i,il

ill Deboting identity

L
from Simon During, Cultural Studies: A Critical
Introduction, New York: Routledge, 2005.

Identitiesare con('cptuallv n-rore-cornplex than thev mav at first appear.From onc point
of view, they deline w.hosomehodS'isin tcrms ol a trait, rvhich rnight bc anvthing from, lirr
instance,a physical featurc of'thc bocly,a bcliel, a gencalogy or a cultural prcfercncc. In
effectthey idcntifv by placing indiviclualsinto groups w'ho sharc that tr.rit. And this has a
consequencc:it mcans that identitv is r'ron at the pricc of rcduc;inginclividuality.Mr,iclen-
tity asa man, for instancr, both dclines nre anrl lunps mc uith 50 pcr ccnt (roughlv) of
the population, radicallv rcducing nl' particularity. Furtherrnorc thc traits chosen tc-r
ascribeidentity to an individual arc ahvavscontingent, sincc rvhatclcr trait is choscn to
Iix identitv. another one coulcl havc bcen chosen, evcn if it seerns'natural' to idcntil'r'
peoplebv. for instancc,thcir gcnder (and it seernsas i{ all kno*'n socictiesdo in thct idcn-
tify people bv gendcr). Identitics, then, are not given in tcrms of w-hatindivi<lualsare as a
whole, but in terms of more or lessarbitrarilv selcctccllbaturesthat thev possess.For thc
mostpart, inclividualshavc little po$'crrto choosc rvhat leatures rvill bc uscclto idc-ntifv
them - thesearc determinecl socialh.,{rom thc outsidc.
From the point ol'r'icr,r'of inclivicluals,it mav stem as if, becausc idcntitics arc:
external, partial and
collcctivising, thcv clislocateone fiom oncself. The v anchor r.r'ho
I o u a r e t o o n l l a p a r t t , f v o u r . . l f . Y " t , l r o n r t h e o t h t ' r s i r l c .o f r o u r S C h
, c , a u s , .i n r l i ri . l -
ualsexist socially
in and through their iclentities, ll.ithout an iclentity therc is no such
jring as a sociallysituatctl ;ndiiidual. Socierties,
identitics and inilividuals clo not cxist
tndepenclently
of one anothcr, anclat a thcorctical ]evcl, it is mcaninglcssto criticisc
lQentities
in gencral lor clepriving incliviclualsol'inclividualitr',just as it is \1rong to
that inclividualscornprise nothing Lrut thcir itlcntities. Identitics arc not s()
, :ont:nd
tnuchthe
t nrediationbctlrecn inrlivi<lualsan<lsocit:tvas constitutivc of that rclation.
I*

ril
3in 145
Il

-
-
IDENTITY T DEBATING IDENTITY

H o u t ' r c r t h i s i s s t i l l a l i t t l c t o o s i r n p l c .I n r l i ri r l u ; r l si l o n ' t h a r - ca s i n q l ci < l c r r t i t r1, [ 1 1 ' ' t h c s u l r . j c ra' ts s u t r i e t ti s c o n s t i t u t c t l[ x l a c k . 1 3 u tl c a r i n g . r s i t l c

