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Research . 2026
License: CC BY NC ND
Data sources: Datacite
ZENODO
Research . 2026
License: CC BY NC ND
Data sources: Datacite
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Who Walked Through the Door? Identity Substitution, the Targeting Error, and Language-Based Reclamation as Intervention

Authors: Shae, Thomas;

Who Walked Through the Door? Identity Substitution, the Targeting Error, and Language-Based Reclamation as Intervention

Abstract

This study is the third in the ESSENTFLOW™ Research Series. Building on Study I (Too Much for the Room, 2026) and Study II (From Suppression to Substitution, 2026), it examines a specific and previously unnamed structural problem in help-seeking among Black women navigating identity substitution: the targeting error. The targeting error describes the structural mismatch between who initiates help-seeking and who interventions actually reach. This study proposes that when the Strong Black Woman schema produces identity substitution, the installed self — not the native self — initiates and arrives at intervention. The native self, who sent the distress signal, does not appear. This gap is not motivational. It is structural. Drawing on three theoretical moves — Fricker's (2007) hermeneutical injustice, Winnicott's (1960) True Self/False Self model applied at the population level, and McAdams' (1993, 2001) and Vygotsky's (1986) work on language as identity formation — this study argues that the targeting error persists because the native self lacks the conceptual vocabulary to arrive. Language is not a metaphor for reclamation. It is the mechanism. Data draws on a 281-conversation AI archive spanning September 2025 to May 2026, generating 8,325 total messages, 3,969 from the researcher. Method is autoethnographic with three-level archive analysis. THE SORT Method™ (See, Observe, Reclaim, Trust) is operationalized as a language-based intervention capable of addressing the targeting error by providing identity-congruent concepts the installed self does not have. This study argues a mechanism. It does not claim efficacy. The distinction matters. Keywords: targeting error · hermeneutical injustice · identity substitution · language-based reclamation · SORT Method™ · ESSENTFLOW™ · autoethnography · Strong Black Woman schema · native self · installed self

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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
0
Average
Average
Average
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