Women and minorities do not enter science professions at rates consistent with their populations (Rosser, 2000). A variety of theoretical frameworks and associated interventions have been cited in the literature; yet, the gender and racial gaps remain. Theoretical frameworks and the associated interventions to promote the success of women and minorities in the sciences have primarily been one dimensional: they address issues of Self (associated with experiential and psychoanalytical framings) or Language (categorical and deconstructive framings) (Grumet & Stone, 2000). Furthermore, research in science education with few exceptions (Hanson, 2004), has failed to address race and gender through an intersectional analysis. This study investigates the inclusion and exclusion of girls and minorities in the sciences by examining the connections between Self and Language in physics group work conversations. Critical Discourse Analysis was used to explore the connections between Self and Language. Eight students in two groups were the focus of the study. Transcription of conversations and coding of transcripts with students' subject positions, genres, and registers provided evidence of the reflexivity of Self and Language. Furthermore, the study demonstrated how group discourse and power imbalances within groups serve to simultaneously facilitate and constrain learning opportunities and learning itself.