from t|cir perspr-ctirc,
have irlcrrtlrics, anti th.,r,<lo st>just becauscitlcltitics ar.. l>ascrl<>;ltartill tfJils (ski;t analr,sis, in marrv situations,idcntillr'ation c.ttt bc ac.:,runtcclli>r ttrorc
flris thcoretical
colour, socio-ccononticstatus,gcn<lcr,nationalitv,re.gion,proft'ssion,gcncr;ltion an(l pcoplc idcntif\'u'ith tht-ir itlcntitics to a grcatcr or lt:ssc'r<leqrcebt'caust'i<lc'n
simplv.
so on). Iatn a ntau atr<la Nc'w Zcalar-rclcr
an<llt.t cctrrmorph antl lrourgcois ant] ar.r tht li'arntllork of'tht-ir livcs. and also,cln occ.'tsiot'ts, [)t(.lllsc plt'.rrun's
tities constitutc
s o < 1 o i n gI.t i s i m p t i r t a n t t o ( l i s t i t r g u i s h
b ctuctrr {i\r'n ',r
ar'aclemicanclAquarian, ctc. I3ut not all iclentitics carrv cclual uc'ight in p.rrtic.r.rlar a n d r e u , a r d sf i r l l o u ' i - o m
circumstance.sor hlve. thc samc social consequcncres. man\'()l \\'hiL'harc bascdon corporcalitr (a Maori, a n<rtnan)'an<l
Cicncler,rac(. or cthnicil_r., an<l inheriteclideltitics,
c l l s s a r c ' t h e i t l c n t i t i c s ,m ( ) s t o f a l l , b v u h i c h \ \ ' r - ; r r cp l a t c d s o c i a l l r 'A. n t l t h r . r c l a t i r r , marl'ot rr-hicharc basccl<ttrcultural, rnatt'rial or iclcologic.rlthoitcs
choscnidcntitigs,
(a a uaitcr, an opcra lan). This tlistinction (uhilc ll no
lcight of iclcntitieschangesacrrosstinrc antl space.For instancc,in manr n"ur()lrstho or prel'ercnces conservatile,
liqious iclcntiticslirr instanc<',u'irich scctn oftcn to bc
countv in $hich on('\\'as lrorn usetl to mattcr a qrcat dc.rl in tcrrns of itlcntitr'. No\ means*,atc.tiqlrt: u'hat about re
is usefiil inst>faras it rctttiutls ils that tht't'r'art'
({or)r-rallvsl)caking)it matt('rs t-nuchlc'ss.On thc othcr hln<1,oncc nationalit_v carri.rl indc,termipatclyinht'r'itrtl irnclchoscn?)
littlerucight as an itlcntitv trait; nou' it marks the iclcntitv u ith u hich statcsar(' most arlcl intcnsitics o1- idt-ntification u'hich no thcorv ol iclcntilicatir>n is ablt' trr
many kinds
ccntrallv enqage'd.()r takc br-ing a'man', u'hic:li.in the \Vr-st,has bccn transfirrmcrl And as Franz Fanon has pointccl ()uti Ilcgativc iclcntitics can bc intcrnalisccl as
cove,r.
()\'cr the last thirtr'\'cars ()r sc,fronr an implicit univcrs.rl(t:r'crr'onr \\'.rs1'c{Jr(lc(l.ts po*'ertully as pt-rsitir e ont-s( f anon I 9661'
nralc unlessothenr-ist--
nrarkcd) to bcing mcrclv one idt-ntitv arnongothcrs. Furthermorc, lrc-crausc idcntitics art'partial, thev leave- sl)a(]csoutsidc o1'thtlnlsclrcs.
Thcn, too, the tcrms bv rvhich idcntitit-sarc ascribcd clo not r.rsu.rllr'<lcsc.ribc bv mv brinq a'man' or bv anv othe-rol'mt iclcntitie-s,
Not all of mc is cove-rt--<l or ll' all o1'
traits
antl groups ncutrallr'.Thcv arc culturallv inllectcd, and in the last ilrstanccart'<lctcr- tlem togcther'.'fhcrt is somc'thinq in mt-, a scll'or''intcriolifl'', that h,tsno idcrltitr': it

minccl bv pou<'r relations u'ithin a c<>rnmunitr',cspcciall_r'

how thcsc shape soc.ial belongsto mc as an inrlii iclual u'ith a propcr namc brtt slips au av lrom anv intcrpcrs,,tr.ll

rt-lrtions bt'tu'ccn thosc using tht-- i<lcntitt <lescriptor .rncl thosc to rr honr thc
tlcsc:riptor ap1;lies.Thus, tirr instancc, it mattcrs a grcat rlcal lrhrthcr an .\rnerican
black pe-rsonis callcd a niggcr, an Alrican Amcrican, a black, a Nigro, ctr'- E.rchof
thcsc tcrrns rnarksan iclcntitv n'hich is both the salne as (in that it rn.rrksout thc samc
group) antl tlifl'crcnt from (in that it has cliffercnt connotations) each o['thc othcr
tlrms. Ancl cach of thcse tcrms rnav ch.rngcits rneaningcl.-penrlingon uho is usingit,
recognitionat all.'l'his is thc srrrl<l of priratc moo<ls,de'sirts.1n(lthoughts,xhich rnav
not even bc- cr>nsciousllarti(ulatc(l at all, nht-rt- I mat' scc'tn to bc tnost tlllstlt
Sometimesthis space-is associatcclu'ith lrcc'clom or rcsistancc,but thcre is no prrticttlar'
o1'.rslimiting r.ithcr
reasonrvhy that shoulclbt' so.At bcst, il social irlcntitics .tre cr,rnccive'cl
than enabling (and it nrakesmorc scnse to rL-gardtl-rt-mas sitnultant--ortslv lirnitillg antl
enabling), thcn thc scll'outsiclc i<lcntitv cscapcsthc limits of iclcntitr'. But at a cost

a n < li n s h a t ( . r n t e x t . S o m c i d t ' n t i t v u o r r l s a r c u s r : i la f l i r r r r a t i v c l rl r r t h c , 1 r r , u | l .t h u r preciselybccauseu'hat lacksiclcntitl cann()tlirrm a soci.rlPcrs()lla-

drscribe lanclthus tlrcv mark'scll- idcntitics'), othcrs are n()t. (]uitr olien, uortls usctl There has bccn an increasingintcrest in ider-rtitlsincc thc: scvcnticsas a r,'sult,'l
br' <>thcrsto dcline a group insultinglr or preju<liciallr,are approptiatcd bl tlic group what hascom(' to bc callccl'iclcntitv politir's', a politics u'ith n'hich cultural strr<lie
s has

t h t r n s t - l r r sa n r lt u r n c d i n t o a t c r m m a r k i n g s c l f i t l c n t i t r , u s u a l l l a f t c r y r a s s i ntgl r l l t r { h been alignc<I,as rvc knr>u-.Idcntiil' politi,'s rn('ans),rf'coursc, a p<-rlititsettgagt'rlor-r

