Full Circle Associates

One of the things I like about my "imaginary friends" is their writing that reveals their thinking, some layer of their identity. I was quite taken by Julie Leung's post on My Gnomedex presentation in progress.... Towards the end she leaves some quotes on identity. Here is one that rang true for me.

"A person's identity is not to be found in behaviour, nor - important though this is - in the reactions of others, but in the capacity to keep a particular narrative going. The individual's biography, if she is to maintain regular interaction with others in the day-to-day world, cannot be wholly fictive. It must continually integrate events which occur in the external world, and sort them into the ongoing 'story' about the self.' (Giddens 1991: 54)"

Then, in the comments:

Wow. That bit by Giddens is phenomenal, thanks for pointing it out! I've been having a conversation with Dave Pollard/How to Save the World about women and philosophy; I think this bit fits in nicely with my premise that narrative may separate some philosophy, make it more or less accessible. It might also be why the damnable question, "where are the women bloggers?" keeps popping up; perhaps women prefer narrative and the injection of narrative of the self in their writing, making it less accessible to men who'd prefer to avoid narrative. Hmm. Thanks again!
Posted by: Rayne at May 5, 2005 09:07 AM

Do our narrative styles reveal much about us? Or is it the narrative itself? Are our preferences around narrative a way we filter people in or out, especially online?

identity, voice, narrative, Julie_Leung