Blog Reflection #8: Identity

I believe that people’s identities are constantly changing and evolving as they encounter new and different experiences that shape their perceptions of themselves. Identity is not just about who someone is, physically. It is largely about how a person sees herself. For example, Sarah Manyika, the author of Oyinbo, has maintained the same skin color her whole life. However, growing up in Jos, she never considered her identity in terms of the social construct of race. She states that she “[does] not recall ever describing [herself] as half white and half black.” As a child, she didn’t think twice about being called oyinbo, but when she returned to Nigeria after her experiences in England and America, this descriptor greatly affected her. Sarah was seen in a slightly different light in all of the places she visited over the years, and this caused her to evaluate her own view of herself. I believe this is most obvious when Sarah notes that she “had always been able to assert unchallenged both [her] blackness and [her] whiteness. [Her] ‘Brown Friendly’ optimism suddenly felt naïve and out of place in America.” Nature and nurture are both determining factors when it comes to defining a person’s identity.