behalf of those u,ith particular iclcntitics (usualh historic.rlll clisertrrpo*c-rt-<loncs)
a bricf phasc w'hcre-thcv arc used ironicallr':hippie, punk, niggcr itst'lf, ftrr instantc.
Thc lit betu'ctn an idcntitl anclan indi'r'irlualself is, thcrcfirrc, strr-rctur.rlllloosc, ratherthan a politics organiseclon thc basisol particr-rlar socialpcilit:ir-s or philosophics.
I n f a c t t h e s e r l i s t i n c t i e l s a r ( - s o n ) r ' \ \ h a t n c l : l u l o u st 'sr itn' ltrtt r a t l i t i o n al cl f i / r i g l r t p , , l i
anclis oftt-r-rthoughr of as rcquiring Proccsscsof irlcntificati<>n'inortler to bt scalt'cl
tlrtr tics was loosclv organiscclarountl crlass
irlentitie-s.
l F u s s 1 9 9 5 ; . C t : r t a i r - r l r . i n c l i v i r l ucal il fsf e ra s t o t l ' r cc l e . g r coc f i n t c n s i l r ' u i t h u h i t h
( o n n c c t t o p a r t i c u l a ri c l c n t i t i c sI.n c l c e - <sli,g n i f i c r a n tu m [ ; t ' r so f p c o l l l c s t r u g g l t t ' r ' r l i s - The origins of idcntirv politic'sart--nrurkr,: it is oltcn sai<lthat tlrt'r bcgin u ith th.'
th(' llr()sI c i v i l r i g h t s l r o v c m c r r ) ti n t h e L t S A c l u r i n g t l - r cc a r l r s i x t i c s ,a t t e r u h i c h q r ' , , t r p .s i t h
idcntifi' fi-,rm det.rchther-nscllt-s fl'orn givcn idcntitits, rvith tt'.rnsscxu.rls
(lis specificcultural ancls<>cial icle.ntitics incrrt:asinglv rnaclcpolitical c'laimson tlic basisttf
I'amousof such groul)s. (ln this (ase \\'c havc an iclcntitr bascclon i(l( ntil'iLrti('11
c'rtt thoseidentities in particular,,\frican Arrrcricrans on bchall'ol'thcir racialll clcfint'<l
sintc, ac.c'orcling to tht cultural logic of gcnclcr-iclt'ntitir-s, .rn inclivitlr.ral born .t ttt..tn
c o m m u n i t r a n < ll i r m i n i s t so n l r t h a l l o l ' l o l n t - ' n
r r . ' r ' c r u l r o l l v b c c o r n r a \ \ ' o n r i n . ) A nurhl c r e i t l c l r t i t i c s h . r r c a l o ut u l t u r a ]r . r l t r e , r r l t l i - 1 ( ) r ' n ia r t t lW i n a n t 1 9 I i 6 , 7 5 ) l ' h c s c
Claimsrverc conncctcrl to an analvsisa1 ()ncc rroliti<'alantl historital. In tt'rnrs ol
vi<lualsascrihc(lsuch iilcnlitics can intt'rnaliscncgativc imagcs o1'thctr.rsclrcs. Irr such
h i s t o r v , i t l r lt r. n. c J l ) l ) J l ( n l l l r l t l . r r t r r t u , i . . s i n t i r . , \ \ i s t t l r t ' \ . r l u ( \ . l r r ( 1 . 1 1 1 1, l' i l r 1 1
c . r s c st,h t ' l ) r ( ) c c sos I i t l t ' n t i l l a t i ( ) n( a n ( . I r . r spes _ vhci c < l a r n . l q c .
firr' particulargroup n hitc, hctcroscxu.-rl nrr'r'r,an<lcspcciallru hitc, ht't('r()scxunl,l)()Lrr-
Irlcntil'ir.ationrt'nrainssonrt'tliing ol'a tlrtiorelit,al.'nigrl.i' \\'e sJ\\ c.rrlicl ho$,
, l c n t i f l c a t i ou n i t h a n r s u b j c c tp o s i t i o n c a r tn c \ c r b e t : o n l p l t t e , t - t '
t i n Seoismen harl bt'en takt.n as tht'norln.'l'hcv cxcrnplilictl ul-ratit uas ttl ltc a h,.tt'tl.rtt
p o s t N , l a r x i s t si <

