Blog Post #2: Identity in the Writing Center

Prior to taking this class and considering the importance of the relationship between the tutor and the writer, I didn’t always think about how details like grammar and sentence structure are truly insignificant to the tutoring process of writing. What really matters is the bond of trust that is built between the tutor and their writer. A good tutor should be empathetic and considerate, while also being helpful in the writing process. Sometimes, like in the instance that we read about in Mundy’s piece, “The Politics of ‘I got it’”, a tutoring session is simply made up of having a conversation; no actual writing is required. However, I think what I mentioned earlier – the ability to be empathetic, considerate, and helpful – is what makes the best tutor, and identity can often have an effect on that.

Identity can be a very important factor of any writing center appointment, and by identity, I mean any sort of factor of a person’s life that can define who they are, how they may act, and how they could be treated in certain situations (this is often defined by social standards). Unfortunately, society norms, which are determined by who has the power in a society, often can have an effect on the ways people act in tutoring sessions. Specifically, again pointing to “The Politics of ‘I got it’”, the men who utilize the writing center tend to have more trouble showing that they need help due to the societal pressures to be confident. This is due to the gender role of masculine people that “is manifested in an inability to seek help and/or support, a socially constructed but typical male trait.” (Mundy 128) I could go on and one about the frustrating roles that society forces upon different people based on the insignificant parts of their identity (such as race, class, gender, and sexual orientation), but that’s a topic for another time. 

The identities that I find are the most influential on my life are my identities as a white, cisgender, bisexual woman. The “whiteness” of me is a privilege that I try to be constantly aware of, as well as my cisgender privilege. However, because I do have experience with being in the queer community, and I am devoutly feminist as a woman, I find that there are a lot of situations that my bisexual-woman identity could infleunce. For example, meeting with a male-identifying person in the writing center would probably influence me to consciously think of how I treat them, and make sure it’s not any different than a woman in order to inspire confidence with the men asking for help. As a queer woman, I am more conscious of the ways I am considerate of minority groups, and I always am looking for opportunities to help educate other people on how to do the same. For example, remembering to reject the socially accepted “gender binary” and being inclusive of all gender identities, as well as sexual orientations. In general, identifying with one or more minority groups can be beneficial to one’s compassion and relatability to others who have also been socially oppressed. 

Works Cited: Mundy, Robert. “The Politics of ‘I Got It’”: Intersections, Performances, and Rhetorics of Masculinities in the Center.” Out in the Center: Public Controversies and Private Struggles, edited by Harry Denny, Robert Mundy, Liliana Naydan, Richard Severe, and Anna Sicari, Utah State UP, 2019, pp. 126-139