Authentic Self Research Articles

An alternative perspective: gender expression is a form of individuation and authentic self.

An alternative perspective: gender expression is a form of individuation and authentic self.

Childhood is “not a story to pass on”: Trauma and Memory Paradox in Toni Morrison’s God Help the Child

This paper examines how Toni Morrison’s God Help the Child is structured around the paradox of memory; that is, the need to remember and to disremember the past. On the one hand, Bride has to relive her memory in order to confess her lies and in order to find her authentic self. On the other hand, Booker has to forget the past in order to conduct an active life. Memory centralizes Booker as the African voice when he relates the story of his brother’s abuse, that is to say, the abuse of the African culture. But, at the same time, it decentralizes him from the future projects he desires to achieve since he spends most of his time lamenting the loss of his brother. Bride, at first, believes that memory is the worst thing about healing, but, then, she realizes the reverse. By remembering the past, Bride reaches recovery. She becomes the mother figure of her Black community who wears the earrings of wisdom, spirituality and culture. Keywords: Toni Morrison, God Help the Child, the paradox of memory, childhood and trauma

Acting Accordingly or Authentically:

The purpose of this study was to investigate how holistic sport psychology consultants can begin to think with concepts from sport sociology to enhance the provision of their services to athletes. More specifically, this study explored the ways in which various dominant practices within sport can affect holistic sport psychologists’ efforts to help athletes act authentically. Empirical material included observations of athletes and coaches, who were all part of the Gold Medal Soccer Academy, along with a series of interviews with four athletes. The results indicated the importance of holistic sport psychology consultants taking into consideration a variety of social influences that can limit and restrict athletes’ opportunities to develop their authentic selves through their sport participation.

Examining food festival attendees’ existential authenticity and experiential value on affective factors and loyalty: An application of stimulus-organism-response paradigm

Food festivals appeal to a broad range of potential attendees. However, for food festival attendees to engage in such a food adventure to arouse high levels of satisfaction in an environment different from their home, their true authentic self may need to be restrained. The present, study, thus uses Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) paradigm to examine the relationship among existential authenticity, experiential value, satisfaction, customer delight, and loyalty within the food festival context. Using a questionnaire survey, 598 festival attendees of a food event were sampled conveniently. The results show that while experiential value and existential authenticity are important environmental stimuli within the food festival setting, not all emotional states are influenced by existential authenticity. Existential authenticity is negatively related to satisfaction suggesting that the more attendees are true to themselves regarding different food cultures, the lesser they are to be satisfied. Moreover, festival attendees’ loyalty is affected by both satisfaction and customer delight. Implications for marketing food festivals to meet the preferences of prospective attendees are discussed.

Tata Steel’s Journey of Leading the Cause of LGBT+ Inclusion

Tata Steel is an equal opportunity employer where diversity & inclusion (D&I) is not a choice but a way of life. Our vision is to make Tata Steel a world class equal opportunity employer where everyone is respected, every voice is heard. We are proud to feature amongst the IWEI 2020 Top Employers for LGBTQ+ inclusion. This recognition reaffirms our commitment to foster a culture of allyship to actively promote LGBTQ+ empowerment and build a benchmark workplace. We have been working relentlessly towards curating a workplace where people can bring their authentic selves to work through structured interventions around LGBTQ+ representation, policies and infrastructure, proactive allyship and community engagement.

