Identity is transformed by political action, not a precondition of it
Evidence
A central concern with the contemporary discussion around “identity politics” is that the dilemmas and questions outlined here are not adequately addressed. This is largely because much discussion is underpinned by the presumption that one’s identity necessarily defines one’s politics and that there can be no politics until the subject has excavated or laid claim to his or her social identity. Inherent in such positions is the failure to understand the way in which identity grows out of, and is transformed by, action and struggle. This is one of the dangers of the preoccupation with exactly who is covered by the category “black” in contemporary British society. The usage of the notion of black to cover a variety of diverse communities has been rejected by some scholars in favor of other categories such as Asian, Muslim, or African-Caribbean. Yet others have sought to argue for a notion of “black” grounded in “racial” particularity. But the danger with these approaches is that one is presented with no more than a strategy of simple inversion. Here, the old bad black essentialist subject is replaced by a new good black essentialist subject whose identity necessarily guarantees a correct politics. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 121 (
#corroborates, via linked claim)
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Action modifies the being of things, not just their appearance; Conviviality’s transformative force lies in stepping beyond bounded identities, not in inhabiting them. — Farhan Samanani, Conviviality and its others: for a…, 27; Activist identities must be reinvented as practice, not inherited as belief — Nina Eliasoph, Avoiding politics: how Americans…, 1269 (+20 more)
Broader Connections
- Identity arises from action and struggle rather than preceding politics
#corroborates(1.00) — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 121 - Identity politics freezes identity in false shapes for political convenience.
#complicates(0.74)