ABSTRACT
Our initial identity, like our very being, is determined and defined by our parents, and, derivatively, by the language and society into which we are born. Parents identify us by giving us “proper” names. There is wisdom in the Roman adage, Nomen est omen. From an early age, parents classify their offspring as easy or difficult babies, obedient or rebellious children, and so forth. With maturity, we acquire the ability and power—within certain limits set by biology, family, society—to define ourselves, in opposition, if need be, to identifications imposed on us by others.