Initial Motivation of Mentors in Formal Youth Mentoring Relationships

ABSTRACT The paper presents results of a phenomenological longitudinal qualitative study undertaken with mentors associated with the Big Brothers Big Sisters programme in the Czech Republic. Ten mentors were interviewed during the first month and after 5 and 10 months of their mentoring involvement employing phenomenological in-depth semi-structured interviews. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was subsequently applied using QSR NVivo software for data analysis. This paper reports the findings of an IPA analysis of one of the central theme of mentors‘ experience, common to all interviewed mentors: initial motivation to volunteer in formal youth mentoring relationships (FYMRs). The findings of the IPA analysis are discussed using the framework of self-determination theory (SDT) with its continuum of autonomous and controlling motivations. As a result, we argue that the initial motivations of mentors can be assessed according to the level of autonomy in mentors' motivation, in other words, congruence of their motivations with the authentic self. We argue that the level of congruence of mentors‘ motivation with the authentic self can be considered as the quality feature of the mentors’ motivation. We conclude that, in theory, this feature has an impact on the subsequent dynamics and perceived satisfaction of formal youth mentoring relationships. We recommend that the mentors‘ motivation, and specifically, the level of autonomy in mentors‘ motivation to volunteer with socially disadvantaged children be assessed in mentoring programmes as a qualitative feature in mentorś training and recruitment.

Uma leitura fenomenológica do Livro X, 5-7 das Confissões de Agostinho: O saber de si mesmo, a “objetualidade” divina e a natureza da alma

The article focuses on the phenomenological appropriation carried out by Martin Heidegger from chapters five to seven of Book X of Augustine's Confessions, corresponding to § 8 (“The introduction to book X”) of the Friborgense lecture of the summer semester of 1921 entitled “Augustine and Neoplatonism ”(Augustin und der Neuplatonismus). In the present paragraph of the Heidegger lecture, he discusses four aspects of Augustine's confession-praise: 1st) The reason for the confiteri before God and before men (Confessions, X, 1-4); 2) Knowledge about oneself in the context of the abyss of human consciousness (Conf. X, 5); 3º)The “objectivity” of God is not originally accessed from the Greek perspective of divine attributes (Conf. X, 6); 4th) The essence of the soul receives its life from God Himself, who “surpasses” it. Hence the confession: “Who is the One who is above the top of my soul?” (Conf. X, 7). In my reading I will highlight only the last three aspects based on Heidegger's reading of the being of the life of Augustine of Hippo from the perspective of the meaning of realizing life as an original phenomenon. Confessing both about what you know about yourself (Selbst) as well as what you ignore yourself and, at the same time, becoming a question for yourself (quaestio mihi factus sum) only makes sense based on the concrete connection from the factual experience of the self (Selbst), in the existence of authentic self. In the attitude of the Augustinian search for God and himself, Heidegger sees a phenomenological drive when he talks about God from the perspective of realization (Vollzug), that is, in the existential dynamics of the quaerere Deum.  Finally, the ambiguity of Augustine's journey is explored by Heidegger, sometimes based on an objective interpretation due to the influence of Greek metaphysics (God as an object of fruition [fruitio Dei]), sometimes based on a historical-existential approach based on phatic life.  

Sublime and the quest for Self-actualization in Herman Hesse's Siddhartha

Herman Hesse’s seminal text, Siddhartha is the story about the journey of a man on his path to Self-Actualization. The story deals with the life of the protagonist, Siddhartha, who along with his friend, Govinda embarks on a journey for the search of the authentic Self. Each of them follows a distinct path, leading to vastly different experiences. Siddhartha focuses on the events that happen with the character of Siddhartha and the ways in which they influence and alter him. The book in itself takes the form of a quest and it is only in the end when Siddhartha meets Govinda that he hints at the knowledge that he has acquired. This, however, is not the entirety of his understanding but only a segment of his discovery.The objective of this paper is to underline Siddhartha’s journey of Self-Actualization and to emphasize on his reflections. The paper will try to prove how the journey of Self-actualization in the text is both an ontological and epistemological question. It also tries to describe that sublime moment of understanding which fulfils Siddhartha’s quest of Self-actualization.

