Social psychologists have long been interested in the question of how individuals construct and understand their identities. Through theories, they attempted to explain the interdependence of humans in this process of understanding and construction. Freud explains through his psychoanalysis the relationship between true identity and realized identity, adjusted to the norms and values ​​of society. Henri Tajfel developed social identity theory which argues that individuals understand themselves through group relationships and traditional gender stereotypes and expectations. These stereotypes tend to be prescriptions for how men and women are supposed to behave and look. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Auster and Ohm argue, however, that humans no longer rely on traditional gender norms and stereotypes. They claim that gender boundaries have become less strict and humans are now free to associate with elements of the other sex. Gauntlett agrees with the latter view and argues that the representation of diverse identities and sexualities in media can help an individual understand their identity. These stereotypes and expectations around gender and sexuality play an important role in Alison Bechdel's Fun Home, as it discusses Alison's process of identity construction, and specifically how she came to terms with her queer identity and that of of his father. This article aims to connect the identity theories mentioned above with memoirs to answer the following questions: How are the identities of Alison and her father constructed? And how are they interdependent in this process? First, it is important to consider the difference between sex, gender and sexuality. Sex refers to the biologically given properties by which a person is classified as male or female. Gender is the division made in society, according to biological sex. Gender comes with associated norms of behavior, dress, and stereotypes that are typically masculine or feminine. Finally, sexuality refers to an individual's sexual feelings and attraction toward the same sex, the other sex, or both sexes. These three components are deeply rooted in the human psyche and underpin an individual's identity. Freud was one of many theorists who looked at the human psyche and its composition. The human psyche is a key component of identity, since it determines the behavior of the individual. And behavior represents who an individual is. Freud argued that the human psyche consists of three elements: the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is the instinctive component that motivates behavior. In this component, elements of sexuality and self-preservation are incorporated and therefore influence behavior. The pleasure principle is important in this component. The wishes, that is, the impulses, constituted in the id must be fulfilled for an individual to feel pleasure. The Ego could be considered as a mediator between the instinctive reality, the id, and the external reality, society. The ego controls impulses to keep them realistic within society. Finally, the Superego further controls impulses by incorporating societal norms and values, resulting in an impulse that is not only realistic but also acceptable and ideal. The Superego is a key element in determining a person's behavior because it consists of both consciousness and the ideal self. McLeod argues that "if the self yields todemands of the id, the superego can make the person feel bad because of guilt.” Therefore, an individual's true identity can remain hidden as long as the ego and superego are aware of society's norms and values ​​and use them to control the id. The basis of the human psyche, as described by Freud, is related to the behavior of the individual within the group, as discussed by Tajfel in his theory of social identity. In 1969, Tajfel introduced social identity theory which focuses on an individual's sense of self within a group. It aims to explain how an individual's attitudes and beliefs are influenced by group members. These groups, according to Tajfel, are groups within society and include family, friends, social class, etc. Social identity theory holds that an individual is reflexive. This means that humans can classify themselves in relation to social categories. They recognize certain categories by the way someone performs them. By performance, Stets and Burke mean that men and women are expected to follow distinct gender stereotypes. Someone then plays an identity, or a certain role within society. Behavior traditionally associated with women is for example being emotional, maternal, warm and gentle. Masculinity is traditionally associated with courage, independence and strength. Therefore, to be associated with a particular group in society, someone is expected to demonstrate a certain behavior that matches that of the group. The psyche, as defined by Freud, ensures that individuals conform to these societal norms by mediating between an individual's true identity and their expected identity. Humans are therefore interdependent in the process of constructing their identity and understanding themselves, as they rely largely on societal norms and expectations for behavior. However, social identity theory is outdated and some argue that these patterns of behavior and gender characteristics are established. evolve in modern society. Auster and Ohm argue that the characteristics of masculinity and femininity changed in the 1970s. An important factor in this change is the emancipation of women. This results in women, but also men, “finding themselves in a greater variety of positions and roles, [and] displaying a greater repertoire of behavioral traits.” Gauntlett argues that in the modern Western world, gender has become a mixture of equality and inequality. It also claims that women more often reject traditional ideas about their gender roles and that sexual equality is widely supported. The change in gender roles that we are currently experiencing means that characteristics can even overlap at certain times. In his book Media, Gender and Identity published in 2002, Gauntlett highlights the importance of media in the construction and understanding of identity. Today's media widely represent different images of men, women and sexuality. Gaunlett argues that the models portrayed in the media have changed and that soap operas now depict lesbian and gay characters so that audiences can "get to know" non-traditional identities. Growing tolerance towards the queer community is one of the many positive consequences of this portrayal of gay characters in the media. For new generations, the step of coming out or exercising an identity that does not resemble traditional norms of masculinity or femininity may therefore be less frightening than it was a few years ago.years. Gauntlett asserts that “modern women are generally not concerned with inscribing their identity