the two aspects of identity, pressures and
inhibiting factors, we can see that these external forces are instrumental in
shaping individual identity. I firmly
believe that by recognizing and understanding these external forces we can both
instill a sense of efficacy in our children, as well as avoid inhibiting them
through the use of cultural norms that were instilled in us. Zora Neale Hurston says it best, “I have seen
that the world is to the strong regardless of a little pigmentation more or
less. No, I do not weep at the world-I
am too busy sharpening my oyster knife” (358).
 |
| Jim Pruitt. Basrah, Iraq. 2009 |
Works
Cited
Woolf, Virginia. “Professions for Women”. The
Norton Anthology of Literature by Women Vol. 2. Ed. Gilbert, Sandra M. and
Gubar, Susan. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007. 245.
Print.
Hurston, Zora
Neale. “How It Feels To Be Colored
Me”. The
Norton Anthology of Literature by Women Vol. 2. Ed. Gilbert, Sandra M. and
Gubar, Susan. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2007. 358-359. Print.