t47
146
rll IDENTITY DEBATING IDENTITY

il ri 'ruling
bcing as such univcrsal hurnanncss.Thc Enlightcnrncnt, as thc historical nro'rcn1 blocs' (in AngloPhonc countrit's WASPS IWhitt- Anglo-Saron
fieqemonic
lr thal clerprivetl rcligion ancltraclitionol thcir sor:i.rland political authoritr',harl iroli.allr. u'asgr.rduallv diminishc<I.Wc arc alrcadvquitc I'anriliaru ith this historr',
pritcstantsl)
( s o i t * a s a r g u c d l r ' o n s o l i c l a t ctrhl c n o r m a t i r i t v o f t h c n h i t t ' n r a l c b v r l c l a i r l t * i t i r aspccts u ith thc historv of posttnoclcrnismantl qlobalisation:\Mrrl<l
which sharesmany
Go<l anclhiston' out of tl'rt:picturc, ht- stoo<lat thc rrorlcl's ccntrc.as thc pr.irilegcrl r.nomcnt in tire <lcclincof'clit<' hcgemclnvfirr rarious reasons.The
War II rvasa kc'-v
bcart:r of reason.Ccrtainlr, an<lthis is tht'mort- imi)ortant political point in Asia shoued that the'Wcst uas not invincilrlc.The US mili
th,, u ltit,. early Japanesevictories
helerosc-'xual
man was the locus of'authoritv and ponerr, uith an acccssto thc public depcndcnc\, ort African Amcrican troops anil the subst:qucnt GI Bill (u'hich
tary's
sphcre and to political and econornic gooclsqrantcd to no othcr groul). Arnrerl 1.ith in tht--North but not in tht' South) helpcd rc-ene-rgiscthe cir.il
helped racial cqualitr,
rerelation of thc Holoc.rust siqnilicantlv clirninish.'tlthtr
this strcrnginterl;retation of histon and politics, idcntitl gr()ul)s,inc'lutlingtt'urilists, rights rno.,cment. Ar-rclthe
gars and lcsbians,and various c-thnicgrriups, hare incrcasinqlvsincc thc sixtics 6ccn aplpealot racist politi.s, basicallvcastingit bcr<rn<lthe palc ofthc rcspcctablcat leastin
ablc to llnd spaccslr'iLhin thc public sphcre anclcr.cn thc lormal politicralal)l)aratuscsro its most ovcrt forms.Thc dccolonisationof thc lifties alsodc'nte<lEuropeanhcgcmont,
asscrtanclstruggle lbr rvantsantl nerccis that tht-r'havc bv r.irtuc o1'thcir nralginaliscrl and the South Asian sub contincnt's long struggle for indepcndcnce \\'as cspeciallv
idcntitl or to rcsist constraintsinrposcriupon thcnr bv virtuc ol thcir iclcntitr. important to that, as \\'as,later, thc vicrtorvof'Vie'tn.rmcse comnrunistsovcr, lirst, thc
lt is also sonretimessaid that idcntitv politics arc lucllcd bv the clesirclirr'rccogni- Frencha.rdthen the USA. Morc concrctclv, the uomcn's moscmerlt w'ascn.'rblecl bv a
tion' (Tiylor 199.t1(thr: street u'ord for u'hich is'rcspcct'), but in most casc'sthcl hayc series of economic ancl technological dcvelopm(-nts: relativc afllucncc, nerr clcr.ices
also been motivatecl bv more than that by thc desire-fbr acccss,libcrtv anrl lair, forwashing, clcaning, cooking, the oral c()ntraccptivcrand so on, all of vrhicrhgradualh'
unprejucliccdtreatnrcnt. Noncthclcss to thc clegree'thatidcntitl politics tlr>r'5
invn1.,,,. shiftedthe balance ol-por.r,ertret*t-cn the genclcrsin e'r'crvdavlif c or at lcast did so in
the claim th.,rta ct-'rtaincultural inrisibilin,of thc iclcntitv-{roup lrt- rt-r'titied,it r.vill advancedinclustrialnations. Similarlr suburbanisationplaved a kcv rolc in tht' crncr
contain a componcnt of recognition that is lacking in other lorms of politits, and it is gence of thc gay liberation mo\'cment since it allou'ed strong gaY comrnunitics to
important not to undervaluc respect'svalue. Furthcrmorc, u'hcre particular iclcntities flourish in certain inner citv neighbourhoods. And as n'c have sccn, the culture and
havebeen marginaliscdor demoniscd bv thc most povvcrlul qroups in a socit'tr',idcn- media industries themsclves accclcrate scgmentation and identitv formation b1'
'c'onscit>usness
titl politjcs can inr'olr.e raising', that is thc critiquc ol ncgatilc quicklytargetingparticular iclcntitiesas spccilic, de-limited c()nsunrermarkets.
and un<loingthc psvchic damagcinvolvcd in idt-ntitvingu'ith thcm.
stercotvpers Cultural studics has oftcn been rcgarded (and cspeciallv in thc USA) as thc acaclc-
It is rvorth pausing a moment to considcr in morc clctail w.hv idcntitr' politics micisation of identity politics (ancl thcrefbre an inheritor of this historv), but in far:t it
of the
bccamc so limiliar a part of the socialanil political lanclscapeir"rthe last clcc'.rdes hasbeen split betu'een tu,o sidcs: one that has allicd itself ivith mar-qinal or suborcli
tu'cntieth ccntur\'. ln qcncral thcrc are t\l,o kinds of cxplanationslbr thc emr-rgcnce ol nated identitics; anothcr that has unclcrstoorl idcntities as lirrnrs of constraint and

political forrnationsof this kincl: ()nestresscsthe agcncv o1-thccommutritv .rn.lirrcliritl- rigidity or even as part of the social structur.rtion of hcgcrnonr'.Hcnce thcrc havc bcen

