Post Class Discussion--Butler
Are we performing
gender in a new way? If gender is created through our performances, how would
we do it in a new way? I mean, if gender doesn’t exist until the repeated
performances/acts create the idea of it, how can we say or determine that we’re
doing it in a “new” way? In one sense, this is a very esoteric question about
definitions, but in another sense, it’s an attempt to live out the hope for
freedom that Butler points to in her article. How can we live out the radically
different understanding of identity, one that might even refuse an “I” that acts?
Much of the conversation focused on different marginalized groups and different
examples of oppression or resistance. But to talk about these groups as things
is to continue to believe in something which is only an expediency.
My problem is that
the most immediate, concrete examples of subversion of the dominant gender
performances seem to reinforce belief in those dominant gender performances. For
example, for a while I used to wear clothing, especially shirts, which were
sold to women. I wouldn’t call it cross-dressing or drag; it’s just that men’s
clothing is very boring. So I would go to the women’s side of the thrift store,
and find things that were more colorful or had more interesting shapes. I was
conscious that I was challenging, or I hope I was challenging, the notion of “how
men dress.” And at times I did it to provoke certain people, to offer a “possibility
of a different sort of repeating” (p. 520). But that provocation only works if
there is a man who is wearing not-men’s clothing. It feels too much like
something one can put on (literally), over the pre-existing “real” identity.
Judith Butler's text is one of those rare texts that you enjoy reading each paragraphs of it. It is strange to see that how relatable is the text ,that is significant in the field of gender study in specific, to such person like me who is heterosexual. As Serap mentioned, gender study and studies about race are connected. The text is so dynamic and interpretable because it is talking about being the other. The one who is living is a society whose reality is constituted by social agents."Those who are objects rather than subjects of constitutive acts." The system of power controls those social agents, consequently, the reality that benefits the power is created.
ReplyDeleteI think that we, as a Western culture, are at least beginning to think of gender in a new way. We discussed in class that because our performance of gender is informed by our culture, we cannot create new ideas or interpretations of gender. I agree, but to an extent. I agree we are limited to repeating the acts of our cultural field but I also think it is important to note how we are currently, albeit slowly, expanding this field as Butler seems to urge us to do, “through subversive performances of various kinds,” (531). The effect interpreting gendered acts has on our culture is important. This is what I intended to emphasize with my question for the class: are we living in a space where the way we view gender is changing? Certainly a self-identified man wearing “women’s” clothing reinforces dominant acts of gender because it is seen as just a man in not-men’s clothes. The man, as Butler would suggest, is “performing one’s gender wrong,” (528) and opens himself to punishment. However, this act suggests an understanding of gender as something which /can/ be put on. It suggests he is not, as Butler warns, mistaking gender as, “a natural or linguistic given,” (531) but is in fact aware of his agency to put his gender on differently. He is contributing to the possibility for ‘wrong’ gendered acts in the cultural field. Culture, and the way it understands gender, is not finite; it changes over time. Those changes are due to interpretations of certain gendered acts and do more than just reinforce and repeat dominant norms. The performer is refusing to abandon their agency in the face of punishment and as a result, expands the potential acts for others to repeat.
ReplyDeleteFor your amusement: www.thephluidproject.com and www.genderisover.com
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ReplyDeleteButler’s precarity becomes an important aspect when considering the progression of discourse surrounding gender. Butler writes: “Precarity is, of course, directly linked with gender norms, since we know that those who do not live their genders in intelligible ways are at heightened risk for harassment and violence” (“Performativity, Precarity, and Sexual Politics.'")
ReplyDeleteCertain bodies are allowed to perform gender more freely then others. When people use mainstream media as an example of gender expression progression, it makes me CRINGE. Like Caitlyn Jenner and Jaden Smith! They are allowed to express and perform gender in “non-normative” ways, yes! But other bodies are more at risk when it comes to violence. Many transgender and gender queer individuals are still struggling just to survive. So before we start celebrating liberation it is important to take a step back and acknowledge the vulnerability of these individuals.
