Why is it that those "outside" of the "societal norm" feel more inclined to define themselves by their gender, ethnicity, spirituality, sexuality etc.?
I feel that those who have been categorized as "outsiders" or "abnormal" by our society face a very difficult task, every day, as they live within our communities. This challenge is something that most of those who are within the cultural norm- white, middle aged, middle class, heterosexual, christian, men- do not face on a daily basis. This is the task of maintaining and expressing ones own identity. I find it difficult enough to express myself freely as a Canadian who does not conform to the typical Canadian cultural identity and cannot even imagine the challenge one faces coming from a different ethnicity, environment and community. When oppressed by the masses- defined by stereotypes and excluded by closemindedness- one is forced to identify with and through their differences. In our culture, a female person who is pursuing a career is identified most often by her gender- for example, the female musician- and a male person who is homosexual is most often identified by his sexuality- the gay teacher. When you are a "coulored" person who is a Muslim, listens to the music, eats the food and dances the dance of your culture, then that is how you are known in Canada and you often have no choice but to internalise this constructed identity.
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