You Control Your Identity

Published by

Lem Usita

on

July 30, 2010

That seems like such a simple idea – being able to control your identity, your image, your profile. The ubiquity of identity projections can be seen everywhere.

A few hundred years ago, most people did not have control of their identity. In fact, only kings and courtiers were able to project their identity – they were the only ones getting painted. Society governed your identity. The family that you were born into determined the trade that you got stuck in.

Today, we can take pictures and spread our image. We can publish works of art, poems, and our ideas freely. Being able to control your identity hasn’t been around long. Go on. Take control.

One response to “You Control Your Identity”

bloowillbooks

August 1, 2010

Hmmm…I think people have always tried to control their identity. In Japan, the idea of ‘face’ and its preservation is ancient. In Europe there are lots of fables about peoples struggles to prove their own identity, whether they were being honest or not (eg: Return Of Martin Guerre). I used to tell all my students that they only ever knew another person by the stories that person chose to tell about themselves. Controlling ones identity now is of course more complex when celebrity is involved, others choose to tell stories on behalf of celebrities and we can never know how much truth these stories entail. I guess that’s where the ‘control’ becomes an issue!

As a writer, I’ve noticed that authors have become brands and brands must remain ‘on message’. That’s why Nora Roberts (along with a myriad of other authors) writes under a psuedonym when she changes genre. I reckon this is also a form of control. Wouldn’t you say?

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