JTWSE—Volume 2

Journal of Texas School Women Executives, Volume II, Issue 1 2013 others. What we choose to value and deprecate, our system of ethics—these form…our sense of identity. (as cited in Curry, 2000, p. 22) Hence, each individual in society and within cultures has an identity, which is the portal to an individual’s self.Society’s manner of identifying can be explained using Stoddard’s (1973a) three basic distinctions for identity: (a) externally bestowed, (b) projected, and (c) self-designated (p.

38).

Externally bestowed. Externally bestowed identification is an identity or values that society bestows or places on a group of people based on similar characteristics. However, as Vaca stated, “it is erroneous for anyone to assign certain values to a specific group and treat them as homogenous” (as cited in Stoddard, 1973a, p. 43). Ignoring the vast differences within a specific group is ignoring the individual values of people and emphasizing stereotypes. This tenet holds true for men and women: Generally speaking, some identities may correctly be placed on a gender, but within a gender, there are individuals with specific identities, created through personal history.

Projective view.If society’s externally bestowed identities or values are rejected, then the projective view may be adopted by a group of people. The projective view is how members of a group see themselves and identify themselves by the criteria with which they evaluate other groups. Stoddard (1973) explains this view using ethnicity: “Ethnic groups reveal their class origin and self-identity by the criteria they use to evaluate other groups and the manner in which they react to the behavior of others” (p. 51). Women, for example, may promote themselves as leaders who are capable and possibly superior to men in order to capture an identity that won’t be rejected.

Furthermore, the names, labels, and terms that are assigned to a group may encourage the development of a certain group identity. For instance, women may be seen as leaders who are weak, who may cry if tested, or who may be too compassionate and easily persuaded. These labels are common, but may not adequately identify all women in leadership positions, nor do they give credence to each individual’s gifts that are brought to a leadership position.

Self-designated. Stoddard (1973a, 1973b) states that self-designated terms, labels, or views are those that a group places on itself for identification purposes. Certain members of a group define their identity differently from others in the same group. Therefore, self-designated identification can be seen as more accurate for one person or group because the identification is individualized for that one person or group. Hence, women leaders are individuals with separate and unique identities and they conform to different societal settings as those settings prescribe, nevertheless, with a self-designated individual identity.

Conclusion The chameleon identity: An individual’s identity changes over time, from situation to situation, with different settings and groups of people.

Understanding that each person has multiple identities that change according to situations is also understanding that each person has a chameleon identity. Educational leaders hold chameleon identities, which help these leaders adapt to different scenarios that fit that specific leader at that 46