ABSTRACT
The four approaches developed in chapter 2 suggest at least three different ways to "read" identity, culture, and oppression: the first and second approaches suggest a reading that focuses on Otherness and difference; the third approach, on privilege and normalcy; and the fourth approach, on the
intersected and situated nature of Otherness and privilege. I begin this chapter by describing these three routes of reading, illustrating each with examples from my own life, and reiterating their strengths and weaknesses. Turning to the stories of the four participants, I then explore the readings made possible when these three routes incorporate poststructuralist critiques and insights. In other words, I then explore the insights on identity, culture, and oppression made possible with poststructuralist rereadings of difference (in Pab's stories), normalcy (in Christopher's stories), and intersections (in Matthew's stories). I will argue that the poststructuralist variations of these routes of reading illuminate many complexities and contradictions in our experiences with oppression, and disrupt any one way to "understand" oppression.
