identity conflict
Battling inner selves
Identity conflict is the tension that arises when different aspects of who you are pull in opposing directions.
A person may experience identity conflict between religious beliefs and sexual orientation, between cultural heritage and adopted country, or between professional role and personal values: She felt an identity conflict between her conservative upbringing and her progressive politics.
The term also describes clashes between groups over competing collective identities—ethnic, national, or religious—where each side's sense of who they are is perceived as threatened by the other.
- who am ISelf-identification question
- self-doubtUncertainty about oneself
- acculturationAdopting another group's customs
- name changeModifying one's designation
- reclaimingTaking possession again
double consciousness · third culture kid · cognitive dissonance · self-concept · group dynamics · alienation · marginalization · inner turmoil · where are you really from · shame · passing · multiculturalism · code-switching · impostor syndrome · sense of belonging · belief systems · cultural appropriation · existential crisis
- Colonial LiteratureHeart of Darkness, Kim, The Jungle Book, King Solomon's Mines, Robinson Crusoe
- immigrationimmigrant, immigrants, visa, refugee, citizenship
- diasporaAfrican diaspora, exiles, Irish diaspora, emigrants, Jewish diaspora
- immigrant educationrefugee students, bilingual education, migrant children, language barriers, immigrant families
- Prejudiceprejudice, bigotry, intolerance, racism, sexism
- social critiquesocial injustice, inequality, expose, muckraking, polemic
identity conflictself-assurance
Confidence in one's abilities
self-acceptance · self-integration · inner peace · self-knowledge · inner harmony
identity conflictcultural harmony
Societies blending diverse traditions peacefully
group cohesion · cultural integration · social integration · assimilation · belonging