Identity and Belonging in Sociology

This article discusses the importance of identity and belonging in contemporary society, focusing on the LGBTI community. It explores the unique aspects of the group, the issues they face in terms of identity and belonging, and how social resources can assist in developing a stronger sense of identity and belonging. The article provides insights and analysis based on research and scholarly references.

Sociology
Identity and belonging
Name
Institution
Professor
Course
Date

Sociology
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Why identity and belonging are so significant to contemporary social life 2
Unique aspects of chosen groups’ 3
Issues facing the group with respect to identity and belonging 4
How social resources may assist the chosen group in developing a stronger sense of identity
and/or belonging 5
Conclusion 6

Sociology
Introduction
Generally, identity and belonging involve the description of who or what a person is in an
organization. Therefore, identity and belonging involve the existing self-representation of
personal interest, relationships and various social activities (Anderson, 2010, p.88). People's
sense of identity and belonging is usually affected by several factors as indicated in the book.
Why identity and belonging is so significant to contemporary social life
Identity and belonging is quite an important aspect of contemporary society. This is
because it helps in the maintenance of a particular cultural practice of a community. In addition,
it is involved in the sharing of values, personal confidence, appreciation of one's physical
aspects, personal behavior realization and cultural norms in which the contemporary society
depicts. Identity and belonging is also significant since it ensures solidarity in a particular group.
This provides a psychological link with other members of a certain group and also it shows the
commitment of the group to its activities (Rogaly & Taylor, 2016 p.56). Conversely, identity and
belonging is also important since it makes the groups in society to be sensitive to existing
problems. Through this analogy, the group will be in the position to make decisions appropriate
for the problems. Research shows that identity and belonging enables one to put the group on
the first line before personal interests thus meeting the objectives of the group. According to
different researchers, identity and belonging is vital since it ensures the creation of diversity in
contemporary society. Identity and belonging, therefore, involves a combination of various forms
of traits and the perceptions towards someone.
Unique aspects of chosen groups'

Sociology
The chosen group is LGBTI community which comprises lesbians, gays, bisexuals and
transgender organizations or subcultures in the cultural domain which are mainly bounded by
cultural aspects and various social movements. This group has the aspects of personal pride,
diversity, aspects of individuality and sexuality in society.
The group portrays demographic, social and psychological unique nature in the belonging and
identity. The individuals in the group strongly identify themselves with different traits and are
characterized by the nature of accepting physical conditions without fear of victimization in
contemporary society (Anthias, 2016 p.77).
According to Phelps (2016) the LGBTI community is socially intelligent, courageous,
empathetic, creative and uniquely resilient. In order to be part of the LGBTI community one
needs to have a unique social identity and belonging trait. Understanding the norms and values of
a certain society will determine the issue of identity and belonging (Spaaij, 2012 p.100). The
LGBTI community needs to have a strong sense of belonging in order to be able to cope with
stressful aspects such as stereotypical issues, prejudice and gender discrimination. According to
Huppatz, Hawkins and Matthews (2016), LGBTI groups needs to conform to various issues in
the social class in order to be able to interact and actively engage with the society (p.37). This
prompts the community to form movements that will aim at creating social awareness so that
people can clearly understand the group.
Issues facing this group with respect to identity and belonging
The LGBTI do face a lot of issues based on the concept of identity and belonging. The
first issue faced by LGBTI group is the concept of gender, sexuality, and age which have been
identified as components of identity and belonging (Huppatz, Hawkins & Matthews, 2016 p.67).

Sociology
These issues affect the group's practices and relationships within the group. The other issue
facing the LGBTI group based on identity and belonging is sexuality whereby the social space
fully demonstrated how the construction of homosexuality has been mobilized by different
entities surrounding the group. The last issue affecting LGBTI group is the perspective of the
identity based on the sociology of religion. In the modern world, some religions are experiencing
a decline in membership thus joining other groups.
How social resources may assist the chosen group in developing a stronger sense of identity
and/or belonging
From the book, the authors try to elaborate on the issue of leisure, consumer goods and
belonging thus proving how the LGBTI can use social resources to support their character of
identity and belonging.
In chapter 12 Mathews tends to highlight how access to social resources helps a certain group to
have a strong identity and belonging traits. Mathews work at this level educates the group on
how the relationship between leisure and work can induce the concept of identity and belonging.
The author here argues that following leisure activity will lead to doing those activities which are
chosen free by the group. Therefore, Mathew at this level advocates for leisure whereby he
argues that leisure will enhance the selfhood of a group thus inducing the issue of identity and
belonging (Gummadam, Pittman & Ioffe, 2016 p.56). In simple words, Mathews indicated that
leisure is an implication of belonging and therefore it always aims at inducing the issue of
cohesion which can help our group LGBTI to strengthen its identity and belonging traits within
the society.

Sociology
The other concept which outlines how access to social resources may strengthen the group is the
concept of consumption practices and introduction to new early theorizing issues within the
group. The issue here is that the author has tried to explain how a certain group in our case can
depend on the styles of past and present thus demonstrating the willingness to conform to
identity and belonging (Bennett, 2018 p.289). Through this, it means coming up with a symbol
that will make the LGBTI group fully recognized within the society.
In addition, the issue of digital media helps our group to stand for its identity and belonging.
Generally, digital media is the central point for globalization and social integration. Through
media, the group that is LGBTI can develop an identity and belonging aspect by demonstrating
the apt overlap between many sites. This shows that digital media is a social resource that opens
up new pathways for connecting with other people thus driving the sense of identity and
belonging (Bennett, 2018 p.289)
Conclusion
To sum, the book tries to explain how the issue of identity and belonging is vital in
society as seen in LGBTI. The issues facing the group are based on sexuality, gender, and
religion. The concept outlined above tries to educate a group on how to make sense of identity
and belonging using the available sources as revealed in the book.

Sociology
References
Anderson, B. (2010) ’The Nation and the Origins of the National Consciousness’ in Guibernau &
Rex (eds) The Ethnicity Reader. Polity Press: Oxford.
Anthias, F., 2016. Interconnecting boundaries of identity and belonging and hierarchy-making
within transnational mobility studies: Framing inequalities. Current Sociology, 64(2), pp.172-
190.
Bennett, J., 2018. Narrating family histories: Negotiating identity and belonging through tropes
of nostalgia and authenticity. Current Sociology, 66(3), pp.449-465.
Gummadam, P., Pittman, L.D. and Ioffe, M., 2016. School belonging, ethnic identity, and
psychological adjustment among ethnic minority college students. The Journal of Experimental
Education, 84(2), pp.289-306.
Huppatz, K., Hawkins, M. and Matthews, A., 2016. Identity and belonging,2nd edition.
Macmillan International Higher Education.
Phelps, J.M., 2016. International doctoral students’ navigations of identity and belonging in a
globalizing university. International Journal of Doctoral Studies, 11(1), pp.1-14.
Rogaly, B. and Taylor, B., 2016. Moving histories of class and community: Identity, place and
belonging in contemporary England,6(56),145.
Spaaij, R. (2012) Beyond the playing field: Experiences of sport, social capital, and integration
among Somalis in Australia. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 35(9): 1519-1538.