Judith Butler argues that “gender is what you do, rather than a universal notion of who you are. “
She believes that traditional expectations of gender are based on how most people behave in their culture. However, gender isn’t fixed because people perform in ways that are expected of them by their culture.
The status quo of gender norms can be challenged through performance. Sexual identity is shaped not only by repeated performance of certain behaviors but also by our whole social and political outlook. We can challenge other aspects of the status quo by deliberately performing in new, subversive ways.
Historical Background of Gender and Sexuality
It was not until after World War II that gender and sexuality were recognized as key issues for sociological study. The so-called “second-wave” feminism of the 1960s to 1980s built upon the insights of Simone de Beauvoir in The Second Sex (1949), particularly her claim that “One is not born a woman: one becomes one.”
Her idea that there is a distinction between sex (as a biological category) and gender (as a set of socially constructed roles and expectations) paved the way for a reappraisal of gender roles in society. It also kickstarted the women’s liberation movement of the following decades.
Attitudes towards sex and gender in Western society were further influenced by anthropologists such as Margaret Mead, whose studies of tribes in the South Pacific and Southeast Asia revealed that many behavioral differences between males and females were culturally, rather than biologically, determined.
These findings were shocking when first published in the 1930s, but were more openly considered by the post-war generation, which began addressing previously taboo subjects, such as:
- Promiscuity
- Extramarital sex
These were now studied as social phenomena rather than as deviant behaviors.
Challenging Convention
At the forefront of examining sexual conventions in Western society was Michel Foucault, who tackled the subject head-on in 1976 in The History of Sexuality.
Running through this text was his central theory of the way power shapes and regulates sexuality.
For More context see Erving Goffman and Judith Butler’s Perspectives on Identity.
Judith Butler on Gender Performativity
“Gender is an impersonation… becoming gendered involves impersonating an ideal that nobody actually inhabits.”
— Judith Butler
Power in society is exerted by the imposition of social norms, and in particular, not only our gender but also our sexuality is shaped by the culture in which we live.
Just as Simone de Beauvoir brought the issue of gender into the social sphere, Michel Foucault broadened the debate significantly to include sexual orientation and the whole of sexual behavior.
The generation after Foucault grew up in an era marked by a relaxation of sexual norms, including:
- The “free love” movement of the 1960s
- Acceptance (or at least decriminalization) of homosexuality in many countries
- The sexual liberation movement brought by feminism
Gender Identities
Among the “baby boomers” of the post-war generation, US scholar Judith Butler took these ideas even further. While accepting de Beauvoir’s main point that gender is a social construct, Butler felt that traditional feminism ignored the wider implications of this notion, and merely reinforced male and female stereotypes.
- Gender is not as simple, consistent, or binary as masculinity and femininity.
- No sexuality or gender identity is natural.
- Gender and sexuality are not fixed or innate.
- Identity is fluid, covering a whole spectrum of gender identities.
One major example of this shift was seen in Gay Pride events, which were first held in the US in 1971 to protest against the persecution of LGBTQ+ communities. These events challenged the idea that sexuality was confined to rigid masculinity and femininity.
Quote from Judith Butler
“Laughter emerges in the realization that all along the original was derived.”
— Judith Butler
Butler’s Theory of Gender Performativity
Butler argues that both sex and gender are socially, not biologically, determined. At the heart of her argument is the idea that “gender is not something that one is, it is something one does… a ‘doing’ rather than a ‘being’.”
Conventionally, our anatomical sex (female or male) is considered to be the basis of our gender identity, according to the cultural norms associated with them. But Butler challenges the idea of a stable and coherent gender identity.
According to Butler:
- It is the things that we do—our “gender acts”—that determine our gender, even more than our biological sex.
- When we behave in ways that are “appropriate” to our sex, we are imitating the norms of gender identity, which are based on how each sex is expected to behave.
- We are performing a role that does not actually exist. In essence, there is no original template for “female” or “male”—the original itself is derived.
- If one is born female, for example, one is taught to act in a “feminine” way (e.g., desiring a male partner), and one eventually accepts the idea that sex with men is associated with femininity.
Gender Acts and Identity Formation
It is, Butler says, these “gender acts”—which include dress, mannerisms, and everyday activities, as well as sexual activity and choice of sexual partner—that determine how we perceive ourselves to be.