within the identity of femininity.” It argues that traditional gender norms are associated with the past and that men and women are freer to associate with a gender that crosses these traditional lines. As mentioned previously, gender and sexuality in relation to the construction of identity are central themes in Fun Home. In Fun Home, Alison Bechdel shares her childhood story and how her childhood made her the person she is today. Since the memoir, written by Bechdel, is about herself, the names Alison and Bechdel will be used interchangeably in this article, but will refer to the same person. Through her memoir, Bechdel discusses events from her childhood that were important in her process of self-exploration. She also discusses the people who played an important role in her journey and places particular emphasis on her father's story. The memoir can be understood as a bildungsroman as it discusses the authors' psychological journey of self-exploration. Alison was born into the Bechdel family in the 1960s and she belongs to groups such as middle-class white Americans, teenagers, students, and the queer community. Biologically, she also belongs to the female gender, but as she grows up, she discovers that she does not identify with its stereotypical norms and expectations. The following paragraphs aim to connect the previously discussed theories to the memoirs, to study how Alison and her father construct their identities and how they draw on particular exemplary sources. The character of Alison in Fun Home clearly undergoes the process of comparing and identifying identities, as discussed in Tajfel's social identity theory. As mentioned previously, the theory states that an individual continually compares themselves to categories and patterns of behavior to determine whether or not they identify with them. Alison talks about several people and works she has reflected on in her journey of self-exploration. Her father Bruce plays an important role in the memoir as she not only tries to make sense of her own identity, but also focuses on constructing her own. She must accept who he is in order to understand and accept himself. Lemberg argues that she must make these connections between her identity and that of her father "to overcome the trauma that can accompany queer identity." Bechdel thus gives his father a scene in his memoir discussing his internal struggle, something he was never able to do openly. She continually talks about her determination to restore the house to emphasize its multifaceted identity. As she explores her father's story, she begins to understand parts of his character and what he did. Bechdel states that his father "used his clever artifice not to create things, but to make things appear to be what they are not." His father hid his true identity and remained hidden his entire life. Therefore, the intersecting stories of Alison and her father's identity are important, because the construction of her identity is closely linked to her personal process of identity exploration. In addition to Alison's reliance on her father's identity, she also relies heavily on literature in her identity. exploration. She describes how her exploration took off during her university studies. Gauntlett discussed the importance of queer representation in media and argued that it has changed the way men and women perceive gender and sexuality. He says modern women have learned to reject normsgender traditions. In Fun Home, literature fulfills this role in that it is Alison's primary means of queer representation. Literature depicting queer characters was widely available for Alison to read. She used this information to understand and learn more about the queer community and to compare her feelings. Rohy says she uses “queer archives as a technology of identity.” Through the books, Alison learns about years gone by, when the freedom to express one's homosexuality was not as accepted as it is in her time. Literature helps him “contextualize his life in relation to historical events and social norms.” This process of comparison seems consistent with social identity theory but it extends beyond the traditional boundaries of femininity and masculinity. One of the things Alison learns through these queer history books is that her father's position, as a young queer boy, was very different from her own. Not only was he not free to express himself, and therefore to come out as gay, but he also did not have as wide access to queer literature. As Auster and Ohm argue, the boundaries between sexuality and gender began to become less restricted beginning in the 1970s, but before that time, different norms and behaviors were expected of gender performances. Bruce grew up surrounded by traditional standards of femininity and masculinity, and he was expected to follow them. Nevertheless, Bruce, like his daughter, uses literature in his process of identity performativity. Bauer states that in memoirs, books are not only a means of identification, but they are also used as a form of communication between father and daughter. In addition to learning more about her own identity, Alison comes to know and understand her father more and more by reading books on his recommendations. In chapter 3, Alison discusses her father's preference for Fitzgerald's work and argues that he must have identified with the characters. Although he hasn't discussed it with Alison, she says "the parallels are inevitable." Therefore, Alison and her father are interdependent in their identity construction, but Alison's exemplary social categories extend beyond the traditional boundaries described in Tajfel's social identity theory. According to Herman, the story of Alison's identity formation is largely about her learning to reject standard and dominant gender stereotypical behaviors. and expectations. Social identity theory implies that humans rely largely on traditional gender norms and expectations. As a child, Alison was largely exposed to these dominant norms of gender behavior, as her father tried to force her to dress and behave like a girl. The memoir shows this struggle, from graphics of her father trying to make her wear a dress to a wedding, to a situation where he makes her wear a barrette in her hair, which she continually removes. At the time, Alison did not know that it was the result of her father's attempt to suppress his true identity, but in her memoir she states that "...he was trying to express something feminine through me" . Her father knows that it would be socially acceptable for Alison to adopt this feminine behavior in his place. Alison, although biologically female, does not identify with these associated norms of behavior. In turn, she tries to project her rejection of femininity onto her father. Bechdel repeatedly discusses his younger self's interest in men's fashion. She states that she "had become a connoisseur of masculinity.