Janine "the machine" Shepherd was a cross-country skier bound for Olympic greatness, when an accident left her paralyzed. She describes her struggle to redefine her identity beyond being an athlete.
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Roxane Gay is a writer, a Haitian-American, a bisexual, and a feminist -- albeit a self-proclaimed bad one. She says her journey to identify as a feminist has evolved over time.
Rather than identify with a country, writer Taiye Selasi chooses to identify with localities -- local places and cities where her diverse range of experiences have helped shape her many identities.
Jackson Bird was born female, but identified as male and transitioned in his twenties. He says compassion can help us become more comfortable talking about issues that affect transgender people.
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For Kaustav Dey, fashion can embolden us to express our unique identities. He describes how the clothes we wear can give us freedom to choose how we want to look and how we want to live.
