MrCapitalism Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 'What I Be' Project Reveals People's Darkest Insecurities In Stunning Photos (HuffPo) Photographer Steve Rosenfield recently asked subjects far and wide to complete the following statement: "I am not my ___ " He prompted individuals to fill in the blank with their deepest and darkest insecurities, moving people to bring issues regarding body image, substance abuse, mental illness, race and sexuality to the forefront. "I am not my gender." "I am not my amputation." "I am not my turban." "I am not my bulimia." "I am not my molestation." "I am not my number." "I am not my abortion." "I am not my adoption." "I am not my character." "I am not my thoughts." "I am not my body image." "I am not my guilt." Okay, some of these people have been dealt a bad hand and are behing held responsible for it.. I get that.But seriously? "I am not my abortion" "I am not my charachter" "I am not my thoughts"Then what are you?Someone posted this as some sort of deep statement of truth, and it's created as such. It's very PoMo for people to pretend to describe who they are by telling others who they aren't and expecting them to fill in the rest. How about the libertarian response...where people don't take responsiblity for the things which they have no control, and take responsibility for the things they do control.Seriously? "I am not my abortion." Then who is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanceD Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 I'm looking at the piece you linked and was trying to consider your words about it, then suddenly I was struck by the "I am not my bulimia" picture. I swear to freakin god that is my ex girlfriend Meagan. Then I forgot everything I was thinking and totally lost focus on what I was doing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Beal Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 It seems to me that if someone is not their character, then for me to criticize their character or their thoughts or their abortion, they should not take it personally, right? Maybe if it's an insecurity, then it has something to do with your identity. That would sort of make sense to me, anyway. I really dislike the Huffington Post and PoMo. I would say that the photos did have an impact on me though. A strange mild horror. Not sure that was the effect the photographer was going for... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrCapitalism Posted January 10, 2014 Author Share Posted January 10, 2014 I'm looking at the piece you linked and was trying to consider your words about it, then suddenly I was struck by the "I am not my bulimia" picture. I swear to freakin god that is my ex girlfriend Meagan. Then I forgot everything I was thinking and totally lost focus on what I was doing Interesting enough, this was shared by a woman who I dated many years ago (in highschool) was a cutter and anorexic. Your reaction isn't suprising to me, that's most likely why she chose this article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lians Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 But seriously? "I am not my abortion" "I am not my charachter" "I am not my thoughts" Then what are you? If they were honest with themselves, they'd probably answer your question with the following: "I am my projections." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsayers Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 It seems to me that if someone is not their character, then for me to criticize their character or their thoughts or their abortion, they should not take it personally, right? Maybe if it's an insecurity, then it has something to do with your identity. Fantastic point. To add to that: Why was each person chosen for each picture? Was not the amputee chosen because of his amputation? What better way to say "this characteristic is not my identity" than to allow yourself to be identified solely by that characteristic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ashesmi Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 'What I Be' Project Reveals People's Darkest Insecurities In Stunning Photos (HuffPo) Okay, some of these people have been dealt a bad hand and are behing held responsible for it.. I get that.But seriously? "I am not my abortion" "I am not my charachter" "I am not my thoughts"Then what are you?Someone posted this as some sort of deep statement of truth, and it's created as such. It's very PoMo for people to pretend to describe who they are by telling others who they aren't and expecting them to fill in the rest. How about the libertarian response...where people don't take responsiblity for the things which they have no control, and take responsibility for the things they do control.Seriously? "I am not my abortion." Then who is? Can I add one? I am not my Creator what is my Creator then if I am not it? Anyone have any insights? Did I somehow create Myself? I don't know just having fun with thinking till I pick up my Blue Pills at the Hospital and STOP THINKING! Can't wait Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sauce Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 I would say that about half of these are what I would consider "true". The ones you cant actually control, such as the molestation, adoption, gender, etc. You know.. things you don't have a choice in. My problem lies with what they did have a choice in but are now not owning up to it, such as body image, thoughts, character, abortion, etc. These people who posted this are just putting up a wall to hide themselves, from there true selves. These people are the "it aint my fault crowd" when actually it was there fault. People are trying to push blame away from themselves, When they could have choose to make the right choice. By them posting this, you can tell that they have determinist position on how life works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepin Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Does anyone else get the hint of the "un-corrupted soul" argument in regard to the negative aspects that one can control such as "I am not my own character"? I feel as there is a large amount of internal dissociation occurring which delineates a strong line between the internal and the external. The voices well upside with evidence and conclusion, to which they must cut ties from. The artist intends this to be about societal labels people project upon themselves and dealing with identification and the internalization involved. This is most clear with the "I am not my amputation" as he has a belief that people identify him with his amputation, and like those labeled with mental illness, he may of begun to think of himself as an amputee. The message is hopeful in that it rejects the label. The concept reflects truth in some of these, yet it ventures to a whole other territory with the others "I am not my turban" is quite disappointing because the act of wearing a turban is a conscious act to indicate who you are. It