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Kylie Lau

Mr. Lopes

ENG 3U

21 July 2019

Social Identity: How our Environment Influences How We Perceive Ourselves:

An Annotated Bibliography

Ferrera, America. “My Identity is a Superpower – Not an Obstacle.” TED: Ideas Worth

Spreading, Apr. 2019, Web. 21 Jul. 2019, www.ted.com/talks/america_ferrera_my_

identity_is_a_superpower_not_an_obstacle#t-830691

In this Ted Talk, America Ferrera describes her life in Hollywood as an aspiring

actress and the difficulties she faces as a Latina. From her first audition as a teenager to

her success in “Ugly Betty”, casting directors in the industry often reject her for roles not

because of her incredible talent but because of her race. This forces Ferrera to try to

conform her identity to meet their expectations and since her cultural identity is

negatively impacting her career, she labels it as an obstacle. Based on her horrid

experience, she concludes that we must push society to stop resisting the presence of

minorities instead of changing ourselves to fit their standards. Instead of thinking of our

prejudiced backgrounds as an obstacle to overcome, we must think of it as a superpower

because it is the part of our identities that shows we belong in this world. According to

Ferrera, society not only forces us to transform ourselves to fit their standards but also

attempts to limit the presence of non-Caucasians because they are of lesser value. There

is such thing as a more valuable presence and it pushes vulnerable minds to regret who

they are, making them change their identities in terms of the opinions of others, therefore
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agreeing with some of my other sources. Despite her encouragement to stay true to

ourselves, Ferrera poses the ongoing concept of ethnic prejudice and how it negatively

influences our identities to develop according to another person’s preference.

Lau, Rachel. “Is 'Racial Colour-Blindness' Hurting Our Children?” Global News, Global News,

10 Feb. 2016, Web. 21 Jul. 2019, www.globalnews.ca/news/2181761/is-racial-colour-

blindness-hurting-our-children/

According to the study by Social Psychological and Personality Science used in

this article, children in minority groups in western countries tend to stray away from

mentioning about a person’s race because it is offensive. About 81 percent of the

participants state that it is rude and racist to point out someone’s skin colour, despite it

being an integral part of our identities. Lau quotes the authors of said study, Kristin

Pauker, Evan Apfelbaum and Brian Spitzer, saying that we cannot deny our

backgrounds because it is a part of who we are and as such, we should be proud of

it. Although most of my sources imply the idea of equal treatment for all, Lau explains

realistically and more in depth, believing that minority children do not benefit from the

“racial colour-blindness approach”. She highlights the importance of acknowledging

someone’s skin colour instead of ignoring it because blinding ourselves in regard to this

characteristic also blinds the issue of discrimination, a common problem throughout all

my sources. Lau is promoting the idea of racial awareness instead of equality for the

sake of people’s identities with the use of statistics created by a credible source. She

thinks that merely accepting the existence of minority groups is not enough because we

must appreciate and acknowledge their struggles in order for them to find their true

selves, their true identities in which culture plays a huge role.

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Leigh, @poetalunam. “Who Am I?: An Essay Regarding Self-Identity - Invisible

Illness.” Medium, Invisible Illness, 7 Mar. 2018, Web. 21 Jul. 2019,

www.medium.com/invisible-illness/who-am-i-an-essay-regarding-self-identity-

e85a71644f97

Leigh vividly illustrates her opinion and experience on the topic of identity,

saying that she cannot find her identity well beyond her adolescent years because no one

can truly and completely know who they are. She identifies her continuously changing

interests while conveying a depressing tone by describing her nonexistent discoveries of

her identity during her adolescence due to her cowardly fears. She compares the writing

process with the development of one’s identity, stating that her identity is based on those

around her like how writing uses the ideas of previously made pieces. Similar to most of

my other sources, Leigh talks about how society’s expectations dictate how we live our

lives and it is not until we dismiss these ideologies that we can be our real selves. On the

other hand, she contradicts my other sources by saying that she does not consider who

she is today as her identity since it is pieced together by the traits of others. We must dig

deep within ourselves to discover who we are to find our identities because we are not

truly ourselves when we change for the preference of others. According to Leigh, our

identities are not who we are currently but instead the truest version of ourselves without

the influence of others, proposing a new meaning to the word ‘identity’.

Oyler, Lauren. “A Short Story About Identity.” Wales Arts Review, 26 Feb. 2019, Web. 21 Jul.

2019, www.walesartsreview.org/a-short-story-about-identity/

This short story is about a stereotypical-looking punk girl who tries to fit in

among her group of friends named Hanna. During her visit to a local smoked salmon
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shop, an elderly man stares at Hanna as she anticipates a comment regarding her

appearance, implying that others have judged her previously. She sighs in relief when he

disregards her looks and quickly finds her peer Bon-Bon, who is in the midst of stealing a

chocolate bar from a department store. The author continues the story with a flashback to

Hanna’s dream of looking normal, but she decides that she admires her supposed flaws

like her tattoos or piercings. Afterwards, Bon-Bon gets caught stealing and later

complains about the police, despite him being the one breaking the law. Hanna, however,

does not see any reason to be dismayed unlike her other friends who quickly agree with

Bon-Bon, no matter how hard she tries. The point of this story is to show the readers the

importance of being yourself even when no one agrees with you. Hanna’s character

contradicts all my other sources since her friends’ poor habits and mentalities do not

influence her identity, even though it is mostly described as a natural process. In

addition, Hanna’s identity remains true despite society’s expectations for a female’s

appearance. Lauren Oyley conveys the idea that one’s identity cannot be altered by one’s

surroundings through the fictional story of Hanna.

Ward, Johnny. “Be a Man.” Good Men Project, 17 Jul. 2015, Web. 21 July 2019,

www.goodmenproject.com/featured-content/high-school-poetry-series-gender-identity-

and-race-johnny-ward-kt/

Johnny Ward’s poem is a glimpse of his expectations as a man, conveyed through

the use of aggressive repetition and dialogue. He describes the pain he endures because

he is expected to be ‘the man in the house’, meaning he must protect his family and take

on all difficult tasks for no other reason than he is a male, and to never show emotion

because feelings are considered too feminine. Ward cannot express his pain or opinion
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on the matter despite the growing agony because he must prioritize his manhood over his

wellbeing. Not only does Ward explain the presumptions of the male gender, he also

mentions that his dilemma is even more concerning because he is black. Since he is of a

minority group who is often ridiculed, he stresses his pain that he can never show and

therefore transmits it through poetry. He feels overwhelmed and hurt because even his

father, the most influential person in a boy’s life, disregards his own wants and needs to

push the ridiculous and practically unobtainable ideology of a man. Like many of my

other sources, Ward discusses the troubles of society’s expectations and how he cannot

be himself because others force him to be this perfect, ideal man that our world has

created.