WE OFTEN DISCUSS THE IDENTITY OF A MINORITY GROUP IN PUBLIC DISCOURSE AS IF IT’S HOMOGENEOUS BY VIRTUE OF BEING IN OPPOSITION TO THE MAJORITY.
When discussing contemporary Tibetan identities, we have to take the responsibly to look at each concept individually and question the framework of "identity" as a whole.
W.E.B. Du Bois coined the term “double consciousness” at the turn of the last century in an essay that discusses the experience of African Americans in the US. In the essay, Du Bois identified the feeling of having an identity that’s been splintered into several parts — of “always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tale of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity.”