At the start of this book, I set out three conceptual features that identities share. The first was a set of labels and the rules for ascribing them to people. The second: the label had meaning for those who bear it, so that it sometimes shaped their behavior and their feelings, in ways they might or might not be aware of. And the third: the label had significance for the way its bearers were treated by others. (That’s why identity has both a subjective and an objective dimension.) In all three domains—labeling, norms, treatment—there can be contest and contention, and this fact will be
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