What Are Identity Politics? What You Need to Know?

Identity politics seeks to advance the agenda of a given group, which may be gender based or racially defined. In the case of racially defined identity politics, the drive extends beyond hatred towards other races, to delineating their distinctiveness and preserving their power. On the other hand, gender identity takes a more functional approach as it requires continual portrayal of the professed gender. It extends beyond male/female constructs and into the roles played in each category. Typically, the complementing aspect between male and female manifests through social movements and other areas on a constant basis. Historically, the identity of a homosexual or a heterosexual focused on their roles. As a result, heterosexual males opposed to homosexuality consider it an infringement on their masculinity which is a core component of being male. As pointed out in the readings, masculinity in the white race context is something to be constantly proven in the most obvious of ways. It involves taking care of their female counterparts and providing for the family. Consequently, they tend to despise men from other races who let the women assume the major responsibilities within the family institution. 

The premise of having gender and racial identities founded in nature provide an assumption of what is normal and what is irregular. This assumption explains the position of gender and race as having a natural basis whose interruption results in vast social problems experienced in present times. That restoring this natural order fundamentally eliminates the social problems such as terrorism and other evils ailing society. The inclination towards ethnicity seems to stem from the intricate factors within a race that separates it from other ethnic groups. For instance, whites find a strong connection between masculinity and femininity, where the specific relationship between the two denotes the white race supremacy. That the importance of racial and gender distinctions arises from the ability to have a form of social order that places everyone in a certain rank within the social structure. In effect, it shows the American culture as strongly founded on a system of hierarchy and roles.