How does Maggie Nelson's The Argonauts speak to America's identity?

In
The Argonauts, Maggie Nelson frequently brings up issues surrounding
American identity, using both theory and personal history. One turning point in the book is her
marriage to her partner, Harry, in the brief period when it was legal to get married in
California as people born of the same sex. This section, which speeds up her adoption of Harry's
child and her pursuit of her own biological child, engages with the recent history of legal
battles in queer American identity. She speaks to this constant upheaval in America's
identification as liberal or conservative, as evolving or constant. Her telling of that decision
to get married haphazardly before Proposition 8 passed indicates her disdain for and awareness
of the passive American identity.

Another area in which Nelson speaks to
American identity is when her biological child is born and she explains her reasoning for giving
the child a name of Native American identity, telling the story of an approving nurse. She is
aware of her position of power as a white American and pays attention to the history of Native
Americans on US soil with this passage. Nervous about cultural appropriation, she tells this
story in minute detail to defend her decision to the reader. She tries to break down the parts
of America's identity in this way and to complicate the difficulties that it often
presents.