Identity, despite its idiosyncratic implications, is not a free-floating quality. Rather it is a social construct organically connected to varied dimensions of social life. Each social order gives birth to a set of opportunities and conditions that either enable or constrain individuals in the making of their respective identities. Even those who are interested in transcending existing identities need the social and cultural “materials” against which they work, or better, on the basis of which they weave new identities. Having ...