I don't remember the sociologist, it may have been Emile Durkheim who promoted the master status theory. This theory contended that in any given social setting an individual possesses a superior status that may identify him from others within the same environment. Let's say we take 10 real estate salesmen and put them in a room, it is now unremarkable that they are real estate salesman, but if one of them was formerly a fighter pilot, this fact changes his status in the group and chiefly identifies him from the others. If we put 10 fighter pilots in the room, but one of them sold real estate on the side, his real estate job would be his master status amongst his fighter pilot friends.
Our parents always told us we were special, but they said this out of unconditional love. It is the company that you keep who determines how special you are. I may have a diverse professional background, a deep and solid education, but the fact that I served in the Israeli army generally dominates all other traits about me in the US. In Israel, the fact that I served is unremarkable, what identifies me in Israel is that I came from the US to serve in the IDF not my service.
Don't think of how you identify yourself think of how others identify you.
Comments