ualsinvolvcd; the othcr analyscsthc iargcr socialconditions that maclethc-nc.r'politics repeatedattemptsto articulatc a'post-identity' cultural politics bv turning to concepts
instancefi'onr historr',uas suchashybridity, attempts that l>ecamemore an<lmore influcntial through thc cightics
and its fbrms of associationpossible.Thus,to takc a I'an"rous
and Dineties,fuellcd bv an incrcasinglvconcretc senseofidentitv politics' conceptual
the British abolitionist movemcltt empor.vcredbv slavcsand tl-reirsupP()rtt'rsor is lt to
and political dilficulties.
be unclcrstooclas a consequcnceof thc relativc economic'inr-fllcicncvof'slavct'r'(scc
.l tlitl .{ttican We can sumrnarise these difllc.ulties as follou s:
James 963; Bl.rckburn 1988)r In terms of modcrn iclcntitY politics:
on
Arnericans, \\.onlen, gavs and lcsbians, and thc disabled lirrrn political assotiaticttts
1 Identity politics tends to erase intcrnal tliffcrcnces.l'hus lcminism I'ailed to mark
thc basisof thcir autonomous u'ill fbr libcratior-r,or ilicl thev organise then-rst'llcspolit-
t1 the differcnce bctrveen womcn of diffcrcnt classesor <>lrlil-lercnt ethnicitie s, or
icalll bccausethcr uerc cnableclto <lo so bv circumstanc:cs7 Irt fact u'c dr>tl'thav-c
indeeddiffcrent attitudL-stou.arclsl-cmininitv itsclf, a failurc that almost cripplcti
make a hard c'ler,isionbe-tu'ccnthcsc altcrnativcs.The u'ill .irrclcncrgv ol'rnarginalisctl
t h em o v c m e n t .
groups has been crucial to identitv politic,sbut, n.ncthclcss, such politi, s ocrcurreu
-) ^ tt ver)
nhcn it dicl bccauseof larger forccs and Opcninqs,rvith thc balanccbctu't-cn'push'and similar point: idcntitv politics oltcn assumesthat an iclcntitv is an esscncc
'puII' tttat there exists an essential (or
cs.
f'actorsdilli'ring in difli'rent <'ircumstanc authcntic) rvav ol being a \voman, a Maori, an
Asian, etc. Hybriditv thcorv hclps clisabusc of this notion, as vye shall sec
T'hc cmcrqcnr,c of ()ccitlcr.rtaliclcnlin,Politics in tlic scr.cnticscan bc."g.ltO*::"j us
colonlat below.
lnomcnt in a long history clurilg u,hich tl-leauthoritt, ol r'ariousnational au<l

