ABSTRACT
Identities are a consequence of communication. This is an active process of negotiation in which the signs of identity emerge. The intuitive part of identity negotiation is based on people striving to be both similar to some people and distinct from others: the process of communication accommodation. Core values are hidden in narratives that humans tell orally, write in fiction, perform on stage, show on a screen and act out in their daily behavior. This chapter provides an overview of these processes with examples, focusing on an example of how conflicting narratives of World War II are used in Estonia to negotiate the main ethnic identities. Deconstructionism has been to some extent successful: the Western welfare societies became significantly individualist, the generation of millennials feels much less connected to collective identities, and gender fluidity is becoming fashionable.
