In this article, the author discusses three books whose shared concern is what constitutes an "individual". Each, in its own way, challenges the idea that "identity" is fixed or uncomplicated. The books, in trying to find the underlying cause of what makes up an individual's "identity", advocate strongly the need before all others to listen to diverse voices. "Changing Lives: Women, Inclusion and the PhD" addresses this idea by drawing on a wide range of first-hand accounts by women; Victor Jeleniewski Seidler, in his "Embodying Identities: Culture, Differences and Social Theory", argues for listening to "young people"; but it's Anne Phillips's masterful "Gender and Culture" that most successfully tackles the topic.