The Human Rights Campaign released a 2016 report that tracked the violent deaths of 21 transgender individuals. The report states: “It is clear that fatal violence disproportionately affects transgender women of color, and that the intersections of racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia conspire to deprive them of employment, housing, healthcare and other necessities, barriers that make them vulnerable.”
These individuals not only struggle to survive, but are also fearful of violence and even death.
The Human rights campaign briefly shared some of their stories:
Jasmine Sierra, a Latina transgender woman from Bakersfield, Calif., was found dead on January 22. Her body showed signs of trauma, but a cause of death has yet to be determined and no suspects have been identified.
Maya Young, 25, a Black transgender woman from Frankford, Penn., was fatally stabbed on February 21. A female suspect has been arrested and more arrests are expected.
T.T., 26 or 27, a Black transgender woman who was found murdered in Chicago’s Garfield Park on September 11. Reports say she was well-known in Chicago’s transgender community; her friends recalled T.T. as a “lovely” and “happy, cheerful” person who was always laughing.
Publicity may give people more courage to perform gender, but this can also cause an increase in violence on less privileged bodies. The left generally seems to view the stories of Caitlyn Jenner and Jaden Smith as positive and progressive. And it is true that these stories are progressive. But it is important to remember “precarity,” and the ways in which some bodies are allowed more freedom when it comes to gender performance. While these stories may give individuals outside the spotlight more courage to perform gender in diverse ways, this exposure and increase in attention can also increase violence. It is important that we do not forget that most genderqueer individuals and transgender individuals, disproportionately people of color, are subjected to a different level of violence than privileged bodies. Even with progression, we must stay in a state of constant critique.
The most interesting aspect of this weeks class for me was about Peggy Phelan's application of marked/unmarked. How she begins with men as marked an women as unmarked, but then later explores marks for racial-gendered people. I want to understand better her theory because right now it feels discursive or flip-floppy. Regardless, I am in awe of her interdisciplinary approach, and I enjoyed hearing about art projects in her text that I was unaware of prior to reading her text.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that Butler's precarity is related to the punishment she warns of when discussing publicly performing/displaying gender wrong and the expansion of the cultural field. The bodies which are allowed to perform gender freely are in a sense already a part of the cultural field. Their acts are celebrated and repeated. To use Butler's words, how they live their gender is intelligible. Of course they also face risk of punishment but their risk is lower than others with performances further from the accepted norms. I think Taylor's point is /crucial/ to this conversation. She's right, it is primarily the genderqueer/fluid/nonconforming and transgender people of color who are open to the punishment and precarity Butler describes. They experience real violence, harassment, and discrimination in their everyday lives. These are the bodies performing the subversive acts of gender, the agents refusing to relinquish their power, the performances expanding our cultural field. This has always been the case in our community, relating to our conversation about Pride celebrations in class, it was precisely these individuals who started the Stonewall Riots. We would be remiss to forget that, especially in this conversation.
ReplyDeleteThe point Taylor raised about Caitlyn and Jaden reflects another perspective of this conversation once economics comes into play. Money confers on these two the privilege they enjoy and, in a way, immune them from the kind of "precarity" less privileged people will face. As Taylor points out, these two examples are exception and not the rule which should not be used as a definite standard of progress.
ReplyDeleteI was not in attendance this class meeting because earlier I received a call from my mom with an update on my dad's health. At this time, they just left Baton Rouge three days earlier and he was preparing for another doctor's visit. I spoke to my dad and he didn't sound too good, but he never wanted me to worry about the depth of his condition. I didn't push him and only reacted in ways he felt comfortable with. In many ways this was a performance of gender for both of us considering his role as father taught him to perform "strength" and "endurance" as the man and I was taught to perform a weaker role as daughter and woman that encouraged me not to probe many questions. I believe this plays a heavy weight in society about the way men, especially black men, perform roles of physical strength even in times where they might need a bit of a push in the right direction. But do to the stigma of it being able to handle the pressure. In many ways, I took the gendered performance of my father on for myself because he presented strength in a way that my mother did not. I admired him for this and now I find myself over performing strength even when I do not need to perform it. I am still figuring this part out.
ReplyDeletelaura