Learning Together About Racism

Learning Together About Racism

The Secret of Love

Abstract In the game of drive, the Eros has the role of psychically binding excitations, so that a tolerable quantity of psychic energy is maintained, avoiding a traumatic spill of libidinal energy. Freud discovers the possibility of impulse entanglement by directing destructiveness outwards through the action of the libido. When the child is insufficiently invested by the environment he develops in, his psychism will develop on a fragile foundation. This frailness can be encapsulated in a rigid protective shell that will not allow for authentic development. We speak of a narcissistic deficit that leads either to an internal dynamic that aims to repair the deficit of primary investment, or to an internal dynamic that perpetuates this deficit. Defense mechanisms specific to narcissistic functioning are idealization and devaluation, and the need for reparation can emerge only after acknowledgement of the narcissistic wound. The sentiment of one’s own worth is disturbed in both situations, the identity nucleus itself being affected. The person would feel shame, sentiments of inferiority, permanently in need of reassurance regarding his/her worth. The capacity to love will be conditioned by the establishment of a good contact with the authentic self, through valuing the self, recognizing one’s own needs and identities.

Politics and Ethic of Care of the Self in Albert Camus’s The Plague

Albert Camus’ The Plague articulates a new aesthetic of existence that resists biopolitical normalization. It means cultivating one’s self and not attempting to discover an authentic and hidden self because it entails a continual process of becoming. The sudden eruption of plague in Oran, signifies a rupture in history of its people as the “bored populace is consumed by commercial habits aimed at making money”. In The Plague, if some people become more self-centred and insensitive, characters such as Rieux, Rambert, Peneloux and Joseph Grand show concern for the suffering people and stand in solidarity with them. Their characterization as ordinary individuals who assume responsibility for others’ existence in times of disaster reflects Camus’ hermeneutic of care of the self as an ethical project. Camus aptly asserts that “ordinary acts of courage and kindness are more helpful than the illusion of superheroes”. Deriving a cue from Foucault, Heidegger and Levinas, the paper attempts to explore how care of the self is intertwined with ethics and politics. It is argued that without spiritual discipline and caring for others, the ethical transformation of self cannot take place. It indicates fashioning of the self more freely and self-reflexively and thus speaking truth to power and sacrificing for others. The paper examines this poetics of self which shares an ethical relationship with truth, freedom and kindness.

One Night in Miami, Regina King

Reviewed by: One Night in Miami by Regina King Omari L. Dyson (bio) Regina King (Director). (2020). One Night in Miami [Film]. ABKO Films. Regina King’s One Night in Miami is an adaption of Kemp Power’s 1993 screenplay of the same name (Thompson, 2020). King attempted to provide a vivid representation of a historical moment that allowed Jim Brown, Cassius Clay, Sam Cooke, and Malcolm X to converge for a meeting at the Hampton House Motel (Miami, Florida) on February 25, 1964. Before turning to the meeting, the film offers viewers a glimpse into a world where the practice of segregation and racial supremacy governed the lives of Black Americans, especially in the southern region of the US. To illustrate, Jim Brown (played by Aldis Hodge) stopped by the home of a White resident while visiting relatives in Georgia only to be called a nigger by the owner, after he graciously offered to help him move around some furniture. Sam Cooke (played by Leslie Odom, Jr.) was similarly humiliated when several White patrons ridiculed him while others walked out on his performance at the Copacabana. Unlike Brown, Clay, and Cooke, Malcolm X (played by Kingsley Ben-Adir) finds himself at odds as he contemplates a departure from the Nation of Islam, while recognizing that his decision will likely lead to grave consequences for his family’s livelihood. Although these characters’ struggles are strikingly different, their origins can be traced to racial injustice. The fight between Clay and Sonny Liston for the heavyweight championship of the world was the impetus for bringing the four men together. The bout lasted all of seven rounds but was not without intrigue. At one point in the fight Clay found himself blinded, seemingly by a mysterious substance that had been applied to Liston’s gloves. Why this was not captured in the film is unclear, especially since this development was such an important part of the fight and is widely documented. Before Clay’s vision was temporarily impaired, he ran circles around the older and sluggish Liston, jabbing and counter-punching and eluding Liston’s ill-timed punches. Unable to land a solid single punch, Liston flustered and battered [End Page 141] failed to answer the bell for the 8th round. The crowd was beside itself. Brown, who was seated at ringside and who commented on the fight throughout, was ecstatic, leaping to his feet as Liston sat slumped on his stool, claiming an injured shoulder. Clay, 22, had done the unthinkable—defeating the once-thought unbeatable Liston—becoming (at the time) the second youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history. After the fight, the four proceeded to the Hampton House Motel in Overtown, the city’s predominantly African American community. Once inside, King provides viewers with a unique perspective that exposes the pain, love, and vulnerabilities that were/are commonly overlooked when seeing them in the outside world. Beyond this room, these men were forced to be warriors against oppression in their chosen fields of endeavor. However, in the context of this area, each man was able to allow their authentic selves to emerge as they hashed out their differences, positions, and strategies to the sociopolitical climate that continued to stifle the growth of many Blacks across the nation. As viewers witness the various exchanges and scuffles among the characters, they are bombarded by the realities and complexities that shaped the lives and identities of these characters. Whether it was religion, politics, economics, or entertainment, the underlying question that permeated the minds of each person was best articulated by Malcolm X when he asked, “how much do the oppressed have to do before they can be recognized as human beings?” (King, 2020). Although each of the characters believed they were fighting the fight the best way they knew how, he still believed that more should be done, “[there being] no room for us to be standing on the fence” (King, 2020). Malcolm’s growing frustration and sense of urgency is soon redirected as he takes aim at Cooke, who he believes is not living up to his potential as an artist and activist. In defense, Cooke believes that his approach is effective because...

