Identity is socially constructed in contemporary American society, it's important to establish the clear meaning for constructionism to understand it. Identity is constructed through social, political, legal, scientific, and other practices. From this traditional perspective, differences and stereotypes among people are created through social processes. Identity is a very important part of today's society. For example, in the school environment, if we humanize the students to find common threads that bind us together, and respect the differences in each of our cultures, students will feel empowered to continue exploring their own identities and weave it on. Traditional notions of identity are explained in depth in Jorge Duany's article entitled, "On Borders and Boundaries: Contemporary Thinking in Cultural Identity." He talks about the intense ideological and emotional overtones of the question of national identity in Puerto Rico and elsewhere. In the reading there is a quote that talks about identity being derived from history, culture, and language. This is what is thought to be the traditional way of seeing identity. Identities are constructed in a certain formation rather than fixed from birth or through an individual's life cycle. This notion is challenged, and I believe that "structuralist thinkers view the construction of cultural identities as a process of erecting symbolic boundaries and narrating stories to represent the self and the other." A perfect illustration of identity as a social construction is with the artist Shakira. She just crossed over into mainstream American entertainment, this is a business where you have to look a certain way all the time and act a certain way. There are many people that will argue that they preferred Shakira when she just sang in Spanish and had her dark hair with red streaks. Now that she crossed into the mainstream, her image has changed completely; she is the depiction of an American artist with her blonde hair and trendy outfits.
