On the scale: How ethnic, religious and social ideals impact self-concept & self-esteem levels     


Written by Ms Vanessa Mpatlanyane

May, 11, 2022

Did you know there are over 4300 religious beliefs and practices in the world today? Better yet, do you know how many ethnic groups there are? 

Both religion and ethnicity have throughout the ages been a gateway to contending with the question “who am I?” Asking this question is an attempt to define and/or create a self-concept.

Descartes’ ‘I think therefore I am’ suggests self-concept can be defined by measuring a person’s cognitive and reasoning abilities. Conversely, ‘Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu’ shifts the building blocks of self-concept from individual cognitive ability to collective social responsibility.

Both these views, and the many others, have their place and use. It is expected that the question of who one is should have as many answers as there are people on the planet. Why? Because we all want to make sense of who and/or what we are. That is, have and articulate a self-concept. Humanist psychologists Carl Rogers argued that the self-concept has three components: self-image, self-esteem, and the ideal-self. 

Self-image is the way we view and describe ourselves physically, according to our social roles, and our personality traits. I am ‘a black doctor, short, dark-haired, mother of two who cares about others’ is a statement of self-image. 

The ideal-self is the image and value we aspire to, as expressed in ‘I want to be a good-looking caring doctor who shows up for my patients, family and my colleagues’. The ideal-self is informed by a number of factors, including cultural and religious ideals. 

Self-esteem is the value or worth we place on ourselves according to an evaluation scale or measurement tool. This can be expressed as ‘I am the best doctor in my field because I care about patients and always look good at work’. Care and appearance are used as the measuring tool here, and how this doctor fairs on this scale gives the information needed to assign a value/worth = low or high self-esteem. Notice that the self-esteem is relative. Everyone has a self-esteem because everyone has some opinion/ makes a judgment about themselves. Therefore self-esteem can be higher or lower, not present or absent.

Usually people draw on the indicators in their ideal-self toolbox to determine their value or worth. When there is a difference between the self-image (Who you see yourself as) and the ideal-self (who we wish to be), the self-esteem tends to be lower. When there is harmony between the self-image and the ideal-self, the self-esteem tends to be higher. In both directions, the self concept is affected. It is no wonder that sexuality standards, that is sexual ideals as they relate to the ideal-self, impact self-concept.

Not only is sexuality a dimension of the self-concept (yes, you are very much a sexual being), but ethnic, religious and personal ideals/ beliefs and taboos about sex, sexuality and reproduction all inform self-image and behaviour. A 2016 study of Iranian young women found that participants who held relaxed permissive beliefs about premarital sexual relationships were more likely to engage in premarital and risky sexual behaviors more frequently, and had more sexual partners. Alternatively, women that held less permissive ideals, as expressed through virginity pledges for instance, were less likely to engage in premarital sexual relationships. The study also found that of the less permissive women, those that broke virginity pledges expressed shame, guilt and embarrassment – sentiments that participants with more permissive ideals did not have, although having exhibited the same behavior. 

If we consider this example, we can reasonably conclude that the negative emotions experienced by women that broke the pledge are the result of an incongruence between the ideal-self and the self-image thus creating a lower self-esteem. This had an unfavorable impact on their self-concept. 

The example also shows us that the less aligned you are with who you aspire to be, the worse you see and value yourself. Conversely, the more aligned you are with who you aspire to be, the better you see and value yourself.

Religion, culture, and ethnicity are some of the main institutions that provide us with the building blocks necessary to set up our personal ideals, which then become the golden standard(s) of who we aspire to be. Once that ideal-self can be imagined, it is whom we always judge ourselves against. That, together with who we see ourselves to be right now (self-image), acts as a scale to weigh our self-worth (self-esteem) and ultimately how we think about ourselves overall (self-concept). If Carl Rogers is right, then the person you want to most please is your ideal-self. That is, of course, if you want a high self-esteem and consequently, a favorable self concept.

References:

  1. Image: https://pin.it/1c8vuSn 
  2. Hall, K.S.K. Cultural Differences in the Treatment of Sex Problems. Curr Sex Health Rep 11, 29–34 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11930-019-00189-9.
  3. Lamarche, Veronica M., and Mark D. Seery. “Come on, give it to me baby: Self-esteem, narcissism, and endorsing sexual coercion following social rejection.” Personality and Individual Differences 149 (2019): 315-325.
  4. Rahmani, Azam et al. “The Viewpoints of Sexually Active Single Women About Premarital Sexual Relationships: A Qualitative Study in the Iranian Context.” International journal of high risk behaviors & addiction vol. 5,1 e23159. 24 Jan. 2016, doi:10.5812/ijhrba.23159
  5. Sofia Gruskin, Vithika Yadav, Antón Castellanos-Usigli, Gvantsa Khizanishvili & Eszter Kismödi (2019) Sexual health, sexual rights and sexual pleasure: meaningfully engaging the perfect triangle, Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, 27:1, 29-40, DOI: 10.1080/26410397.2019.1593787                                                                                                        

Ubusha Bami futhi yimi lo – My youth and this is me! © 11 May 2022

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