Peter's identity

My identity in person 

15:00 minutes of planning.
Click to enlarge the image.

Who am I to other people? How do I appear to them? Skillful suggests we consider four areas, and I've decided to discuss my gestures and body language along with my clothing first. First, although I think my gestures probably say a lot about my identity, I never think of them, except when I do tasks like this one. I don't think about how I look to others, but when I look at photographs of myself, or even worse when I look at videos, I think, "Oh my god, that looks so ... gay." I guess that means other people might be getting the same message. This doesn't worry any more, but it used to. I think it's probably right because when I first stopped trying to hide my sexuality, it didn't surprise anyone, and I think my natural gestures and body language were the only clues. In contrast, I'm very aware of what my clothes display about me. I always wear exactly the same things at AUA: a white shirt, grey pants, and black shoes. This is simple, practical and might tell people that I like to follow the same habits, which is true. I get up at the same time every day, I go to the same shops, I do the same things with friends, and so on. I love living in the centre of Bangkok, but most places I visit are within walking distance, or a short BTS trip away. I walk to and from work. I often walk to eat at MK Silom Complex with friends, and on Sundays, I usually grab the same tasty kai yang and somtam from the same seller in the market next to my condo that I've been eating for the past 15 years. But my clothes do vary a little. When I'm not at AUA, my habit is to dress casually, usually in shorts and sandals, but always with a collared shirt, never a T-shirt. I haven't worn or owned a T-short for decades. And my habit is to dress like that even if I'm eating with friends at a more up market place, such as the excellent Latest Recipe at Le Meridien, a five minute walk from my home, where I often enjoy a meal with friends. In fact, we're going there for lunch this Sunday, so I'll be wearing my shorts, sandals and smart casual shirt at usual.

Moving to my voice, I'm not sure what that says about me. When I listen to recordings of my own voice, I always feel a bit shocked. Is that really what I sound like? I think it sounds bit like some of gestures captured in photographs and video: gay. But I guess from reactions of other people what it's not unpleasant. I know what I say much better. I like joking and being relaxed, but I also like serious discussions where I can present and argue for controversial ideas that might shock some people. Not all of my friends like this, but some also enjoy. We have some great arguments over long meals. It's fun.

Tung Nguen (ถุงเงิน) -
last image on my FB

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My identity online 

These days, our online identity is also important for most of us, and I also have a few places where I present myself online. On my personal Facebook (FB) page (sorry, the public view isn't very much), I let my friends, all 27 of them, see the real me: a collection of real photographs, my real date of birth, and so on, and most of my posts are photographs and short comments from my daily life: meals at home alone and out with friends,  walking to work or grocery shopping, or something that catches my eye. 

FB last week -
groceries

I also have an FB page for AUA (the link lets you see everything there), where instead of using a real photograph, I use an avatar that is a cartoon created by an app on my phone. The avatar that shows my image has a big question mark. I chose this because it reminds my students, and anyone else who sees it, that asking questions is important. I think this fits an EAP class especially well because asking questions is an important part of critical thinking, and it's one of the strategies that Zemach suggests on page 6: "Ask questions and interact." I like my students to ask questions, and as you might have noticed, I ask a lot of questions. The other image of my on my AUA FB page is for the cover: it shows me drinking a coffee, which I hope presents students with another side of me. 

The image for my
Felix Qui FB page

Finally, I have another FB page, Felix Qui, where I post responses to articles in the news that interest me. I subscribe to a few newspapers and magazines, both in Thailand and around the world, and I often comment to give my opinion on issues that interest me, for example, politics, philosophy, social issues, and sometimes other things. My avatar here is also a cartoon, but it includes a real photograph of my head taken a few decades ago. I chose it because although I like to discuss serious issues, the cartoon is reminder to relax and also have fun. The name comes from a poem by the Roman poet Vergil, in which he praises an earlier poet, Lucretius, whose long philosophical poem de rerum natura has been one of my favourites for several decades now, since I studied his work back in university. I admire the brilliance of the ideas in his poem written more than 2,000 years ago, which manages to sound remarkably modern in outlook. Most people probably don't know the references, but I do. The cartoon cat is better known: Felix the Cat was very popular when I was a child. In his hand, he's carrying his bag of magical and amazing gadgets, which represents how I think we can understand the tools of philosophy, which was was my major at university.

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Conclusion: How accurately my online identity communicates who I am

If someone has access to all of my online activity, I think it would give a fair idea of who I am, but that number is very small: it is limited to my 27 Facebook friends, and if you have had a look at my personal FB account, you know that there is not much to be seen there. As with most people, my more public online presence only reflects chosen aspects of who I am, and most people who see those things, except my actual friends and family, won't even know who I am in person. I don't think this is a problem; I think it's sensible.