Americans Are Shifting the Rest of Their Identity to Match Their Politics

fivethirtyeight.com

17 points·jeffmcmahan··5 comments

This is not a new observation. Robert Putnam wrote about this in his book American Grace [0]. We saw this in the 70's and 80's with the rise of the Moral/Religious Right. Church attendances, especially in newer, Evangelical churches grew. This demographic/identity shift was essentially a reaction against the major social movements of the Sixties - civil rights, women's lib, and the youth movements.

[0] https://books.google.com/books?id=cKmXDES703wC

When the author says someone "stops identifying as X", I have to wonder what exactly that means. Does it mean they no longer wish to emphasize that piece of their identity? Did their actual beliefs change? Or are they simply hiding those pieces of themselves? The answers (and implications) are fascinating.

It's probably different for each person; "identifying as" is a subjective, self-reported marker. That said, I'm sure at one point you tried out being "punk" or "preppy" or whatever label you were attracted to as a kid. At some point it just sort of... stopped being you. Did all of the factors that made you feel like you belonged to that group disappear? No, some were useful in your general personality. But you stopped calling yourself "punk".

>That said, I'm sure at one point you tried out being "punk" or "preppy" or whatever label you were attracted to as a kid.

No, I literally never labeled myself like that. It felt too one-dimensional and restrictive. I still have a hard time understanding why people feel the need to do such things.

r/iamverysmart material there.

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