Until recent decades, identities seemed to be fixed or socially constructed through categories of class, race, ethnicity, gender, sexualities, and religion, as they were passed from one generation to the next. These days, we are much more able to choose who we want to be. We have begun to recognize the diversity, fragmentation, and fluidity of identities. But how do we create and shape our own? Embodying Identities explores social theories that allow people to understand their differences, with a sense of dignity and self-worth, enabling them to understand the complexities of their embodied identities in a post-modern globalized world. The book introduces the reader to key theorists including Weber, Durkheim, and Wittgenstein, as well as contemporary authors. Comparing different traditions of social theory, Embodying Identities works through diverse examples - such as news items, film, and personal histories - to relate theory to students' experiences of their day-to-day lives.