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The legalization of same-sex marriage changed the parenting landscape for LGBTQ parents in a variety of ways. Parenthood is presumably different now that same-sex marriage is officially legal. Experiences among LGBTQ couples in the post-legalization of same-sex marriage era raise questions about the context of growing recognition and cultural acceptance of same-sex relationships. I conducted in-depth interviews with LGBTQ parents to learn how they navigate parenting and the construction of parenting roles in the context of a society that has legalized same-sex marriage, yet still is rooted in heteronormative notions of family and parenthood. Specifically, I ask: How do LGBTQ couples construct and make sense of their roles as parents, particularly within the contemporary context of the legalization of same-sex marriage? Understanding the contexts that shape LGBTQ parents’ experiences aids in not only understanding the lives of LGBTQ parents and their families better, but also developing a deeper understanding of contemporary parenting identities and experiences more broadly.

Despite the breadth of knowledge on self and identity formation across the study of organizations, the field of organizational development and change has limited research on the construction of professional identity. Much has been written to describe the “self-concepts” of those practicing and researching in the field, but there have been no investigations that have explored how these “self-concepts” form. In addition, although women have contributed to defining the “self” in the field, men have held the dominant perspective on the subject. Thus, in this chapter, we address a disparity in the research by exploring the construction of professional identity in the field of organizational development and change, and we give voice to the renowned women who helped to build the field. Using the profiles of 17 American women included in The Palgrave Handbook of Organizational Change Thinkers, we perform a narrative analysis based upon the concepts and models prevalent in the literature on identity formation. By disentangling professional identity formation of the notable women in the field, we can begin to see the nuance and particularities involved in its construction and gain deeper understandings about effective ways to prepare individuals to work in and advance the field.

This chapter compares four dimensions of ethnic identity construction among youth in two ethnically diverse schools, one in the inland city of Lillehammer and one in Oslo, Norway. In Lillehammer children of immigrant origin are in the minority, while at the place Furuset in Oslo they are in the majority. The first dimension deals with how children of immigrant origin experience having “one foot in two cultures.” The second dimension concerns the importance of appearance regarding skin color, while the third concerns the importance of appearance through clothing. The last dimension concerns proficiency in the Norwegian language. The chapter suggests that the answer to the question “Always a foreigner?” is not a clear “yes” or “no,” it depends on the social context. Most children of immigrant origin, at both schools, try to act out Norwegian identities in some contexts and foreign ethnic identities in others. However, it appears that belonging and social inclusion in Norwegian contexts are best achieved by children of immigrant origin who are in the minority and who apply assimilation strategies – that is, who try to act and pass as Norwegian. If assimilation strategies are needed for experiencing belonging and inclusion, more knowledge and education is needed in Norwegian schools on values of tolerance and creative potentiality of ethnic and cultural diversity in both local and national contexts.

The concept of (self-)identity has become increasingly central to institutional theory’s microfoundations, yet remains relatively underdeveloped. In this chapter, the authors use an autobiographical interview with a gay Protestant minister in the US to explore the role of narrative conventions in the construction of self-identity. The analysis of this chapter offers the basis for a new understanding of the relation between institutions, self-identity, and agency: how we agentically engage institutions depends not only on who we narrate ourselves to be, but also on how we narrate ourselves into being. This suggests that narration as a specific modality of micro-institutional processes has important performative effects.

Does participation in tertiary education in Aotearoa New Zealand weaken or strengthen Samoan ethnic identity? Narratives of Pacific women graduates interviewed for a doctoral study of ethnic identity construction provide illustrations of how a process of ethnic identity formation is built up through interactions between groups and individuals within institutions where all members of society participate and come into contact with each other. Ethnic identity construction is influenced by both circumstantial situational factors and what people themselves bring into those circumstances (Cornell & Hartmann, 1998). The cultural backgrounds of this group of tertiary students are socially constructed within their families and churches. It is these backgrounds they bring with them into tertiary education contexts. The strengthening of ethnic identity, as experienced by this group of Samoan women graduate students, was unique, complex and at times contradictory.

The field experience placement is an integral part of teacher education programmes. It is ostensibly meant to provide a place for teacher candidates to enact pedagogical theory gained during coursework under the supervision of an experienced host teacher. In reality, the field placement is a source of considerable tension for teacher candidates, as they struggle to reconcile their prior assumptions about teaching and learning and their prior identities as students with the demands of school culture that requires teachers and students to act in particular ways. The field experience is emotional work that has a considerable impact on the development of new teachers’ identities. In this chapter I will focus on how two new teachers learn during the field experience placement, with a particular emphasis on the roles of emotion and the development of professional identity in learning to teach. Cultural–historical activity theory (CHAT) will provide a useful lens to interpret some of the challenges of learning to teach during the field placement.

Family as a domestic group is seen to be crucial for the production and replenishment of human capital from generation to generation. With the consequences of demographic aging process, there is a rethinking into the structure and function of the institution for critically analyzing the contemporary challenges. In India, graying of the population became one among the major reason for scholars to pay more attention to interpret family attributes. Women’s social status, autonomy, and entitlements had marked serious shifts according to subsequent changes that happened. Using mixed methodology, aged women from Hindu families in India were studied. An examination of the existing structure, functions, social duties, and responsibilities in Hindu families, sociocultural constructions of identities within the sphere of family, and the impacts of age identities in determining the health-related quality of life and subjective well-being of aged women were the objectives of the study. While Bourdieu’s concept of habitus was used as a theoretical basis for the study, the researcher gives prepositions for sociocultural constructions of age identities through the concepts of Reverse Metamorphosis and Identity Cocoons. The study reveals that the self and social identity constructs explain interactive behavior as well as the interplay of personal meanings, family dynamics, and informal factors across the life span under the sociocultural underpinnings in a multicultural society like India.

Purpose – This chapter analyzes the ways that gender expectations shape the process of ethnic Jewish identity construction.

Methodology – I spent approximately 18 months conducting participant-observation with Shalom, an independent social group comprised of young adult (primarily secular) Jews, whose mission was to facilitate a “cohesive Jewish community.” I then conducted 25 in-depth interviews with group members.

Findings – My data suggest that Shalom's negotiation of Jewish identity was actually a negotiation of Jewish male identity and Jewish female identity, with the assumption of heterosexuality in both constructs. Often using language reflecting gender-coded anti-Semitic stereotypes, members of Shalom constructed Jewish identity in ways intimately intertwined with their perceptions of “typical” Jewish men and “typical” Jewish women.

Research limitations/implications – Further empirical studies of the gendered construction of ethnic identity in the United States (particularly among more recent “white” immigrant groups like Greeks, Eastern Europeans, and Middle Easterners) could help illuminate the ways gender concerns influence efforts to move to the cultural center by those situated at the cultural margins.

Originality/value of chapter – Published accounts of the intersectionality of identities have been either largely theoretical in nature or comprised of personal identity narratives. However, there has been little systematic, empirical study of the interactional processes that shape the identities produced through the simultaneous doing of both gender and race/ethnicity.