We explain what collective identity is, how it is formed in a society, its characteristics and various examples.
What is collective identity?
Collective identity, unlike individual identity, It is the sense of belonging to a certain community that its members experience, and that constitutes to some extent an answer to the question of who they are. It is both a phenomenon of self-perception (how individuals perceive themselves) and a way of relating to others (social identity).
Human beings are gregarious and social beings, who are always part of not just one, but multiple communities, each of which contributes to the formation of our individual identity, at the same time that we contribute to the formation of a collective identity. This phenomenon has been of interest to psychology and anthropology scholars over the decades.
The collective identity It is the result of emotional, social and cultural relationships that occur within a given community. These relationships lead in different ways to the construction of a “we” (ingroup), that is, a group identity with which its members are distinguished from the rest of society (outgroup).
In this way, certain symbols, practices, traits, traditions or ways of being are valued as belonging to the group and at the same time to each individual.
For example: among urban tribes in 1980s England, Punk They used to dress in a bizarre way: jean jackets, combat boots or even leather clothing, as well as multicolored mohawks, piercings and tattoos. Furthermore, they mostly adhered to an anarchist or socialist political current, and professed slogans such as “There is no future” (“There is no future”).
The principles of collective identification are the brotherhood of values and belonging to a “we” in conflict with the majority. They can be traced in different minority communities of contemporary societies, or even, on a much larger scale, among nationalities or regional demonyms.
For example, Latin Americans tend to think of corn-based gastronomy as a feature of their “own” identity, despite the obvious differences that there may be between a taco, a pupusa, an arepa or a tamale.
The nature and functioning of identities, however, are the subject of much debate within the social sciences. There are voices that warn against a certain essentialism in the matter, that is, against the idea of believing that something as complex as identity (individual or collective) can be reduced to a fixed and recurring set of characteristics.
In fact, the same individual can profess different collective identities at the same time especially if they are migrant individuals.
Characteristics of collective identity
In general, collective identity is characterized by the following:
- It is typical of a human group that can range from a few individuals to entire nations and is understood as the sum of their individual identities, although in reality it is not: an individual can feel part of a community without necessarily adhering to all its characteristics.
- make up a “we” or ingroup, opposed to the rest (outgroup), and this differentiation is reinforced through rituals, practices, physical traits or ways of expressing oneself.
- are not really absolute identities: Its individuals can feel part of different collectivities at the same time, or they can jump from one to another over time. The edges of a collective identity are porous, and there are more radical positions and others that are more lax.
- group and give meaning to different aspects of everyday life such as culture, language, religion, clothing, gastronomy, ideology, political militancy or ethnicity, to name just a few.
Examples of collective identity
Some examples of collective identity are the following:
- The urban tribes typical of industrialized nations, which bring together young people from different strata and origins around certain consumer values such as music, clothing style, personal decoration (piercings, tattoos, hairstyles, etc.) and, in general, around certain interests and certain modes of speech. For example: punks, goths, gamers, geeks, etc.
- ethnic minorities when they organize to exercise a certain resistance against the culture perceived as “hegemonic” or central in the State. For example: in American society, Afro-descendant groups are distinguished from the so-called Latinxs and even from the southern white working classes (derogatoryly referred to as “White Trash“).
- national identities which try to assimilate entire populations of millions of inhabitants around a founding patriotic story, a set of patriotic symbols and a language, for which they have an educational system, civic training and different mechanisms to protect their “own” culture. ”.
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References
- “Collective identity” on Wikipedia.
- “Collective identity” (video) at the Ministry of Public Education of Mexico.
- “The process of construction of collective identity” by Asael Mercado and Alejandrina Herández from the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico.
- “Collective identity: essence or discourse? A dangerous confusion” by María Gloria Trocello in Kairós Magazine.
