Reflection 5

People place themselves and are placed by others in Canadian Society based on what they believe their identity is. In the past few lectures we have been talking a lot about people’s sexual identity, how they perceive them self when it comes to nationalism, and indigenous peoples. All of these topics have to do with identity, and I think it is important to reflect on how someone’s identity can affect how they are perceived through the eyes of other members of society. This reflection will mostly focus on identity; how it is perceived by other Canadians and how members of society identify themselves.

            As far as sexual identity goes, I have already written on my stance in the fourth reflection. I believe that people should be able to live their lives based on what they feel their sexuality is, regardless of how they were born. This is especially important for those born with both female and male biological characteristics because if they identify themselves as female they should not be scrutinized by society or the media for being partly male. When it comes to sexual orientation, heterosexuality, homosexuality, and bisexuality are three forms of identity and, according to Whitehead in Cannon’s article, “Western society foregrounds erotic orientation as the basis for dividing people into socially significant categories.” (Cannon, 1998:5) This can be problematic because as we all know and have seen in the media recently people endure negative treatment when their peers realize they are a different sexual identity than the ‘norm’ (heterosexuality is seen as the norm in Canadian society). According to Nelson and Robinson, ‘gay’ is a sexual identity and ‘homosexual’ is a sexual preference (Nelson and Robinson, 2002), therefore when people put homosexual in such a narrow category and assume their identity is based on that sexuality, it can also be problematic.

            When it comes to nationalism and multiculturalism, Canada’s identity is sometimes considered to be based on its generosity when it comes to letting people from other parts of the world come to the country to migrate. In other words, multiculturalism is a symbol of nationalism and therefore part of Canadian identity. Therefore, those who have come to Canada from another country and are now a Canadian citizen may identify them self as a minority in Canada. This, similar to sexual identity can determine how they are socially organized in Canadian society, which can be positive or negative. Bannerji wrote an article on this subject and she is an example of someone who identifies them self and feels identified by others in Canada as a minority. Her and many other immigrants view European Canadians as a separate category than those who came from another country based on how they are treated in Canadian society. She asserts that Canada is a “construction, a set of representations embodying certain types of political and cultural communities and their operations.” (Bannerji, 2000)

            Aboriginal peoples seem to have a firm belief on what their identity is. As said in class, there are several Aboriginal groups in Canada and it is incorrect to identify all Aboriginals as being the same. Because of their history in Canada and their treatment in society their identities socially organize them in a way that is separate from many Canadians in that they have experiences that we should aim to learn about and understand. In class we watched a video on Aboriginal students speaking about their experience in classrooms where other students made comments that deeply offended them. The comments made by the other students were ignorant in that they assumed Aboriginals to all have the same stereotypical identities and this is unfair and I believe that education is fundamental in taking care of this problem. As Aboriginal peoples have a certain identity, this identity can be sometimes misunderstood by other Canadians.

            Identity is fundamental for Canadian society because there are so many diverse groups of individuals, whether is be based on race, sex, gender, or social group. Canadian citizens deserve to be able to identify themselves however they feel, and these identities cannot be generalized or discriminated against. Ladner puts it perfectly: “We must come to a new understanding of the role of non-state actors...in sustaining our agenda, in protecting the people..., in educating others, in inspiring hope and creating change."

Works Cited

1.      Bannerji, Himani (2000). The Dark Side of the Nation: Essays on Multiculturalism,

      Nationalism and Gender (pp.63-86). Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press.

2.      Cannon, Martin (1998). The Regulation of First Nations Sexuality. Canadian

Journal of Native Studies, 18(1), 1-18.

3.      Ladner, Kiera (2010). From Little Things…. In Leanne Simpson & Kiera Ladner

(Eds.), This is an Honour Song: Twenty Years Since the Blockades (pp.299-314).

Winnipeg: Arbeiter Ring.

4.      Nelson, Adie and Barrie W. Robinson. (2002). Gender in Canada (pp.1-21). Toronto:

Pearson Education.