What is 'Authentic Education'?

The simple response would include that an ‘authentic education’ is designed to guide students to unfold their authentic selves, which would at least include: (a) investigating the curriculum that was designed for them, (b) learning how to perform a

‘To have been always what I am – and so changed from what I was’: Beckett's Female Subject Formation and the Problem of Becoming

The call for a new notion of personhood that goes beyond one's cognitive functions and a new account of human agency has gained interest with the impact of contemporary research in cognitive science over the last few decades. This paper aims to show that examining Beckett's female subject formation allows us to map out not only our changed perception of self, but also the changing patterns of reception of his works over time in relation to the issue of female agency. While Beckett's male subjects in his early novels are often preoccupied with their own journey to find a solipsistic world in their quest for their authentic self, his drama concerns his characters’ affective experience, namely how they live to go on. This paper, thus, will show that what Beckett perceives as gender difference plays a crucial role in his portrayal of personhood that is closely interconnected with other people and external artefacts, as well as his theatricality as a mode of perception that brackets moments of action and our affective experience of time.

Authentic style–fashion–dress negotiations of married lesbian couples on their wedding day

In 2015, a United States Supreme Court ruling allowed same-sex marriage in all 50 states. Since that time, there have been over one million same-sex marriages in the United States, and the number of same-sex marriages has increased every year (Romero, 2017). With this work, we conducted an in-depth, exploratory study on how lesbian married couples in the United States negotiated their style–fashion–dress on their wedding day. The work was guided by theory exploring authenticity as related to self-expression through appearance, and in particular, the notion that individuals mobilize a diverse array of products within the consumer marketplace to articulate an authentic identity or self. We conducted a single, semi-structured, in-depth interview with a photo-elicitation component with 10 lesbian married couples. Our analyses revealed themes that interconnected with the overarching concept of authenticity. Specifically, analyses demonstrated that, as participants sought to articulate an authentic identity through their wedding day style–fashion–dress, they often became entangled in gender and other symbolic negotiations that prompted feelings of empowerment as well as experiences of ambivalence and/or the need to engage in various forms of emotional labor or renegotiations of meaning. Four themes that emerged included (1) ambivalence, renegotiations, and labor surrounding the identity or concept of “bride” or what it means to be a bride; (2) gender expressions and experiences as central to the negotiation and construction of style–fashion–dress for the wedding day; (3) representations of the authentic self in wedding day style–fashion–dress; and (4) heteronormative experiences. Findings from the present study also revealed that lesbian couples sought to redefine what it means to be a bride/person getting married, a form of political action enacted through wedding day style–fashion–dress. Findings suggest implications for lesbian, queer, and heterosexual–focused wedding retailers and event planners to consider in order to provide an affirming experience for the increasing number of same-sex married couples in the United States.

