2008 Woodie Awards
Dichotomous identity politics can be overcome
Issue date: 3/11/08 Section: OpEd Page
We, as the voting public, are in the midst of unprecedented political circumstances. The Democratic nominees who have survived to the final round of the primary process are both perceived to represent a different superficial constituency to which they have been attributed membership solely on the basis of their respective physical and perceived identities. It should come as no surprise that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has lobbied heavily with the African-American voting bloc while Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) has relied solidly on women voters.
We can be surprised, however, with the consequences of this lobbying as election statistics have shown a significant surge in political participation from groups that generally demonstrate a hesitance to vote. People often hesitate to vote because the issues important to them are not at stake or the candidates to choose from are those that a voter cannot identify with. Voter's superficial identification with the Democratic nominees-whatever other ramifications it might hold-has inspired generally hesitant groups to participate in the democratic process.
It is an unavoidable truth that voters often correlate the superficial characteristics of candidates with proposed policies. The racial and gender identities represented by the Democratic Party's candidates have gained support from those who believe they have finally found a representative as well as a voice for their respective group. This phenomenon long seen in the democratic process is called identity politics-a theory that assumes a causal relationship between an individual's physical or biological features and the intellectual, moral and emotional attributes they can be predicted to exhibit.
The theory and practice of identity politics asserts that an individual's voting habits are determined solely on the basis of which candidate they most identify with superficially. As such, the theory has often been charged with inspiring separatism with many scholars claiming that identity politics leads to assumptions derived from stereotypes about voting patterns. Identity politics is also often charged with disregard for policy and rhetoric in favor of more superficial traits. In this election, traditional character determinants such as past professions or voting records have been replaced by such superficial physical traits for most voters. Condemning identity politics on the basis of essentialist assumptions may be hasty, but given the consequences of identity politics in the current election it seems more valuable to consider the possible benefits of identity politics.
We can be surprised, however, with the consequences of this lobbying as election statistics have shown a significant surge in political participation from groups that generally demonstrate a hesitance to vote. People often hesitate to vote because the issues important to them are not at stake or the candidates to choose from are those that a voter cannot identify with. Voter's superficial identification with the Democratic nominees-whatever other ramifications it might hold-has inspired generally hesitant groups to participate in the democratic process.
It is an unavoidable truth that voters often correlate the superficial characteristics of candidates with proposed policies. The racial and gender identities represented by the Democratic Party's candidates have gained support from those who believe they have finally found a representative as well as a voice for their respective group. This phenomenon long seen in the democratic process is called identity politics-a theory that assumes a causal relationship between an individual's physical or biological features and the intellectual, moral and emotional attributes they can be predicted to exhibit.
The theory and practice of identity politics asserts that an individual's voting habits are determined solely on the basis of which candidate they most identify with superficially. As such, the theory has often been charged with inspiring separatism with many scholars claiming that identity politics leads to assumptions derived from stereotypes about voting patterns. Identity politics is also often charged with disregard for policy and rhetoric in favor of more superficial traits. In this election, traditional character determinants such as past professions or voting records have been replaced by such superficial physical traits for most voters. Condemning identity politics on the basis of essentialist assumptions may be hasty, but given the consequences of identity politics in the current election it seems more valuable to consider the possible benefits of identity politics.
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