Identity Politics and the Search for the True Self

Proudly written by Callan Hansen

04/07/2025

We've reached a point where people don't know who they are anymore. And worse, they think they do.

I'm devastated because I see it happening all around me. People I once knew as genuine and open sometimes feel distant now. It's like staring into a version of them I no longer recognize. That loss of real connection is what this is really about.

In a world obsessed with performance, image, and labels, we’ve mistaken our personas for our identity. Modern identity politics has turned the most sacred question—Who am I?—into a performance for others. And instead of finding clarity, we’ve just stacked more masks on top of masks. Now everyone’s so busy defending a character they’ve invented, they’ve forgotten there’s a real self underneath all the noise.

The Disconnected Self

People cling to identities now like lifeboats. But they’re not lifeboats—they’re distractions. They don’t lead you closer to yourself. They lead you away. And the further you get, the more you have to shout and perform to feel like you still exist. It’s like deep down we know we’re lost, but instead of sitting with that silence, we just scream louder.

Social media made it worse. Now you don’t just have to figure out who you are—you have to prove it to others. Every day. You have to convince people you're this label, this thing, this role. And in doing that, you drift even further from your center.

The Spiritual Roots We Forgot

This isn’t about denying fluidity or expression. Cultures all over the world have embraced people who don’t fit neat binaries. But here’s the difference—they didn’t confuse expression with identity. A feminine man wasn’t pretending to be a woman. A masculine woman didn’t demand the world rewrite itself to reflect her internal narrative.

They were respected for their energy, for the balance of masculine and feminine, not because they shouted “this is who I am—accept it or else.”

It wasn’t ego. It was spiritual.

Modern culture took something sacred and turned it into a performance of self-importance. It’s not about embodying energy anymore. It’s about being right, being seen, being validated. It’s about identity as ego armor.

And when people build their whole self around that armor, they get angry when it’s questioned. They don’t want truth. They want affirmation. Even if the identity they’ve created is a lie.

The Ego of Expectation

Now the world’s expected to bend to individual delusion. “This is how I see myself, and now everyone else has to play along.” But that’s not growth. That’s ego screaming for control.

And ego is never satisfied. It isolates. It divides. It creates a false sense of self that’s constantly hungry for approval, and never at peace.

This is why so many feel disconnected—even in a world that tells them they can be anything. We’ve traded truth for validation. Soul for surface.

And I want to be clear. I'm not dismissing anyone's experience or expression. I’ve got deep respect for anyone navigating complex identity journeys in a world that tries to box them in. What I’m calling out isn’t identity itself, but how easily ego hijacks it. How the search for presence can get lost in performance and distractions. I’m not here to tell anyone who they are. I’m here to ask what’s underneath it all, beneath the roles, the stories, the labels. That’s where I believe the truth lives.

So What’s the Answer?

Strip it back. Ask deeper questions. Sit in the discomfort of not knowing who you are. That silence is powerful. It’s where real identity starts—not in the performance, but in the awareness underneath it all.

You’re not a label. You’re not a performance. You’re not even your thoughts. You're the presence behind all of it.

And that presence doesn’t need to be validated. It just is.