Identity – who you are, how you define yourself, how you understand yourself in relation to others.

Identity formation is fascinating.  It’s the stuff of teen angst, midlife crises, and classic novels.  Tracking your progress from one point in life to another, and trying to understand how you got from point A to point B can be quite an undertaking.

Identity formation is also an important concept in psychology.  However, the study of identity formation goes beyond Freud’s psychosexual stages and id, ego, and superego.  Recently research in identity formation has examined racial and cultural identity formation in ethnic and sexual minorities.  Less attention has been paid to the identity formation of women, but interestingly, a feminist identity theory has been developed.

So, without further ado, here are the stages of feminist identity development (McNamara & Rickard, 1998):

1. Passive acceptance – Yes, we’ve all been here, and some of us might stay here, ignorantly blissful, for the rest of our lives.  This is the stage of accepting traditional gender roles, seeing them as advantageous, and considering men to be superior to women.  Individuals in this stage are unaware of or deny discrimination based on gender, and male contributions to the arts, business, and theater are valued more than the contributions of women.
2. Revelation – Somewhere along the line an event involving sexism occurs in a way that cannot be denied or ignored.  The individual has a personal experience of prejudice and becomes angry, and may feel guilty about being unaware previously.  An intense self-examination occurs, and dichotomous (black-and-white) thinking develops; all men are seen as oppressors and all women are seen in a positive light.
3. Embeddedness-emanation – The individual beings to form close relationships with other feminists.  With their help, the individual is able to express emotions in a supportive environment.  The feminist identity is becoming solidified, and the individual begins to understand the gray areas rather than black-and-white thinking regarding males.
4. Synthesis – A positive feminist identity is fully developed.  Sexism is no longer considered the sole cause of all social and personal problems, and other factors are considered.  The individual can take a stance different from other feminists and still maintain a strong feminist identity.
5. Active commitment – The individual is now interested in turning attention and energies toward making further reaching, societal changes.

Can you see yourself in these stages?  Do you think this model applies only to women, or can men develop a feminist identity as well?  Does this model apply to all women, or only some?