> >> highfalutin "fuckings-with-identity" are most certainly the
> >> academic/intellectual equivalents of groomed toy poodles being led about by
> >> proud owners. But, at the same time I do see people, especially those very
> >> constrained, day to day doing some very astute thinking and negotiating of
> >> multiple possible identities.
> >
> my second reaction is
> to think of Burawoy's stuff on the games people play to get through factory
> work, and the similar games people play to get through school. The games
> may make the day-to-day experience tolerable, but they leave the
> intolerable situation unchanged. So, I guess I'm confused.
>
> Doug
In virtually all large blue collar workplaces attempts to fuck with identity are rigidly policed: and it doesn't have to be a very grand project to attract hostility - just wearing the wrong colour shirt or using the wrong swear words can spark it off. In many of these places there is a rearguard action against mutable identities; people are aware of the loss of defined gender roles, sexual orientation, etc. as a general social trend, and natural conservatives attempt to reconstruct a nostalgic certainty for themselves.
loobyloo