Madras on Rainy Days by Samina Ali encompasses the battle between tradition and modernity. Layla seems to embody clashing identities that align only partially with what other people expect of her.
Although Layla’s different “identities” seem to be in discord, I believe that this idea that a person’s identities can clash is actually harmful. This idea implies that a person must either accept one identity and forget the others or attempt to find some “middle ground” between their identities in order to feel good about themselves or be accepted by others. This implication is harmful for a few significant reasons.
First, it alienates people. People tend to isolate others because of their differences, and people only include others if there is similarity.
Second, it forces people to conform to “standards” in order to be accepted.
Third, it actually takes away a sense of unique identity and replaces it with an “identity” based on similarity to others. To me, a person’s unique identity is a composition of all of their traits (or “identities”), tendencies, and feelings. A unique identity is boundless in that two characteristics that may seem to clash can exist within one person without creating any kind of tension until this tension is created by external forces.
Finally, because people’s identities are based on similarity to others, other parts of their unique identity are not recognized by others, which can be emotionally painful.
In these ways, a person’s unique identity can be separated into two parts: the parts that are recognized and included by a certain group, and the parts that may seem strange or conflicting to the group. As a person interacts with different groups, different parts of this person’s identity will be highlighted and other parts will be forgotten or shamed. Thus, at any time, a person’s identity is comprised of both “real” components (those which are recognized and included) and “imaginary” components (those which may seem strange or conflicting). To illustrate this, I have sketched my representation of “identity.” This embodiment has both “real” parts (the parts that appear human) and “imaginary” parts (the parts such as the wings, scales, and horns). I titled this sketch “My identity is taboo”