Is identity what we have or what we perform? Some scholars argue that we act out different identities according to situational characteristics; hence identities are performance. Immigrants, for...

Is identity what we have or what we perform? Some scholars argue that we act out different identities according to situational characteristics; hence identities are performance. Immigrants, for example, have to move between heritage and national cultures, and as they do so they take on different identities (e.g., Greek, Greek Australian, Australian). Others argue that the core of our identities remains stable across multiple contexts, although our behaviour may change. Our identities based on some categories, such as ethnicity, race, or physical characteristics associated with race or ethnicity or gender, are often considered stable across different contexts. However, research has found that people from ethnic minority groups can adopt the strategy of passing (e.g., acting white) in order for others to categorize them into the dominant group they would otherwise not belong to. This strategy may be permanent, but it can also change from one situation to another – acting white in public, but reverting to another identity at home with the family. In addition, nowadays people can choose to change hair and skin colour or even biological sex through means like surgery or hormone replacement therapy. Is identity what we have or what we perform? Can we always choose our identity? How can we resist the identities ascribed to us by others?