Authenticity and employee wellbeing with reference to emotional work: a review

PurposeIn the service industry, there is an involvement of the human factor which comprises continuous interpersonal interactions. Sometimes, these interactions create incongruence between displayed and felt emotions which distract the employees from their authentic self and impair their well-being. This paper aims to made an attempt to review different studies to identify an association between authenticity at the workplace and employee well-being with reference to emotional work.Design/methodology/approachThe different studies have been reviewed mentioning the association between authenticity at the workplace and employee well-being with reference to emotional work published during the period of 1983–2020. The database which is used to identify and extract the research papers includes APA PycNET, Business Perspectives, Elsevier, Emerald Insight, Inderscience Publishers, SAGE, Taylor and Francis, etc. The keywords used for shortlisting the studies include employee well-being, emotional work, emotional dissonance, job satisfaction, surface acting, authenticity, burnout, authentic living, self-alienation.FindingsThe study has determined that emotional work influences the authenticity of an employee which further impacts the well-being of employees.Research limitations/implicationsThe present review would aid the researchers in explaining the relevance of authenticity at the workplace for enhancing the employee well-being specifically in emotional work settings.Social implicationsPromoting well-being at the workplace requires an action-oriented approach from the national level also. Hence, the present study may help in drawing inferences for framing well-being policies for employees at the national level.Originality/valueThe paper is amongst the few reviews which have analysed the substantial role of authenticity in the context of emotional work to improve employee well-being.

Exploring critical perspectives on labour market information through the lens of elite graduate recruitment

AbstractThis article provides a critical discourse analysis of how career is discussed on elite graduate recruitment websites. Building on previous work from Handley (2018, https://doi.org/10.1177/0950017016686031) and Ingram and Allen (2019, https://doi.org/10.1177/0038026118790949) this article draws attention to how career is constructed, first, as something which graduates consume and, second, as a ‘liminal experience’ which transforms the graduates' identities and allows them to gain access to a new authentic self, now able to progress towards their personal goals. This ideological reading of careers information is different to traditional understandings of careers information in Higher Education research which focuses on the objective nature of information which can be used to support the rational decision making. Focussing on the ideology of career draws attention to the need for careers delivery, in Higher Education and beyond, to engage with more critical pedagogical approaches.

