An individual’s place in society and their sense of self is constructed through various sociological paradigms and principles. George Herbert Mead argues that the development of self requires a unity of ‘I’ and ‘me’ which can only be attained when an individual consider themselves as part of a larger whole i.e. the social community to which one belongs. W.E.B Du Bois, on the other hand, points out that for the African American people this sense of a united self could not be derived as they could not imagine themselves as part of the national community. Du Bois claims that the racial disparity in the American community leads to the development of a ‘double consciousness’ within the African people. Marginalized groups and communities have difficulty developing a complete sense of self because their ‘I’ and ‘me’ are not able to merge with the collective ‘we’ as these groups live in a state of double consciousness.
Marginalized groups like racial minorities, women, LGBTQ+ have trouble developing a complete sense of self because these people are living in a constant state of double consciousness. The issue gets worse if the communities in which they are living are oppressing their kind. For example people of the LGBTQ+ community are often stereotyped and discriminated against in most world communities. As a result they develop a double consciousness in which they are always viewing themselves from two aspects; that of their own group and that of the oppressive groups who discriminate against them. Mead proposes that when people work as a team their sense of ‘I’ and ‘me’ is united into a complete sense of self. (Mead, 2021). However, marginalized groups are unable to do that because they are rejected by the majority of society and their sense of belonging is thwarted. Du Bois’ points out that African American people belong to two distinct communities, the African and the American, and the two are at odds at one another which lead to a divided sense of self among these people. (DuBois, 2021). The same is true for other marginalized communities who are not accepted by the society at large and Du Bois examination of the African American people’s sense of self helps us understand the condition of marginalized people better.
A sense of belonging is fundamental to the development of self or identity. One of the reasons that marginalized people have a hard time developing a sense of self is because they feel like social outcasts. When society rejects a certain group of people it destroys their sense of belonging because in a larger context a society is what all individuals belong to. Moreover, the marginalized people then are hesitant is seeing themselves as part of a larger community because they are aware of the fact that the majority of the people of that society have negative views about them. This situation is extremely damaging for the development of any individual. Du Bois shares his experience of being considered a “problem” by the society. (DuBois, 2021). Therefore, if one is part of the problem they cannot be part of the solution as the solution entails the destruction of their own selves. This shows that the situation is highly troubling for the marginalized people for if they want to contribute to the society and work towards solving its problems they must annihilate themselves. Mead agrees that a lack of recognition by society greatly impacts the development of self. He also points out that “…in caste systems people cannot develop a full self because the limits to the common attitudes preclude individuals from internalizing the full social process in which they participate.” (Itzigsohn & Brown, 2015). The situation is the same for all marginalized groups of people because when they are ousted from mainstream society their sense of self is damaged in the process.
One of the reasons that marginalized people have difficulty in developing a sense of self is because their individual expression is repressed by the society. As members of the marginalized communities they are anot allowed to express themselves freely which greatly hinders their development of identity and self because these self-expression is the primary way for individuals to claim their existence and identity. For instance, the people of the LGBTQ+ community have fought long and hard for the legalization of gay marriage just as women have struggled for their right to vote and equal pay. By taking away these rights from marginalized people the society is not only suppressing their individual expression but also suggesting that these groups or people are, in some way, less than them. Thus, taking part in social activities that leads to the unity of ‘I’ and ‘me’ as Mead points out becomes difficult if not impossible for marginalized people (Mead, 2021). As the term suggests these people remain on the margins of society acting as bystanders more than actual participants in the social activities. In his book, Du Bois uses the phrase “Between me and the other world…” (DuBois, 2021) which is highly significant in understanding how the sense of self for marginalized people is divided between ‘me’ and the ‘world.’ Thus, by curbing self-expression society oppresses marginalized people impacting the development of their sense of self.
This position is considerably important because for a society to function effectively, all of the members of that society must be able to connect to the whole, and be able to form their identity as a part of that society. If some groups or communities have trouble being accepted into the society, the society will remain divided and the full potential of the society would not be realized as a diverse and collective whole. Moreover, the individuals and communities that are not accepted as a part of the whole community have to go through many struggles in the formation of their identity, and might develop an identity crisis; therefore, this position is very important for the inclusion of different parts of the society into the whole.
To sum up, marginalized individuals, groups, and communities have difficulty devolving their identity and sense of self because they live in a state of double consciousness. In their experience the world is divided into ‘me’ and ‘them’ instead of unifying the ‘I’ and the ‘me’ through a collective expression and belonging to the ‘we.’ Marginalized people often have trouble finding a sense of belonging to the community which is also a contributing factor to the trouble they have in the development of self-identity. Moreover, society curbs the self-expression of marginalized people which again has a major impact on them developing a sense of self. Both Mead and Du Bois agree that in order to develop a healthy sense of self the individual must have recognition and acceptance from the community which the marginalized people lack resulting in their difficulty developing a complete sense of self.
References
Brown, J. I. (2015). Sociology and the Theory of Double Consciousness: W. E. B. Du Bois’s Phenomenology of Racialized Subjectivity. Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race, 231 – 248.
DuBois, W. (2021). Of Our Spiritual Strivings. In P. Kivisto, Social Theory: Roots and Branches (pp. 112-115). New York: Oxford University Press.
Mead, G. H. (2021). The Fusion of the ‘I’ and the ‘Me’ in Social Activites . In P. Kivisto, Social Theory: Roots and Branches (pp. 138-142). New York: Oxford University Press.