We know that individuals’ identities can become intertwined with institutions through processes of identification. But what happens when individuals need or desire to disentangle their identities from institutions after identification has taken place? In this paper, I examine previously incarcerated men’s efforts to de-identify with the institutional logics associated with prison as they transition back into society. While past work has tended to characterize de-identification efforts as ultimately successful, I reveal how individuals can remain stuck in their identifications and experience identity paralysis. In doing so I add nuance to our understanding of de-identification by revealing the factors that can contribute to its breakdown and failure. I highlight specifically the importance of identity material and the content of institutional logics in influencing de-identification processes, and thus extend the existing focus on the cognitive accessibility of logics. Importantly, I reveal that challenges to de-identification result not merely from the individuals “holding on” to old targets but rather from their becoming stuck and resigning themselves to existing targets when they simultaneously feel they lack identity material to realize new identities and face negative social evaluations. Indeed my findings point to the powerful and durable ways in which institutions shape our identities even when we desire to change them.
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