148 149
IDENTITY DEBATING IDENTITY

I r l c n t i t r ' p o l i t i c st t ' n < l st o s r r r k l r v t h c p r i r r c i p l co l ' c x t : l u s i o nl.t l c n t i t i c st c . t l t o u ith thc situation in uhich thcr arc p.'rlbrnrccl or othcru'isc acrtc<l
b. into negotiation
strut'turccl lrl re<lucingor rlcnronisingparti('ular otht.rs, t ithcr in t..rscsrrlrtr,. than th.rt:in a p<>st-N'{arxist turn, it is strl;Posr-<l
that indir i<lualsanrl gr()ups
upon.Mot"
sociallt rlonrinant irlcntitics arc bcing lirrmcd (thc conc(.1)t,r1'tl.r,,,r.hir.. thr.ir idrntitv all thc rnorc intensclv bcc.ruscidcntitv as such is alu avsa littlc
,r.1" Jn urr"ra
largcl_vbasctl on r-ilifving gr()ul)s u ith othcr skin coloirrs) ()r in r.rs(,s\\lror(, no i<lt-ntitr'<irclers a u'hole suhjct'tivitv or fbrms.r sc(urc gr()urxl for all
outof reach
idcntitv gr()ups arc r-'ng.rgc<l in a politics ol'emancipalir>n(lcnrinisn-rlr.asunrlcr To put this in othcr terrnrs:hvbrirlitv thcorv thir-rksof iclcntin n()t as r
lfe_practices.
llrcssul'cto rcPrc'sent all nrc-nas serxists). trait sharcclacrossgr()ups,lrut as a Practitr's'hosc mcaning and el]i'ct
ma*er, a stable
ldcntit_vp<iliticstenclsto ovcrlook i<lt'r'rtitir:s
aroun<livhich livcs arc actr-rallr.
lii.c<1. m u l J t i n gr s i t s t o n l c x t t l r l n q c s '
i sc o n s t a n t l v
In everlclal lile , onc of tht- m,rrc inrl)ortant idcntitic.sthat in<liritlu.rlshlr.c 'hybriditv'? For variousrcasons.Lct's first takc up the conccpt's thcorisation
is But wh1.
lx,thc pairl u-ork that thev <lo.(This has l>ccnof mort inlt rcst to soci_
cle'terrninccl critic Homi Bhabha,u'ho camc to thc question of idcntitv
by the influcntial postcolonial
ologl than to cultural stuclies,in part becausc cultural stutlics h.rs ottcr trcrn tlrrough his intercst in colonialism. Bhabhaargued that'strbaltcrn' idcntities are rcgu)arlr'
drivcn bl the u-ill to politicisc idcntitics anclhas bccn rclativclv unintc.rc'stc<l
in articulated in tcrms that are not thcir ovr-n but are thosc of thc dominant laction.
c1uestir>ns paitl u ork. )
c otrccr-nit.tg (,subaltern' is a term uscd originalh ll Grarnsci but r.vhichno* usuallv rcft-rs to thost'
Whcn a political or social movrmcnt is grounclcclon iclerrtitr',thc tonlcnt o1'thc socialgroups n'ith the ieast pou'cr of all, cspeciallv colonised peoplcs.) Uncler crolo
'ide-r-rtitr''
tr-nrlst<il>cenrphasiscrlan<lthe inrport.rnr-c'olorganisationan(l l)ro(css nialism,subaltcrn identitr is not a pur-ctxprcssion ol'its ou,n distinct charactcr.Rather,
in achicr-ingpolitical entls is ncelcctc(l.This is lrccausci<le-ntitr'politicsarc oltcn the identity of subaltcrn troups is articulated in signif\'ing practices that imitate an<l
''displace
sirnullancr>uslv crirrccrnt'tlto incrcascthc intcnsitl of grouP soliclaritl arxl to lulfil concepts(or discourscs)that har.ebt-en artic:ulaterlLrvthe coloniscr. ln imitating
iclcntitics in idc'ntitr'politics arc ncithcr
clain'rsto rights. Ftrrthcrnlorc, l>t-causc anddeflectingdominant iclentitic'sancl<liscourses,so Bhabh.l'sargumcnt gocs, thc hvlrrid
n e r g o t i a b l ne ( ) r ( \ \ i t h i n I i m i t s , )a b l c t o b c t - x p a r - r r l ct <
olintlurlc thost'uho rlon't subalternsubvertsthe opprcssor outsidc anv lormal political struggle. Hvbridiscd idt--nti-
sharc thc iclcntitr',identitl politics t:an lapscinto riqirlitr anclcauscli.rgmcnt.rtion ties acquired by the dominated cause ambivalcnce. Ancl thel' call into clucstion the
to opt'ratc rl ithin.
of'the sharcrlgrountl that politrt s in ct'rtain t'onjunt:turcst'tcc<ls naturalness arrdlegitimacr, of hcgemonic idcntitics lsee Bh.rbha199,t).
This tcn<lcn<_iis most marked n he'nan iclcnlitv is ascribetl in tcrtrs o[ .rcultttrc,as Second,in a rathcr difl'crent account, hl'briclitv is a ustful concrcptlrecause- groups
n c u'ill sce in thc scction on mrrlticulturalisrr-r. urd individuals clo not har.c a single idcntitl but scvcral. In particular, as Stuart Hall
