Notion of the subject - Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak

Résumé du document

"A subject position is a hard place, we cannot read it ourselves; we are given over to others even as we make inevitable public attempts to read our subject position" (Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak). Discussion of the complexities of Spivak's notion of the subject in the context of race and/ class and/or gender and/or sexuality and/or nationality is relevant. The question "who am I?" seems to be of important concern for individuals. They need to understand who they are, and know what their identity is. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, "identity" comes from "idem" (meaning "the same"). It comprises two basic meanings: a concept of absolute sameness and a concept of distinctiveness. Similarly, identity allows us to situate ourselves in the world in which we live. It allows us to find our position in the society, which gives us the landmarks we need to get ahead. The subject's identity could be defined as the whole of its characteristics. It is different from its personality and its roles, and can include elements such as nationality, race, class, gender, sexuality, and so on.

Extraits

[...] We could, in this regard, quote the example of the construction of the Black identity in America. Black people are not only given they are they are also connected to a sub-Saharan African origin, an ancestral past of slavery, and so on. Being a woman is connected to a lot of meanings, and being French, Spanish or English as well. The society does not only give us boxes, it also tells us what being in a box means. Thus, individuals rely on the society to read their identity. [...]

[...] Moreover, their attitude of takes apart the process of being aware of who we are. Finally, the others also play an important role in the way in which we read our identity in the fact that the manner they have to perceive us has an influence on how we read our identity. However, this reliance on the others can be problematic for the individuals. If the society does not have a for them and cannot classify them in an identity, individuals can feel lost. [...]

[...] Like this, it is complicated for the subjects to read their identity. Thus, Spivak's notion of the subject's non-autonomy concerning the reading of their identity leads to some problems for the individuals. But is this absence of autonomy absolute? If the others allow us to understand our identity, the individuals still have the possibility to think of their position in a different way. The others have an influence, but it can happen that the way in which they see us does not correspond to the reality. [...]

[...] He felt lost, somewhere between the two sides, without landmarks. Thus, the individual who has to find his place without the others has difficulties and feel lost. Moreover, it is difficult to read our identity, because we have a multitude of positions according to the different others identities. We said earlier that our way of reading our identity depends of how the others perceive it. The problem is that this depends on their own position, and that it exist different manners of perceiving our identity. [...]

[...] Thus, rejection from the others leads the subject to read its position. Eventually, we depend on others to read our identity in the way that our identity is not independent of the way in which they perceive us[12]. The manner in which the others see us has an influence on what we think we are, on how we read our identity. “Other don't just perceive our identity, they actively constitute it. And they do so not only in terms of naming or categorising, but in term of how they respond and treat For example, being a gay male in a rural northern village or in central London is not the same for the individual, and he will not read his identity in the same way. [...]