Diversity is a whirlwind of color through a society. There are no two people in the world that are exactly alike. Individuality distinguishes one person or thing from others (Landau, 364 Ed). A person's environment as a whole: an interaction with others, experiences, and time, makes a collage of traits that distinguishes someone as an individual. David Sibley's theory of the "Ecological Self" or Identity is bound by his determents of social, cultural, and spatial context. Sibley believes that class, race, gender, and nation shapes our identity, it is a single concept that is molded by our experiences from the world. I do not agree with this claim because people are individuals, not a development of their surroundings. Identity is not a single concept, there are many factors that shape it, environment cannot just effect identity.
Sibley is a British sociologist that has dedicated his life to the studies behind the "Ecological Self." Sibley claims that the "Ecological Self" is not internal, it cannot be separated from the physical. "The social positioning of the self me
ans that the boundary between self and other is formed through a series of cultural representations of people and things which frequently elide so that the non-human world also provides a context for selfhood (Sibley, 250)." The "other," that is being spoken of, is also known as the "Generalized Other." This is when we cannot separate from the physical and consider it to be the norm.
The final point made by Sibley was to what extent do individuals alter their identity to conform to social roles. To most, fitting in and being liked is a very important part of life. The way that others look at us is a part of our social standing. Everyone conforms in some way to simply "fit in." College is an excellent example of the way that people conform. This is at a time that many begin to venture out and make decisions on their own. Many college students face the choice of whether or not they would join a fraternity or sorority. On college campuses being part of the in-crowd means that you are in a social organization. Students alter their identities and conform so that they are
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