ABSTRACT
From the perspective of social representations, social identity appears as a function of representations themselves. In elaborating this view, this chapter draws primarily on research on the development of social gender identities to argue the following points: (a) identity is as much concerned with the process of being identifi ed as with making identifi cations; (b) identities can be construed as points or positions within the symbolic fi eld of a culture; in other words, identities are constructed externally and not simply elaborated internally; (c) representations always imply a process of identity formation in which identities are internalized and which results in the emergence of social actors or agents; (d) identities provide ways of organizing meanings so as to sustain a sense of stability; (e) an identity is essentially an asymmetry in a relationship which constrains what can be communicated through it; and (f) we need to consider the possible varieties of forms of social identity.
