3.2 Activity: Personal and Social Identity Wheels

Complete the activities below by downloading and printing this activity file Links to an external site.
(developed by the American Association of University Women for its Diversity and Inclusion Toolkit Links to an external site.).

 

Personal Identity Wheel

The Personal Identity Wheel encourages us to reflect on how we identify specifically outside of social identifiers. 

Fill out the worksheet by listing adjectives you would use to describe yourself, skills you have, favourite books, hobbies, etc.

 

Social Identity Wheel

The Social Identity Wheel encourages us to reflect on the various ways we identify socially, how those identities become visible or more keenly felt at different times, and how those identities impact the ways others perceive or treat us.

Fill out the worksheet by listing various social identities (e.g., along the lines of religion, race, gender, sex, ability dis/ability, sexual orientation, etc.) and further categorize those identities based on which matter most in our self-perception and which matter most in others’ perception of us. 

 

Exploring the Complexity of Identities

Using the Social Identity Wheel in conjunction with the Personal Identity Wheel encourages us to reflect on the relationships and dissonances between our personal and social identities. 

Consider the following as you reflect upon the identity wheels you just completed.

Reflect on your Identities

Which of your identities are... Identities that you think of most often? Identities that are less apparent in your day-to-day life? Identities that are most critical to your personal sense of yourself? Identities that most affect how others perceive you (positively or negatively)? Identities that have the most effect on how you perceive others? Identities that face the most marginalization in your community?

You may have realized some aspects of our identities can’t be hidden, and some can’t be changed. This is especially important when considering which aspects of our identities are more valued in our communities and which aspects are socially more marginalized. As people with many social identities, we sometimes find ourselves as members of dominant, more powerful groups and sometimes as members of groups that are more marginalized; these experiences of dominance and marginalization can also occur simultaneously.