The Storying of Identity

Naomi Klein has said of current challenges to storying and identity in a recent, shared zoom, "It's a big deal to take away the stories that make up the Self." When foundational collective or personal myths are challenged, some may become enraged, some fall into despair, but others can and must learn to create new stories about ourselves and the world around us. This was the life's work of social worker/therapist Michael White, the founder of his school of Narrative Therapy. In his concept of the "re-authoring of identity," persons can learn to deconstruct the harmful stories and myths that have hindered them, to then reconstruct new ones. These are created not merely out of thin air, but from some of the raw materials of the prior tales, or others, intuitively or consciously, for new tellings that fit the lived reality and longings of persons seeking belonging, release and healing.

What are the stories of your identity? Individually, collectively, personally, familially, past and present? What do these stories bring you - belonging or a longing to belong, solidity or solidarity, anger or insight, vengeance or joy? What stories do you pass on to your loved people, your children, friends, students, colleagues, communities? Have you ever questioned a story of your personal or collective identity?

Founding myths are one form of collective storying for group identity that give many the binding force for their culture, religious tradition, beliefs, club, or favourite past time. Founding myths are present in all religious and cultural traditions. What are some of yours? For instance, many in the US see the "Founding fathers" of the early United States as Christian, white, male, heterosexual and monogamous. Not many of these men were all of these at once, with many being Deists, Rosicrucians, Quakers, and other non-traditionally religious/philosophical sophisticates. Most of them were also slave-holding, adulterously fathering mixed race children, and extremely wealthy, hardly of hard working peasant stock. Their originating writings precluded women, children, other races, and the non-propertied. The uncontested accumulation of collective, false myths around these figures has led to currently revitalized forms of white supremacy, Christian nationalism, justification for land and resource theft, and patriarchal relegation of women to inequality with men.

Foundational myths are also present in many families and groups that can bring strength through belonging in facing hostile natural or social environments. For instance, many groups that have suffered historical persecution incorporate this into their larger story as if in preparedness for the next round of injustice, "We have always been hunted," or "We have always stood together against the oppressor," or "We have always faced life through death in our warrior society." Can any of these stories change through time if a group realizes other sides to their narrative? For instance, have we ever done the hunting, or have we ever been an oppressor? Even the originating mythos of the Book of Genesis of "man" being given dominion over the natural world has turned responsible stewardship of creation into the domination of the Latin term for the Lordship of God - Dominus. It does not account for the medieval English root of the term "lord" as "leved - loaf warden" - the morally responsible provider of equal sustenance for all in the feudal estate.

The self-storying of individuals is one of the main foci of therapy. Can individual stories ever be changed, flipped, over-turned or tuned to fit what a person now needs and wants?

For instance, growing up female in many cultures is considered second class politically, economically detrimental for a family, inherently morally flawed in many religions, or largely potential for social or sexual exploiting at the whim of others. When these stories are challenged by differing understandings of female strength via endurance, flexibility, tenacity, mental and physical agility for female empowerment and equality, society changes. Or, an individual story of being a repeat "loser" - socially, economically, romantically - can be challenged by realizing the strength in enduring, in adapting, in faithfulness to oneself, ones beliefs, ones community, and in resilience by rising after a defeat through willingness to try again, or to love, perhaps more wisely, rather than hate.

What stories are you currently living? What stories do you wish to live? What can you create to do this? Therapists may help you to re-story your life and sometimes your very identity.