Layered Identities and Being Gabby: A Five-Year Longitudinal Case Study

Abstract

Compton-Lilly examines the identity construction of one student, Gabby, over a five year period to explore layers of gender and race that affect identity construction. In particular, she asks how does being female and Latino contribute to the ways Gabby and her family make sense of Gabby. Compton-Lilly draws on a rich data set (e.g., observations, interviews, artwork, photographs, writing) to explore the various ways Gabby enacts her identities in the contexts of home and school. Through this analysis, the roots of intersectionality become visible. In short, we begin to understand how identities are enacted within contested spaces where the figured worlds people bring - entailing the ways of being, acting, and interacting that are available to self and others - align and clash both presenting and restricting possibilities.