Choosing a Self: Young Women and the Individualization of Identity

(Hardback)

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In today's social context, characterized by fluidity, uncertainty, and individualism, the choices we make have become the main factor in the formation of our individual identities. This volume focuses on the production of self-identity by young women, who face a greater range of choices in their lives than ever before, and combines empirical interview data with cutting-edge theoretical perspectives. The author has interviewed a sample of women aged 16 to 21 in order to find out what being able to make choices means to them and how they view themselves and their lives within the cultural context of girl power. Their statements and experiences are analyzed and used to interrogate the ontological assumptions of post-structuralism, feminist theory, and reflexive modernization.

Reviews

[A]n interesting and thought-provoking book for anyone interested in young women and girls or the theorization of identity and choice. A major accomplishment of this book is its use of young women's lived experiences and narratives to pose a serious critique of Gidden's modernization theories and to build and add to feminist and poststucturalist analyses of subjectivity. Including these often marginized voices in the construction of social theory is itself a significant achievement.-Contemporary Sociology
"An interesting and thought-provoking book for anyone interested in young women and girls or the theorization of identity and choice. A major accomplishment of this book is its use of young women's lived experiences and narratives to pose a serious critique of Gidden's modernization theories and to build and add to feminist and poststucturalist analyses of subjectivity. Including these often marginized voices in the construction of social theory is itself a significant achievement."-Contemporary Sociology
"[A]n interesting and thought-provoking book for anyone interested in young women and girls or the theorization of identity and choice. A major accomplishment of this book is its use of young women's lived experiences and narratives to pose a serious critique of Gidden's modernization theories and to build and add to feminist and poststucturalist analyses of subjectivity. Including these often marginized voices in the construction of social theory is itself a significant achievement."-Contemporary Sociology

Author Bio

SHELLEY BUDGEON is Research Fellow in the Department of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Leeds, U.K.