Critical literacy for whom?

Abstract This paper examines the intersection of critical literacy informed by critical social theories and formations of the self imagined within poststructural theories. Specifically, it considers how singular views of formations of the self as either identity or subjectivity create problems for understanding the complex interrelations between the two concepts within critical literacy. The in‐school literacy practices related to popular culture texts of one adolescent male are used to illustrate how singular conceptualizations of formations of the self (as identity or subjectivity) limit the complex interplay that readers engage in as they negotiate positions between identity production and subjectivity construction. Reflections on the possibilities of a broadened application of critical literacy that acknowledges the working of both identity and subjectivity are discussed.