Finding ‘who you really are’ is a restrictive and divisive preoccupation for young working-class people, says Deborah O’Connor, in response to an article by Ash Sarkar. Plus, a letter by Francis Hanly

Ash Sarkar is right to point out that the left’s sanctimony has alienated sections of the working class (The left keeps getting identity politics wrong – and the right is benefiting from that, 3 March). The young adults I teach include white working- and middle-class boys, and also girls, who struggle to find purpose, place and pride in their identity.

In this increasingly atomised society, many of us have lost our allegiances to broad groups and seek to define our identities in ever-shrinking niches. And in unsafe times, belonging becomes so high-stakes that to be cast from the group for some perceived infringement is terrifying. The need we all have to feel a sense of belonging battles with the desire to be seen for “who you really are”. But the truth is that knowing “who you really are” is your life’s work, and to solidify that in your young adult phase is restrictive and damaging.