Questioning Identity Gender, Class, Ethnicity

Why is 'identity' important - in people's lives and in the social sciences? How much control do we have over shaping our own identities? Are we more uncertain about our identities now than in the past? Questioning Identity: Gender, Class, Ethnicity provides an accessible exploration of identity as a contemporary concern in everyday life and as a key concept in the social sciences. The world in the twenty-first century may be an increasingly unstable place, but changes offer new opportunities as well as new challenges. key social divisions of gender, class, 'race' and ethnicity, this book shows how these challenges and opportunities work out in people's lives. What is happening when people identify with particular definitions of themselves or strike out and forge new identities? Do gender, class and ethnicity offer some stability and even security about who we are, or are these structures constraints on our freedom to choose our own identities? How far is it possible to forge new identities in changing times? This key text will be essential reading for students starting out in the social sciences and for anyone with an interest in the dilemmas of identity in contemporary society.