Identity is what you think about yourself. You build up your Identity. Its the back of your mask. This mask covers yours face in darkness yet you know what is there on the back; you know who you are. Life is something we construct of ourselves. The identity we create is caused by the clothes we wear, the people we associate with, the events we take part in. Identity, is complex. We create ourselves, build ourselves up, adapt.
Perception never sees the back of our masks. Perception glances at the face plastered over ours. Reads our lives in the facade we call ourselves. We wait for society to place us in a little niche and pat our heads. Society judges you and labels you with its own code. Perception is less complex. We adhere it to ourselves, crush ourselves, adapt.
In Mairs' piece, Disability, perception is exposed for the monster it really is. Media, a intricate part of society, labels disabled persons as a certain type - different from the normal "TAPs," in everyday life (Mairs). The relationship between the two - identity and perception - is separable. Mairs asserts that the way society perceives her is different from her identity. She supports this with her own feelings and emotions as well as the common things that make her similar to every single other woman out there. The relationship between identity and perception is far from similar. Both seem to be intertwined only because society wants you to think that. However, perception lacks the apathy and distinction that identity grants you.
Identity is a strong word. I can not tell you what it means. It is different to every person. Yet, somehow we seem to be prisoners of Identity. It forces us to stare at a fine line - a shadow of life. What is and what isn't. The reality we perceive is different from that of actuality. Our caves and shadows create us and leave behind an imprint. Plato was just in saying that our senses receive a poor version of reality, in his piece The Allegory of the Cave. The reality to which we cloud ourselves is our identity.
Find your truth.
I loved the personification of society in your second paragraph and the haunting picture of the girl and the mask. It tied in nicely with your perception is what others see on our masks point. Great post!
ReplyDeleteYou made the connection between identity and perception very clear. Good analogy with the mask! Nice job connecting to the story and also thinking outside the box and connecting to the piece by Plato!
ReplyDeleteI like your picture. It nicely sums up what you are trying to say in your blog post. Furthermore, I think that the eyes are really important.On the girl's face, she has a thick eye liner and mascara (don't ask how I know about makeup). This could mean that, 1: The girl lies to herself about who she think she is, and 2: The girl's false perception is deep enough to penetrate the mask. In the mask itself, the eyes are not open, but simply colored black. That would make the wearer blind about their surroundings, becoming less able to sense what is going around them, and how society actually judging them.
ReplyDeleteI really liked your parallel structure when comparing the internal to the external. That was pretty neat. However, I feel that your perception is also formed by your identity. Your identity is reflected in the way you carry yourself and other people see this and this affects their perception of you.
ReplyDelete