Social identities within the Society for Creative Anachronism

Abstract

This research investigated the issue of identity within a historical reenactment group called the Society for Creative Anachronism, the SCA. This international organization numbering in the tens of thousands of participants offered an unusual setting with which to investigate the issue of identities due to identities' fluid nature among SCA members. Whether or not a member was satisfied with their modern world identity, members were free to create a medieval persona, an identity based on a medieval time and culture. Identity Theory provided the conceptual framework to analyze and understand the nature of transient identities that become more permanent through continued participation within the organization. Research hypotheses examined the relationships between subjects' perceived feelings of belonging and their participation in the organization, perceived sense of emotional closeness with subjects' biological family and their participation as well as the relationship between subjects' occupational prestige ranking and their degree of involvement in the SCA. It was found that subjects' participation within the SCA was significantly impacted by perceived sense of belonging within the group as well as by occupational prestige ranking.