"What defines me?" - performativity, gender and ethnicity in Korean American YA fiction

This chapter explores the representation of Beatrice "Tris" Prior in the Divergent series through a feminist lens using Kay Vandergrift's Model of Female Voices in Youth Literature. It discusses a literary analysis of Divergent to examine four petals or feminist themes from Kay Vandergrift's organic model and applies them to Tris as she faces critical stages and elements of identity development. During adolescence, a complex set of physical and psychosocial changes occur including the physical changes of puberty and the development of intimate relationships with peers. The transitional phase is marked by the adolescent's "search for an understanding of the sexual self" with questions about their sexual behaviors, sexual performance, and physical appearance as well as how these compare with that of their peers. Parental interactions and relationships change in substantial ways as adolescents mature. During the relational phase, "sexual activities become an expression of the depth and meaningfulness of the relationship" with an acceptance of their sexuality.