GENDER, RACIAL, ETHNIC, SEXUAL, AND CLASS IDENTITIES

Identity is the individual's psychological relationship to particular social category systems. This chapter summarizes how people create and negotiate their gender, racial, ethnic, sexual, and class identities. Theories, methods, and priorities in each of these content areas diff er. However, each systematically excludes particular research particip ants and thus ignores the complexity of people's multiple social ident ities. Research suggests that gender, racial, ethnic, sexual, and clas s identities are fluid, multidimensional, personalized social construc tions that reflect the individual's current context and sociohistorica l cohort. However, far too little empirical work captures the richly t extured, theoretical conceptions of identity development, maintenance, and change. Innovative methods for assessing the content and structur e of people's identities now exist. Future research should include gro ups other than young children or college students; should explore func tions of identity other than just self-esteem adjustment, or well-bein g; and should implement methodologies that are longitudinal and that a ssess people's many social identities.