Constructivist and Intersectional Interpretations of a Lesbian College Student's Multiple Social Identities.

LESBIAN college students; SOCIAL constructivism; GROUP identity; HETEROSEXISM in higher education; CLASSISM; RACISM; LONGITUDINAL method; POWER (Social sciences); STUDENT development; UNIVERSITIES & colleges; PSYCHOLOGY

The article examines social identities among lesbian college students, focusing on identity formation from the perspective of constructivism and the ways in which aspects of self-understanding intersect with systems of inequity, a process the author calls intersectionality. The author focuses on how power structures mediate lesbian college students' social identities. Topics include the student development theory called the Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity (MMDI), the results of a longitudinal study centered on lesbian social identity and the author's focus on one female participant, as well as the influence of various power structures such as heterosexism, classism, and racism.