David Gauntlett's theory of identity broadly describes the ways in which audiences do not simply have to consume the dominant ideological perspective of the producer, but can instead use media products to construct their own identity.
This theory is sometimes referred to as the 'pick & mix' theory, as it allows audiences to pick which aspects of a text they want to construct their identity, whole leaving other bits well alone. A good example of this can be found in Woman magazine, and other women's lifestyle magazines of the 1960's, where working class female audiences may reject sexist stereotypes that the magazine includes, but may use the fashion and beauty tips to construct their own look and identity.
Gauntlett's theory is a little tricky, in the sense that it is clearly a theory of audience, but it is also a theory of representation. So how does this work?