Each of these photos is a performance of my identity on social media. Consciously or not, I chose to post them online as I felt they represented some part of my identity, or at least the identity that I wanted to perpetuate and perform for my online social profiles. They have many layered contexts regarding how I chose to identify and what I chose to associate with.
Let's start with race. In these photos, I make no attempt to hide my racial origins. At face value, I look like a slightly tanner white guy. My asian heritage, being descended from my Japanese grandfather, is not immediately noticable. It is not especially performed or visibly seen in my everyday performance without being pointed out or elaborated upon. Overall, it is a rather invisible part of my identity. Except for the last photo. The last photo was taken with my Uncle at Savage Race in Kennedyville. My uncle is my mom's brother, and both of them are half Japanese. While I look somewhat asian, he clearly has physical traits more telling of and linked to our shared Japanese heritage. Putting myself next to him and clearly outlining our familial relations in a caption, as well as showing the physically similar traits we share performs my connections to my Japanese heritage, despite being now 3 generations removed.
My socioeconomic status is clearly illustrated in these photos as well. While at first glance they may seem average or unassuming, the second photo is of myself and my girlfriend in Fells Point, Baltimore. Fells Point, while not as well-to-do as the Inner Harbor, is a distinctly well-off and trendy area of the local Baltimore area. My girlfriend is wearing a quirky but well-made necklace, and I am wearing Ray Ban sunglasses. These elements clearly perform an identity of having decent access to resources and social standing, to be able to afford these nice things and feel comfortable in Fells Point, as well as to have the time and energy to spare to waste a day waling around this hip commercial area.
My sexual identity and gender are portrayed very clearly in these photos as well. I'm spending a day with my girlfriend (which would indicate that I am straight) and in all of these photos I am presenting masculinely (although next to my uncle, I'm not sure how masculine I can really look).
In terms of affinity groups, I show several clear ties to interests specific to certain groups. I show clear alliegance to and identification with the Baltimore area, both in the photo in front of Hampden's Baltimore mural and in my photo at Fells Point. Furthermore, I'm wearing a The Wonder Years tshirt in the second photo, identifying with one of my favorite bands and the larger pop-punk community surrounding them. I also (somewhat disingenuously) show affiliation with the Savage Race and the Fitness community in the photo with my uncle. While I myself do go to the gym on a regular basis, I am not a health nut or a fitness expert as it might look like I am trying to identify. I have a connection to the Savage Race as a volunteer worker and as someone with a family member (my uncle) who very regularly competes in mud runs, but I have little connection with the actual race itself.
Overall, I perform a rather distinct cultural identity. With the frequency with which I post photos, and the content of those photos being represented here, I am clearly identifying with and performing a cultural identity of trendy, early 20's millenial. My photos are thoughtful and decently composed, and they place me in trendy places with interesting people, or people that are important to me.
It is interesting to think how these selfies portray or obscure parts of my identity. As I said before, my asian heritage is not often portrayed. It gets lost as I do not chose to emphasize it in my photos, except when with a family member. These selfies also obscure somewhat my true socioeconomic status. While I do have a job and have decent access to resources, my photos portray an individual with spare time and spare cash reserves to visit these trendy, expensive places and participate in this more expensive lifestyle. In reality, I am constantly worried about my financial situation, and that day in Fells Point left me rather strapped for cash. It is very interesting to analyze how the identity I portray on social media with my photos actually lines up with the identity I live out. It is not entirely disingenuous, but it does not fully tell the truth, or the whole story, either.
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