Activity Five: Avowed vs. Ascribed Identities

My avowed identities include being a student, female, young adult, heterosexual, intelligent, and athletic.

My ascribed identities include being a child, student, female, grown up, heterosexual, not so athletic, and caucasian.

I received the ascribed identity of being a child from my parents, but more so from my dad. He would always ask if I understood what something meant, which most of the time it was obvious that I should know what was being discussed. He would also do the "because I said so" line even through my late teens and would never give me legitimate reasons for why I couldn't do something. My mom treated more like a child in the sense of doing things for me. She always made my bed and did my laundry and I don't think it was because she thought I wasn't capable, but because she wanted to feel like she was still taking care of me. The student identity is ascribed to me by my professors and also by other students. Obviously if I'm sitting in class and paying attention I'm there for my education and am a student. While being a female is an identity I agree with, it was also ascribed to me from the day I was born. Everyone sees me as a female because I look and act like a female. My nieces and nephews have ascribed the identity of grown up to me because I take care of them often and am much older than them. I am seen as heterosexual probably by most people but especially by my church community and my family. I would greatly disappoint them if I were any other sexual orientation and they don't even see it as a possibility. While I see myself as an athletic person, most males probably do not. I am very coordinated and can catch, throw, and run, but because I am a female I am seen as not as capable as men are at these activities. The last identity I listed as being ascribed to me was being caucasian. Because my ethnicity isn't very obvious I am just seen as being white by everyone.

The ascribed identity that I fought against the most was being treated like a child, and I only fought the way my dad treated me as a child, not the way my mom treated me as a child. If my dad would tell me I couldn't do something but not give me a reason as to why I couldn't do it, I would still go do it. I felt just saying no wasn't reason enough for me to not be able to go have fun with friends or whatever I wanted to do. Every time he asked if I understood something I would get really smart about it and make some comment about the fact that I go to school and do learn something. The other identity that I tried to rebel against was not being very athletic. I grew up with four boys and if they wanted to fight with me I would fight and I wouldn't give up easily. In high school I played soccer and I would practice with the guys and I would slide tackle, which the girls weren't supposed to do. I really didn't like that girls' soccer was more limited than guys' soccer. I felt we should have the same rules as the guys because we were capable of the same activities.

Question: Which avowed identity that you have of yourself is compromised the most by your ascribed identities?