Moghaddam and Harré (2010: 2) stated that positioning theory is about “how people use words (and discourse of all types) to locate themselves and others”. Further, that is “it is with words that we ascribe rights and claim them for ourselves and place duties on others” (p. 3).
As relatively evident in other identity theories, the society is always involved in the process of identity construction.
Positioning, per se, is really just putting yourself into position on to where you stand in social conversations. Gerard Duveen suggested that social representations include different identities which enable people to position themselves in a variety of ways in relation to the symbolic field of culture. That is, the identity you portray in specific situations with specific people.
For instance, in a conversation with your friends regarding a social issue, you take the position of being a friend, as well as taking a position on your stand on the issue (e.g., affirmative or negative). This explains the ability of the self to embody different identities in different conditions. This identity is built within the social situation, thus confirming that such situations contribute to the identity being represented.
However, positioning requires us to have a voice which would enable us to represent ourselves in the social arena. And it cannot be denied that there are a lot of marginalized groups that get their voices taken away from them as they get the least amount of chances to fight against the discrimination that they face. In the Philippines, local rice farmers suffer from earning way less than they should to be able to provide for themselves, and they have no other choice than to accept and continue this relationship with greedy traders. As they are incessantly being subject to such inequality, they are unable to have a voice that will let them express their concerns to the community and the government. As a result, they are not getting enough attention from the people and are unable to get help.
Given that, they have no means to own a position.
References:
Moghaddam, F. and Harré, R. (2010) Words, conflicts and political processes. In F. Moghaddam and R. Harré (eds) Words of Conflict, Words of War: How the language weuse in political processes sparks fighting. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger.
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