SELF-IDENTITY & LABELLING

Who we are or perhaps more appropriately; who we think we are, is a vital element of what we call our self-identity. Various sociological and cultural factors interplay in a creation that we can call us. How we see ourselves is frequently projected out into society at large but importantly, our self-identity can be influenced by that same society. It is important however, to be aware that there is a difference between a self-identifier and a label. A self-identifier is how the individual or group determines their own identify. A label is a determinator that is imposed upon an individual or group by society.

I see myself as an Englishman, despite having an Anglo-Norman and Welsh ancestry. British is legally my nationality but I still identify as English. I am white and unfashionably unapologetic of what is an unchangeable fact. I am heterosexual and I do not require any fashionable alternative to describe my gender or sexuality; indeed such modern language is beyond my comprehension or even my interest. I am some respects a Victorian, I have a predilection for tweed and nineteenth century novels.

Some sociological variations are of interest to me, perhaps because I work in healthcare which if anything, is far more cosmopolitan than our mainstream society. I have colleagues whose heritage is varied, European, African, Asia, the Middle and Far-East. My patients represent the same varied and fascinating diversity.

Many cultural and ethnic differences are broad and have a degree of fascination far beyond their actual importance. Apparently Koreans and people of the Far-East, produce dry earwax but Europeans produce wet earwax. No one seems to know why and the difference does not appear to have any environmental advantage. There is simply a difference. I am told that the Chinese and again other Far-Eastern peoples have slightly longer intestines when compared to Europeans. We know why however, a longer intestine is required to digest rice than that required to digest wheat. The historical difference in agricultural development also means that in the Far-East where the diet is less bovine milk based, people are more susceptible to being lactose intolerant. It is of course well-known that Asians are more likely to develop Type Two Diabetes Mellitus than any almost any other ethnic group.

Monitoring the internet and Facebook, sociological differences are noted between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and the United States of America. One of the more obvious is how certain ethnic groups self-identify. For example Asian in the USA does not refer to the people of the Indian Subcontinent, which is the meaning that I have used here so far. Rather it is used to describe people of the Far-East, such as Koreans, Japanese and Filipino.

Another area of difference is the use of the term People of Colour (POC), as usage of this term here in the UK is not encouraged. There are several reasons for this. It falls too close to the term coloured, which here in the UK is so heavily associated with apartheid that offence can barely be avoided. Indeed black persons of my acquaintance, primarily work colleagues, are deeply angered by the use of this word. Some years ago, there was a public information film that actively sought to persuade people not to use the term coloured. It is best avoided.

Another reason for objection to People of Colour overlaps with recent objections to the term Black, Asian & Minority Ethic (BAME) here in the UK. Talking to my colleagues the reasons are perfectly clear. BAME like POC generally combines a wide variety of ethnic groups, subsuming them in a 'lumped' together 'catchall' term. This is far from satisfactory, as it is felt that the individual identities of the various ethnic groups is ignored in an attempt at convenience. Since we should ideally be celebrating diversity and individual cultural identities, this subsumation is not truly acceptable. The acronyms POC and BAME are therefore, examples of socially determined labelling.

We who are white do not suffer the same form of sociological labelling but there is some. The most obvious being that we are often assumed to be racist. We can be called racist most often when an individual disagrees with another politically. It is an example of puerile name calling, the politics of the school playground and often nothing more. That is not to suggest however, that there are not differences even within the white European subgroup of humanity. There are cultural, sociological and even some slight physical differences, between the geographical extremes. Comparisons between Northern Europeans and Southern, between Western and Eastern, are of interest culturally and quite apparent even to the most casual social observer.

What is obvious to me as an observer of a rainbow coloured world, is that rather than impose these culturally insensitive labels that society is so obsessed with. We should avoid this forced coalescence and instead celebrate our diversity across the entire rainbow. We should praise every culture, every nation and every ethnic group of every colour. We could even go so far as to avoid labels and actually ask people how they wish to be described. That of course, is far too obvious for any government in any country, to ever consider.