h i s t o r i c so r t r a < l i t i o n su h i c h . r n l ' . '
I r l c n t i t v p o l i t i c s t t : n d st o i n v c n t l c g i t i r r r a t i n q arguedin his w,orkon ethnicitr',thc tcrm 'black' in l3ritainpullcrl togc'thcrr rliou: r cr\'
(the n cornme rciallr cxpkritcd. l'trhaps national iclt'rrtiticsare the most different groups coming liom various placcs arouncl thc u.orlcl. And its hctcrogcncrtv
1>oliticallv )
o b v i o u si n s t a r r c co I t h i s , s i n c c ' i r r i c n t c c l t r a c l i t i o n . in
'h l r . ' b e . n t s p l r i a l l r s t r ( ) l ) q lentit power.It mcant lor instanccthat the 'black' idcntitv could not call upon m\ ths o1'
'invcntion' tart.rn 'rntl aPastto consolidatcitseil',anclthat it coulcl not easilvsettlc back into assumptionso1'
tht-.irc.asc. Tht- n-rostf'arnouserxarnplcis thc r>l'tht-'Scottish
sharedculture.This'differcnce in unitr'' <lcnrandcrla politics ol
k i l t a s a r r i m p o r t a n t s i g n i l i c r o fn a t i o n a li < { c n t i t r ' , f l r s t b E
r nglishtlothitrgtr'rttttlat- Droct'ssin r hich n hat
wasdifferent between mcmbcrs of
turcrs clurilg thc e'iglttct-pthcclltury an<lthgt b' SirWaltcr St.,tt's work on lrtrhall' one iclentit\, \\:asas inrportant as u'hat vras sharccl,
antl a n d w h i c hp r c v c n l c r l
, r l c u l t u r a l n a t i o n a l i s r nr l u r i n g t h c c a r l ' n i n c t t - r n t l rc c t ) t u l ' \ ( s tt H o h s b a nr r r a r r r k i r r , lo l r r r , , n , , l i 1 h i r ' , r l t u r , ' l r t , t o m i irtrsgo l r j c t l i v t ( 5 1u , u ' t
Hall 19921 It requirccl
t { a n g c r1 9 8 3 ) . ulliur-r..,s; antl cxchangesLrctw'ccndilie'rentgroups in situations
wherea politi..al
gr(,up \\ a\ li,rn,.d , rn it s lr.rsis.
to tr! arld tltt".on""pi*
l ) e r h a P s c u l t u r a l s t u r l i c s ' s t l ' o n g c s t a t t c l l t l ) t t o a < l < l r c s st h e s c ' P r o b l c n r s \ \ a s ,^^ hur" [-rc.-ncriticiseclbecausc,lirr all their ope]nncss,the.vrcnrarrr
tor* a iog;c an<1politics of opposition ir.ru.hich iclentitiesrcmain, at l>asc,
r r - t l - r i t ' r ki r l c n t i t r j n s u t h a u . t - r ' t l i . r 1 t h c c o n c ' c p t l o s l i 1 s r i g i r i i t r . - l ' h i s . r t r t ' n r | t lI:O "O.t
'hrlrrirli[ '
v a r i o u s l i r r r - r - r st,h r m . s t * i < 1 . 1 ' r l i s s c r ' i n a t c r l r l s h i c l r i , t l r l ' . a i " g , , t - 1 o l oni an,rth..r'ancl<letcrnrining o1'social action. Thus, in thc rvorclsot
f:|""t-!()-
'u'itics -li ) 1" ttt"" h1'britlitr''aluavs reitcratcs ancl rcinlbrccs thc clvnamicsot thc s.rmc
[ u t a r - r < l t h girs * f i a t S t t r a r t H a l ] r . a l l c r l i' <lillir'e.cc' (l lall l9ii7, 1$b:rrtYoung,
t)r conllictual
c a s q s , i t l c n t i t y i s c 6 n t , < . i y q t lr r 6 1 a s e f i x e t l t n a r k c r l x t t i n 1 t ' r t l l s o l t h c l l r o t c s s c s "aon,r-t
u l r < r : t .t r . n s i ' n sa r r , ld i r i s i . n : i l r ( ( . l l J (t r i , r i t . , , r r n a r r t i t l r . . t i t l l
thcsc (Young I 99 5, 27) Thc conCr:ptol hvlrrirlit-r.<loc'snor n'rovesulllcicntlr,
thcon'
P t - r l i > r r r l a n c . c sl } $hit.h iclClrtities arc lirrntcrl. Acc'orcling to this tilli*' Past
( ()llstallt I r L l t Jtiolr this critiqu('is rather rc.nr.r'ecltl-om c.vcrrr[.rr'lifi'nl.rcrt'somucl.r
t h t ' r n c a n i n q a n < ll i r r c c o l . t l l i t l < ' r t t i t i e s . r r c i n q ordered
;":::itypolitics.-But
l)r()( csscsart.cr>ntinual: ' r l ' cl l o t b/v '.'\,,!rL,L).
i . r ^ ^ , ; . ; . . . rt
r . sccnlsto bc nraking a thcorclical anrl utopian rathcr than a
( a l t h e u g h t h c - r ' s 6 n t e t i p t c s c h . 1 ' r g c n r 6 r c s l p y l - t t l t . i r t a t g t h c r 1 i 1 ' r c s ) .l t l t ' t l t i t i c s Dtam^ ,
cnter
havc to ,F**tpo,'n,
j u s t g i r t ' n , r r . t . h , r s . ' t r , t l r t ' r 6 a r c t . l r t ' t ' t r l < t t ' < 1 ,l r t r f t 6 i s t l r c . r t l st h a t t h c - l

