Identity

The discussant in our paper session at AERA mentioned that she found it interesting that when one is looking at rural poverty, the participants are lacking a distinct identity because they don’t have the added identity of a minority race or ethnicity. I disagree. I think they do have a distinct identity and it may be their ruralness, but it may also be other things that define them. It could also be a white identity. My participants showed that they were defined by their rural location. I don’t think they are lacking an identity.