system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
CMV: Identity comes from both within and without. It’s not all about what you see yourself as.

While self image or self identity is important, it serves a much smaller utility than how others perceive you. Functionally, identity occurs many orders of magnitude more often in the eyes of those who perceive you rather than yourself. The total sum of their perception of you is much more impactful to both them and yourself than whatever it is you may see yourself as. This cannot be undone. Self identification is not the entirety of identity. It’s not even a majority of identity. It exists, but it’s not the whole.
gpt
I think it differs depending on what type of identity we're talking about. Racial identity, for example, is a very external identity. It has almost nothing to do with who you are on the inside, and has everything to do with how society treats you. This is why "transracial" can't be a thing. (Fun fact, transracial was a term used before the appearance of Rachel Dolezal types, and was used to refer to adoption situations where the parents and child are different races.)

Gender identity and sexuality, on the other hand, are much more internal. Say you're a bisexual man, but have only ever dated women to avoid homophobia. The world might perceive you as a straight guy and treat you like one, but internally you still feel that attraction towards men. You're still, by definition, bisexual, and the way people treat you can't change that.