When thinking of an individual’s personal identity one does not often think of someone having multiple identities. However, one individual person may be looked at differently by different individuals. That is not to say a person has multiple identities simply there is a context to which we judge, understand and identify with another individual. These contexts as Alexander describes are, “the ways in which one reads another individual’s presumed race, ethnicity, nationality, or other categories of identification are dependent on where one encounters that individual –in a university classroom, a conference room, or a five-star restaurant, for example – and the reading is further influenced by that individual’s position within the place. Is he or she seated behind a desk or standing behind the podium… (Alexander, 3). In many ways, the lenses in which one views another individual’s personality is simply an interpretation. The level to which one performs “whiteness” creates how one will interpret another person’s whiteness (Alexander 20-21). This interpretation is based on the context in which you meet the other individual but I would also argue that it is based off your own personal context. One’s position in society affects how they view another individual’s position—these positions are less fluid and it is here that stigmas exist. One’s “permanent” position in society is what allows them to feel that they can exploit, mistreat and over work the employees mentioned in Alexander’s piece.

Thinking of identity as an interpretation of many people helps me better understand cultural divides. Every person has a person context which affects how they view others. I found this piece obvious, but so much so that the aspects of identity fluidity mentioned were not ones I thought about deeply enough because I just took them for granted.