Abstract
The minor helps us theorize the possibilities of agency because it first raises questions about legibility and reliability. This article takes the example of class dynamics in postcolonial Malaysia to understand why meaningful changes to culture can be difficult to achieve when class consciousness determines what is “proper” or “good” behavior. The minor has limited capacities to disrupt dominant cultures because unless minor subjects subscribe to normative values and behaviors they become illegible, that is, invisible and marginalized. They consequently possess limited cultural capital to effect change because they are assumed to be unreliable by dint of their illegibility.
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