The elusiveness of identity in social work practice with women: A postmodern feminist perspective

During the 1980s, feminist literature proposed the existence of a silent, tongue-tied, ''different'' woman who craves to exercise her own voice. The more recent postmodern feminism raises questions about the existence of woman, self, and identity as categories, promoting instead the idea of multiple selves and multiple identities. This article visits the concept of ''identity'' and its partner ''self'' in psychological, feminist, and postmodern feminist literature and discusses why self/identity is problematic for women. An alternative narrative identity is proposed with narrative identity reconstruction integrated into clinical social work practice with women. A narrative excerpt from an interview illustrates the process.