Participatory action research (PAR) is gaining critical attention from scholars across the field, and in the field of geography more specifically, as it promises a viable alternative for researchers concerned with social justice. If most of the benefits of PAR are identified in terms of its potential as vehicle for social change and action, PAR’s role in personal change is less understood. This paper considers the development of new subjectivities in a participatory action research process from a post-structural perspective. Analysis draws upon collaborative research conducted with six young women and their project Makes Me Mad: Stereotypes of Young Urban Womyn of Color. Discussion addresses issues of power, scale, and the politics of location, arguing that our understanding of participation must take into account the broader social, spatial and political contexts. To this end, I reconsider Brazilian educator/theorist Paolo Freire’s conceptualization of conscientização and his contribution to PAR as he explicitly engages issues of power relevant to feminist and critical race theory and practice.