In the society we live in today, do you identify yourself based on your religion, race, gender or ethnicity and why is it that we feel the need to identify ourselves based on these subjects?
We are all born the same way- shooting (figuratively speaking) out of a womb with no knowledge or understanding of who we are or what we believe in. So, when it comes to growing up and being surrounded by different people, cultures, race, ethnicity and religions, you begin to question who you are and how you identify yourself.
With the media portraying different religions, different races and different ethnicities, in a certain way, it makes identifying who you are and what you believe in, easier to differentiate than to those who do not get backlash in the media.
For most Muslims, it’s easier to identify by religion because there is so much negativity in the media that makes Muslims unite together and become stronger because they are proud of their religion that has been misjudged and misconstrued by what a selective few have done. Interestingly, with all the misrepresented news about terrorism, such as the Westminster attack, people have been fighting against the hate that Muslims get by standing together. On Channel 4, The Last Legs’ Adam Hills, said after the Westminster attack:
“And to the guy who did this, here’s what you achieved this week. You killed four people, you injured dozens more and when you get to your god, who incidentally is also our god, he’s probably going to have a few issues with that… No one is scared, people are resilient, we think you’re an idiot, you’re dead and even your god thinks you’re a dick”.
For black people, they tend to portray themselves by declaring and saying ‘I am Black’. It all comes down to the representation of black people on television especially in the USA with cases such as Police Brutality which has caused the voices of #BlackLivesMatter to become a social media outcry against the adverse stereotypes that makes police think it’s acceptable to abuse a black person just because of their colour.
Celebrities such as The Weeknd, donated $25,000 to the Black Lives Matter Network, tweeting the phrase, ‘Enough is enough, after the shootings of Alton Sterling. Other names that have supported the campaign are Kim Kardashian West, Katy Perry, Mark Zuckerberg, and Zendaya.
Students, aged 18-21 were asked ‘How they identify?’ the majority of white members stated their gender or ethnicity. Perhaps, this is because the media chooses not to portray the white community in a way that adheres to begin a stereotype. It is shocking to see how many articles that feel it is necessary to state in bold CAPITAL letters the words ‘BLACK’ and ‘MUSLIM’ which makes it an even bigger hot topic just because of the stereotypes surrounding the race and religion. One Muslim said ‘Had the portrayal of Muslims not been so severe in the media then I too, would have identified as a female first.’ The black members, however, very proudly and passionately, stated they would say they are black. Whilst that may not have something to do with the media but just personal preference, it goes to show how the media fixates on a race or religion, making them question who they are.
The truth is, there shouldn’t be a need to seclude ourselves into different sectors because at the end of the day, we are all human, there’s shouldn’t be a gap between us and we should all stay united and support each other without having all these negativity holding us back or making us judge another person without even knowing who they are but just basing it on what we see in the media.
The media also needs to get a life and talk about real issues that we are all facing rather than focusing on what a race, religion, a culture or an ethnicity may be doing and stereotyping all of us just because of an individual.
It’s time to wake up and open our eyes to bigger things than just stereotypes and hates.