r50 t5l
 IDENTITY

Furthcrmorc, to t ritique hvbriditv asinsulllcientlv clisengage<l fiom thc c,ategorv

of
iclcntitv itserlfis to firrget that subject lbrmation rcquircs idt-ntitv. It ls impc_,ssible

1 cxist in socictv u'ithout a proper name, u'ithout being locatcd u.ithin ,h"
idcntitr'-granting institutions into *hich one is born: familv or [1n grrrrp, pation,
I
,"; ;;

ethtric communitr', qcnclcr.And this is not just an incscapahlesocial struc:trirc,.

A,,l11y
incliviclualsare seriouslv attachcd t<i at lcast some of thc iclcrrtitit-sgir.t-n 1,r th.m
Multicu lturo lism
u,
membcrs of a particular lamilv, ethnicitv, nation and/or gcndcr, ancl lr.ant th"rc,
nnt t-o
bc flui<lbut stable.It is in anclthrough thcir idcntitit-sthat thev bt-long to c.rrn;runitics.
And tlie,vma1'lind tlre traclitionsclustcrcd arounclsuch iclentiticsto ]rc ,
and a. aid in thc cri.struction of srr.ng and r.ibrant communities ."u ,u,"i]ll'l']**:f;
cascsbe excludccl fr<>memancipatory politics?
Mavbe what is most striking about both manv celebrationsof idt-ntitv an<lits critiquebv
hvbriditl'theorists is that neithcr r>ll-crsa central role lirr u'hat is surel1,.,.,.,rt'th.i.o..
catcgoriesfbr politics as such anclfbr the articulation of subordinatcclidcntitics in partic-
ular: struggle. But struggle'slogic is peculiar.I)uring a strugglc, cnemics inr-ariahlvappear
{rom n ithin the strugqling sidc: betu'een cliffcrcnt inllcctions ol tht- itlentitr'. (An obr.ious
example is thc f'eministmovcment, rvhich quicklv liagmenterl, as u'e shall scc in Prrt 6.) lathers of Americarl neo-conscr\.atlsm'
In 1991 lrving Kristol, onc of the fbrrnding
This lcaclsto splits anclpurifying exerciscsand, otten, banishmcntof rcncga<lcmembersof headlincd'The-lraged-v of
an Jditoriol think-piece in thc ltrla/,lStreetJournal
thc identitv group. Ancl u'hen the struggle is over,r:spcciallvif it results in a r-ictory,iclenti- fublished
multiculturalism is mainlv criti-
Multicultu.alism'.lts main claim rvas that, although
ties lose their charge ancl cohcrcnce; assimilation and incliff'crcncc bcgin thcir work. of eclucationalists and, as
cisedbecauseit is'illiberal', in fact it is primarilv an invcntion
(Think of lrish migrants to the USA orAustralia li>r instancc.) In the debatc ovcr hvbriditv strateg\ for coping $'ith thr- educa
such,is a,desperate ancl surely sclf-dcf'eating
this particular dvnanric ofidentitr,politics is lost, partlv bccause,fbr hvbriclin'thcorists, blacks' (Kristol 1995.
tional deficiencies,and associatecl social pathologies,of voung
conc:rptssuch as subvcrsionand resistanceareculttral and ablc to use cultural nrodessuch cultur., Kristol
50). By shifting the curriculum tou.ar.dsAfrican Amcrican history antl
as mimicr1,,ambivalcncc,ironl ancls() on as lr,eapons.Thoughtabout in the hard liqht of In
*go.j, multiculturalists $cre rlt-basing the tivilisational .aluc of thc hcritagc'
activc liberation m()\'clnents,hvlrriditv can sccm a u ishful rather than a matcrial conccPt. words that seem to prophesy the heightcncrl rhctoric o['tht' rvar on terrorism, hc
In sum, althouqhargumentsover iclentitvpolitics havelost the intensit_r'of'thc so'en'
declaimed:'Whatthcse ra{icals blancllvcall multiculturalist-uis as muth a "u'ar against
ties ancleightics, thev remain important to cultural studies(u.hich is rcm<x'crlfiom active theWest"asNazisrnand Stalinisrncvcr r,verc'(Kristol 1995' 52).
liberation struggles) as onc o1'thr: dcbates around r,r'hich thc disciplinc (rontinuesto Kristol's essaywas u.ritten in the heat of thc culturc rvars of thc carlv ninctics, and it
develol>.Thcreis no gt-tting au.ayfrorn identitir's evcn being a cultural sttrclicsstudent may seem hard to ir]lagine such statements, \\ith thcir racist ovcrtoncrs' achit-r'ingthis
clo
or teacher fornrs one. (Jnc lvav to prescnt u hat is at stakein tliis issuc rnight bc to ask: level o[ promin".r." ur,-y*,h..rt-clsc in thc Wcst toclaY,exct-pt ,rf cour.scin the USA But
anct
vr,ein the cliscipline pref'cr to prolif'crate ncrv identities, or <lo \\.c trv t() combinc that would be to forgei the French anclGerman tar right (Lt- Pen anclthc Republikancr
t:' 'rivcrs
mutate establishedi<lentitics?Or do vr.er,vork tc,r.var{sa post-iclcntitv politics oP* party) or one-timc F..,f'"..,,. of Greek, Enoch Po*.cll's fam.us l 958 of blood'
forms ol'rationalitv that (secminglr.?)clon't presul)poseanv iclentity r'vhatsoercr?'l-hats speechin the UK rvl]ich oreclicted that the continuation of Caribbean ancl South Asian
sjnceit
,r.ell positic,ncdto aclrlrt-ss irnmigration lvoulcl
thc kind ol-question u.hich cultural stu<liesi. leacl to anlrchv or n.orsc.Yt-t it is also trut'that multicr-rlturalismin
"rp".i"l[ $'here
sets a cultural prohlcm in a political lrame. Ancl u.grublv iicntitr', most o1'all, is the US political
arena tends to *"un ,.r,-n"tl,ing rather difl'ercnt than it rlots in, sar',
culture is joincd to societv and politics. buoPe or Australia:
it is somelvhat lcss conncctccl to issucso{'immigration antl morc
focussed
(as in Kristol's casc) on accepting blacks and Hispanics intc, thc tnainstream.
Furlher reoding Clhusit was that Spikc.Lcc bccamt-a hcr6 6f US nrulticulturalisrl cluring tht: l.rtc 1990s.1
1998 Yetitissalutu.ytorecallKristol'spiccencrtjustbi:causeitclcmonstratcsconscrva
Gnrsstrergantl
Irusslc)95;(iilror,, 2000;I lallanrlI)u (iav 1996;I)al;.istcr-8ia<lis
.\'{cl{obbie ..
tive thinking
o.r t(i. i...," but becauscit succinctlv points to trvo of thc m.rjor critiqucs

t52 153