Where do I fit?

In creating community or in joining a community, that's the question that most people ask--where do I fit? If they don't feel as if they fit, then they won't join. Sometimes it's a matter of physical fit. Just last week, our student chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators met in a room that was pretty small. A few students came by, looked in and left. They didn't want to come in because they felt as if they wouldn't physically fit into the room.

Sometimes, it's a matter of critical mass, to use a term that is mostly associated with ethnic and racial minority fit in the larger culture. People who are ethnic or racial minorities must feel as if they fit to stay in a predominantly white cultural setting. To achieve this fit, a sense of critical mass is needed. I say a sense of critical mass rather than actual critical mass, because it is truly that perception that makes the difference.

In my dissertation, "Latino Success Stories in Higher Education: A Qualitative Study of Graduates at a Health Science Center," located at: http://digital.library.unt.edu/permalink/meta-dc-3687
I discovered that critical mass is as much about perception as it is about reality. The former students who were successful created this sense of critical mass for themselves.

For other communities or for people who cross community boundaries, keeping a foot in several different communities, the question becomes more problematic. Where do I fit may depend on where I am not necessarily who I am. If you are a female of Hispanic and African-American descent and you identify as bisexual, what group is your community? What word do you choose first when describing yourself?

Just where you fit is a matter of comfort, and at any given moment, that can change. That's why creating and sustaining community can be so challenging.