is just the same for a Christian to wear a cross, they are publicizing part of their self because they want to be labeled by it. The societal message conveyed, that all Muslims or people who wear turbans are terrorists, is blatant liberal message and not very interesting. It becomes "look at the plight of the irrational suffered by the irrational" as opposed to intended "look at the plight of one who wishes to exercise their religion in peace by the irrational". "I am not my bulimia" is a dangerous argument because it denies self-responsibility when self-responsibility is the only solution. This sort of dissociation is wretched. I am fully willing to agree with the argument that it was inflicted on her and that she was not the ultimate cause, yet this is not argument being conveyed, it is rather a detachment. "I am not my abortion" is horrifying in so many respects in that the lady is not identifying herself with her actions, and recognizes a societal label of "murderer". This label is similar to the man who was adopted as it is something that a person can't know by just looking at their face, yet the inner turmoil is in their unconscious thoughts projected onto society as a whole. The weight of considering herself to be a murderer that she disowns herself. I think the most effective one was the "I am not my guilt", with the societal label of "warrior" printed over the pre-frontal cortex. The society praises the man for his crimes in war, yet a guilt still rises up in him. Detaching, he rejects his guilt and takes the label people have made for him. The base argument is somewhat reversed in this as the perceived societal label is accepted as the contents of his soul spill out to form the logical equivalent of "I am not who I am'. I felt anger looking at some of these pictures. I might be wrong about the interpretation I am drawing from it, but I feel not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnus Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 I'm not sure I ever fully understood the concept of identity in the first place. I understand it in a superficial, intellectual way -- that it consists of some set of beliefs, traits, behaviors, etc. And that the ones that are the most stable and deeply held are part of one's identity (as opposed to more transient or malleable ones). But I've never been able to put my finger on exactly what identity consists of, or how one meaningfully distinguishes between these core beliefs/traits and the more marginal, malleable ones. I'm very different from the way I acted just 10 years ago , and even more radically different than 20 or 30 years ago. I can describe my personality (or those of others) according to various metrics (Jungian, Big Five , archetypal patterns, etc.). But I've also seen these traits change wildly over time and in response to different situations. I have a theory that all Western fiction is ultimately an exercise in identity change -- i.e., character transformation. All of the story patterns and plots and tropes are organized around this idea called "identity" and how it's expressed and changeable. I believe I understand identity in the context of writing fiction, since characters are just simplistic versions of people. But when it comes to real people, especially anyone with any substantial depth or intelligence or social awareness, I have never felt that identity is something I understand at all. Then again, my weak sense of identity could itself be part of my identity. In which case, I wouldn't be able to see it because of the paradox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeonicentity Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 apparently 'I am not my reality' got skipped. Also, very shitty website. Brought to you by ObamaCare ©®™ <3! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeonicentity Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 But I've never been able to put my finger on exactly what identity consists of, or how one meaningfully distinguishes between these core beliefs/traits and the more marginal, malleable ones. why do you feel that your "Marginal, malleable" traits are somehow less important than your core beliefs? In fact, why do you feel that these traits contribute to you 'less' than others? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
minorthreat412 Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 I think the message they're trying to display is that people aren't monolithic and labels are bad. Which I agree with. I don't understand the problem. I think the message might be directed towards people like yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsayers Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Labels are bad as in they boil a complex individual down to a single concept, which is incomprehensive. However, this doesn't mean that somebody isn't responsible for their actions, which the campaign could easily be interpreted as. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnus Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 why do you feel that your "Marginal, malleable" traits are somehow less important than your core beliefs? In fact, why do you feel that these traits contribute to you 'less' than others?I guess meant that, in my experience, I have a certain range of thought and opinion and behavior that changes constantly, depending on what I am reading or doing or thinking about, and some parts that change more slowly. Some days I'm contemplative and genial, and some I'm prone to being confrontational. An identity (as I understand it) is a shorthand way of summarizing a person's typical thought patterns and behavior. The parts that change daily or hourly in response to external situations are difficult to summarize in a meaningful way. The parts of a person that change very little or only very slowly would be more meaningfully encapsulated in a short assessment of personality. A model of reality can never fully represent reality. The map is not the territory. All models ignore some portion of the original data. But a good model condenses the vast body of unwieldy data into something manageable. Jung, for example, believed that there were three dimensions of personality that mattered most. They could vary at certain times and under various conditions, but he believed these three factors were generally stable over long periods or even a lifetime. Prevailing psychological theory today posits that there are five core traits, similar in some ways to Jung's three. Other personality factors exist, of course, but are less influential across time, or over a broad range of ordinary situations. So they say. I just mean that when one attempts to generalize, it only makes sense to focus on the data points that best cohere into a discernible pattern. Otherwise, personality is random--a structure we impose on the collection of moments of our lives rather than arising naturally from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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