Even the language we use reinforces social norms, ensuring that we perform gender in a certain way.
Subversive Acts
Butler claims that, crucially, it is the constant repetition of this kind of performance that molds gender identity, so that:
“The actors themselves come to believe and to perform in the mode of belief.”
Escaping Gender Norms
To escape the restrictiveness of socially imposed gender norms, Butler advocates “subverting” gender through acts that challenge conventional gender performances.
- Cross-dressing and other forms of gender expression can challenge not only the way gender is performed but also the social perception of gender itself.
- Even biological sex can be challenged.
- However, this is not a trivial lifestyle choice—we cannot simply wake up and decide what gender we want to be each day.
- A genuine act of subversion is one that actively challenges gender norms, rather than merely playing within them.
The Cycle of Gender Acts
According to Butler, gender identity is not a natural essence but the product of repeated behaviors and social taboos.
The repetition of these gender acts—combined with the taboos imposed by society—produces what is seen as an essentially “masculine” or “feminine” identity.
This perpetual performance is what ultimately creates and reinforces gender identity.
Butler’s Influence on Sexuality and Gender Theory
Butler’s widening of the issue of sexuality and gender was a cornerstone of what became known as queer theory.
- As well as moving the discussion away from traditional ideas of masculinity and femininity, she included a broader spectrum of sexuality and gender identity.
- Her ideas demonstrated how our perceptions of sexuality are socially molded, rather than an essential part of human nature.
- But she is also a political activist, and beneath her theories of gender lie Foucauldian ideas of power and how it is exercised in society.
Judith Butler on Drag as Subversion
“Drag is subversive to the extent that it reflects on the imitative structure by which… gender is itself produced and disputes heterosexuality’s claim on naturalness.”
— Judith Butler
Criticism of Butler’s Theories
Butler has faced considerable criticism, particularly from feminist scholars such as Martha Nussbaum.
Some critics argue that:
- Butler implies a lack of free will in those who conform to sexual norms, when in reality, these norms have frequently been broken by those who feel uncomfortable with them.
- Like many postmodern thinkers, Butler’s writing style is often criticized as overly convoluted, making simple ideas appear unnecessarily complex.
For a fuller account see ‘What is Judith Butler’s Theory of Gender Performativity?
Impact and Legacy
Despite criticism, Butler has more followers than detractors, and her work has profoundly influenced the field of gender and sexuality in sociology.
- Whether as a direct result of her work or simply due to wider cultural shifts, there has been an increasing liberalization of attitudes toward different forms of sexuality in Western society.
- Same-sex couples and LGBTI issues are now widely accepted in mainstream and popular culture, often without controversy in many places.
However, in more restrictive societies, where cultural norms remain rigid and governments enforce strict heterosexual norms, the impact of gender subversion is far more profound.
- In such societies, individuals who do not conform to gender norms face greater resistance, making their acts of subversion even more powerful.
Judith Butler – Biography
Judith Butler is one of the most influential figures in feminist and LGBTQ+ issues from the 1990s onwards. She has also been a prominent activist in:
- Anti-war movements
- Anti-capitalism
- Anti-racism movements
Her parents were of Russian and Hungarian Jewish descent. Butler studied at Yale University, USA, where she received her doctorate in philosophy in 1984.
In 1993, after teaching at various universities, she took up a post at the University of California, Berkeley, and was appointed Maxine Elliot Professor of Rhetoric and Comparative Literature in 1998. She was awarded the Theodor W. Adorno Prize in 2012.
Key Works by Judith Butler
- 1990 Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity
- 1993 Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of “Sex”
- 2004 Undoing Gender
KEY DATES:
- 1905 Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud describes the formation of infantile sexuality in Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality.
- 1951 French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan begins his weekly seminars in Paris, further developing Freud’s idea of “sexual drives” and sexuality.
- Mid-1970s Michel Foucault talks about regulatory regimes in Discipline and Punish, and about sex, power, and the social construction of sexuality in The History of Sexuality.
- 1996 Steven Seidman examines the sociological implications of the emergence of queer theory in Queer Theory/Sociology.
This material is mainly relevant to the Theory and Methods aspect of A-level sociology.