Reified identities and politics of ‘authenticity’: A critical commentary on Verbuyst's metaphysics and politics

Anthropology and the social sciences have largely neglected the illusive and narrative nature of social identities, frequently relying on realist metaphysical assumptions. Such assumptions, often implicit, underpin reification and essentialist political uses of identities. This paper challenges these prevailing approaches by critically examining the foundations of Verbuyst's defence of ‘subversive authenticity’ as a strategy for indigenous empowerment. It interrogates the theoretical implications of such authenticity, offering a critique of its analytical validity and its role in contemporary identity politics, and suggests an anti-realist view of identities as an alternative point of departure for anthropology.