One of My Best Friends is 93

When I started my career as an intensive care unit nurse, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what it takes to be a nurse practitioner (NP). But my experience in post-acute and long-term care over the past five years has certainly changed that. It has been a privilege to be a part of older adults’ care teams. The relationships I have developed over the last five years as an adult geriatric NP have afforded me a lifetime of smiles, tears, laughter, and personal growth in addition to my professional experience, and this is just the beginning of my journey in PALTC. I moved to Texas from Minnesota five years ago to begin my career as an NP, not knowing what to expect but anticipating an amazing journey nonetheless. Unbeknownst to me, I would learn more than I ever expected from the older adults I care for. For instance, a 113-year-old taught me about what matters: never leave your room without lipstick and colorful scarf so you will always look presentable. These older adults also have given me unanticipated care in return: the handwritten thank-you cards, the candid conversations of first loves, the shared stories of the last six democratic conventions from a couple who attended them together, and even a romantic crush on another resident that someone felt comfortable sharing with me, an NP from “way up north.” A 93-year-old has called me on my personal cell phone just to check and make sure I’m OK during the COVID-19 pandemic. Older adults have taught me to be comfortable in my NP role and remain true to my authentic self. Whether I’m talking about the latest haircut, wigs, or lip color with my “girlie girl” residents or listening to Hank Williams’ “Hey, Good Lookin’” while sifting through pictures of tractors from the 1950s with retired farmers living in nursing homes, I have learned to find great joy in these shared moments. I have to remind myself when rounding in a building or making home visits to make sure I actually address the medical concerns because it is easy to get lost in conversation with my newfound extended family. As a 2016 Futures scholarship recipient, I have learned so much since beginning the program and joining the family of AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care. The Society has furthered my love for establishing relationships with residents in my long-term care, assisted living, and clinic settings. I find myself checking in on residents “just because,” and I have felt comfortable crying, laughing, praying, or just sitting in a few moments of silence together. It’s the shared experiences that make this work special for me. The Society has strengthened my knowledge base within the management of acute and chronic illness and encouraged my advocacy on behalf of this population. I had the privilege to attend a policy conference hosted by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners in 2020 right before the pandemic and was amazed at the impact I can have as an NP advocating for change. The Society has helped strengthen this voice. In addition, I have been invited to join in subcommittees within the Society to include clinical issues, where I led the creation of the Society’s white paper on the use of marijuana in long-term care and helped update the white paper on staffing issues in long-term care. In addition, I participate in the Nurse Practitioner/Physician Assistant Practice Group and participated on a panel in 2020 regarding our role as NPs in practice. The 2021 Annual Conference will be my third year speaking on a panel, and I am honored to continue to represent my fellow NPs/PAs in long-term care. I thought I had the “patience of Job” before becoming an NP as I had spent many nights with complicated patients in the intensive care unit during my bedside nursing days. Now I accept there is an entirely new level of patience I have to learn as a PALTC practitioner, as I walk families through transitions of care, end of life, and new diagnoses. Learning how to discuss changes/recommendations with patients and families, using the terminology and culturally/spiritually inclusive language and practices, has helped strengthen my ability to truly help older adults age better. What a privilege and honor to be a part of my patients’ health journey as they age. To my special “golden girls,” see you at the next virtual tea party! Ms. Walker is an adult-geriatric nurse practitioner at Baylor Scott and White Health in Texas. She is also currently a doctoral student at the University of Texas, focusing on transitions of care among older adults.

Every guy needs his team: the promise of peer-led mentoring groups for college men

Objective: Our study conducted a preliminary evaluation of a peer-mentoring group program for college men (Freshmen League). Participants & Methods: We interviewed first-year men who participated in Freshmen League (n = 16) and others who did not (n = 10), asking them questions about authenticity, relationships, masculinity, and community. Using consensual qualitative research, we identified themes in constructions of their experiences and development throughout the year, and compared them across groups. Findings: Men in both groups reflected on becoming their authentic selves, feeling pressure to fit a mold, valuing friendship, and wanting to positively impact their community. However, Freshmen League participants were more likely to talk about vulnerability, positive influences of upperclassmen, connecting with others, alternative social norms, and social justice. Conclusions: Peer-led mentoring groups represent a promising direction as interventions to promote college men’s health and campus culture. Directions for future research and considerations for program implementation are discussed.

Irreconcilable Loss, Avoidance, and Hypervigilance: Facilitators of Refugee-Specific Posttraumatic Growth

Abstract Few studies explore both positive and negative interpretations of life as a refugee despite an abundance of literature that recognizes psychological growth as an outcome of adversity. This iterative phenomenological study sought positive and negative subjective interpretations from five former adult refugees. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. One superordinate theme, authentic self in the irreconcilable loss of refugee trauma, overarched four subordinate themes, refugee trauma, refugeeism, life is a gift, and authenticity in posttraumatic growth, which mapped the participants’ journeys from hopelessness and fear, to a determined rediscovery of ‘self’. Rather than avoidance and hypervigilent behaviours representing psychological pathology, these participants used both behaviours as coping strategies for reconciling the traumatic loss of family and familial support, culture, country, financial and social stability, and security as a refugee, recognizing the need to welcome a future out of a past that could not be reconciled.