Analysis Of Gender Troubles By Judith Butler

While reading “Gender,” an essay by Jack Halberstam, the topic of sexism was brought to the forefront of my mind. It has been brought up more often in conversation in the modern era, issues such as how a few cruel insults pertain to female reproductive anatomy and, in a sense, degrade females and ultimately identify them, as well as femininity, as inherently “bad”. Such a thought stemmed from how Halberstam touches on the “problematic stabilization of the meaning of ‘women’ and ‘female’”: meaning there is no room for argument when it comes to your gender—you’re either a girl or not. You either fit into a strict mold, or you do not.

Tyson explains the basic concepts of feminist theory, and the ways in which readers can use the theory as a lens to examine the social pressures and gender roles within a literary work. To examine through a feminist lens, theorists need to first look at the different characters’ genders to determine whether their roles and responsibilities “conform to traditional (patriarchal) gender roles” (Tyson 84). “According to [patriarchal] gender roles, men are naturally rational, strong, protective, and decisive,” but “women [are] naturally emotional…, weak, nurturing, and submissive” (87). Moreover, “anyone who violates traditional gender roles is [looked upon as] unnatural, unhealthy, or…immoral” (86). Therefore, due to the “oppression of women” in

Deborah Tannen is an American academic and professor of linguistics at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Her research mainly focuses on expressing interpersonal relationships in conversational interactions, including how gender and cultural differences affect these interactions. In her essay Tannen uses gender to portray the differences between male and female conversational styles in classroom discussions. She formulates the theory that males naturally prefer and dominate contributions to these debate-like discussions while females incline to participate in less hostile conversations. Tannen presents her argument effectively using simple vocabulary and appropriate literary devices however, as the essay progresses she detracts from

In Octavia Butler’s Dawn the idea of gender is deconstructed and reformed from the typical human’s definition. Often people do not consider the role of gender in society today. Usually the first thing one notices when meeting someone new is their gender or their presumed gender. However, there becomes a problem when the person whose gender we perceived identifies as a different gender. Butler forces the reader to examine how they judge and perceive gender. While the ooloi are actually “its” their personalities seem to imply a certain gender. The transgender community often brings up this issue because these assumptions of gender based on our judgments of what defines a male and what defines a female can skew how a transgender person is treated and addressed. In Chapter One of Gender Through the Prism of Difference by Anne Fausto-Sterling, the idea of expanding the number of genders based on one’s biological differences is examined through the five sexes theory. By now the concept of gender being defined solely by one’s biology has mostly been left in the past but the question remains of how do we truly define gender? How does being outside of the social norms that Michael Warner talks about cause us to feel shame when discussing our gender and our perceptions of gender? In this essay, I will argue that preconceived notions of gender create shame when a person’s own perception of their gender does not fit the social norms. This stigma around the limited and strict definitions

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is set in America in the 1950s, a time when women were expected to be quiet and submissive, which is the complete opposite of how women are portrayed in the book. Ken Kesey presented women in a way that was not the norm in America in the 1950s. Almost all the female characters in the novel are shown as being extremely dominant and as “castrators” completely contradicting the stereotypical image of females in America at the time.

In this short story, Butler deconstructs the socially constructed sex and gender roles of men and women by placing female characters as the source of power and domination. As “ the lic government official in charge of the Preserve, and thus the important of her kind to deal directly with Terrans” (Butler 1), the female alien, T’Gatoi, holds a strong and powerful role in the story. Her political position not only puts her beyond her male counterpart but allows her to hold power and privileges that are usually given to men. With T’Gatoi, Butler's several of masculine and feminine role, allows her to display a gender that contradicts the creature's sex. Furthermore, by stepping outside gender binaries, the monstrosity that occurs is the grotesque

Throughout the play A Raisin in the Sun, power and gender play a major role in both the character’s actions and opinions. The broad relationship between power and gender is that our society has decided that males should have more power than females based only on the fact that throughout history the general idea has been that males are the superior gender. Way back in history during the Scientific Revolution male scientists decided that because females have larger hips and smaller heads they are not as smart as males and should be dominated by males. In A Raisin in the Sun Walter struggles to be the powerful male figured that society makes him believe he should be, and Beneatha struggles to become a doctor a career that even her family does

Men have been largely erased from these feminist conversations, because of the power of language in feminism discussions. Jackson Katz highlights by saying the dominant group often doesn’t get paid attention to in issues of race, gender, sexual identity. For example, to talk about domestic violence; the sentence “Marcus beat Lily” gives focus to Marcus, portraying him as the perpetrator. ‘Lily was beaten by Marcus’ lets Marcus off the hook by honing in on Lily. Further, the sentence ‘Lily was beaten ‘completely eliminates Marcus and ‘Lily is a battered woman’ shapes Lily’s identity, defining her in those terms. The politics of language are hugely importance for

Even in plays gender roles can really show through the characters that the author makes. In Susan Glaspell’s Trifles, the woman in the play illustrate sexism that was taking place during the 1900s. The “understanding” of Mrs. Wright’s situation as to why she was so calm for her husband’s death takes on many turns. The wives of the sheriff and the neighbor of the Wrights, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale represent a big part of the story. How they are portrayed and their actions show how strong gender roles and sexism were back in the day.

Judith Butler, in her essay "Performative Acts and Gender Constitution", claims that there is no gendered self. As opposed to Simone de Beauvoir, who believes that sex is biologically determined and gender is a social construct, Butler believes that sex can only be read through gender, making them both constructs. Butler argues that the male/female binary is unstable and invalid. She states that what is called "gender identity is a performative accomplishment compelled by social sanction and taboo" (Butler 901).

Donald Hall author of Literary and Cultural Theory states “Language, institutions, and social power structures have reflected patriarchal interest throughout much of history; this has had a profound impact on women’s ability to express themselves and the equality of their lives.”

Rachel Bowlby has expounded some of the basic tenets of gender subjectivity. Like other theorists, she is critical of the reform oriented ethos that has gained currency in the recent feminist discussion and discourse. Bowlby’s view adds further clarity to the method of the analysis of the text. Her view is mentioned below:

Trifles is a one act play written by Susan Glaspell. It consists of eight characters; George Henderson, Henry Peters, Lewis Hale, Mrs. Peters, John Wright, Mrs. Hale, Mrs. Wright. Within the eight characters that the story consists of there are many gender differences between them that are very noticeable. The one act play begins when the six characters step inside the house that John Wright was gruesomely strangled and murdered in. Henry Peters whom is the sheriff and George Henderson whom is the county attorney come to the now abandoned house to investigate the murder along with the witnesses Lewis Hale, Mrs. Peters, and Mrs. Hale.

Judith Butler’s approach in “From Undoing Gender” lets the audience see a different side of opinions regarding gender. Judith’s presence and way of speaking lets us look at things in a way we never had before. She demonstrates her way of thinking, acknowledges other peoples ways of thinking and also goes outside the box in creating her own definition of undergoing gender.

According to Judith Butler’s theory, gender is a social concept and not a natural part of being, therefore making it unstable and fluid. Gender identities are produced through what Butler calls “performativity,” the repetitive acts of expression that form and define the notions of masculinity and femininity. These repeated performances are engrained within the heteronormative society and impose these gendered expectations on individuals. In this respect, gender is something inherent in a person, however Butler writes “gender is always a doing, though not a doing by a subject who might be said to pre-exist the deed.” In Olga Tokarczuk’s House of Day, House of Night identity is undoubtedly central to the characters’ stories, specifically the strict social constructs of gender that is snarled with one’s identity. Tokarczuk’s novel presents a mosaic of stories that put into question heteronormative gender roles, while offering an alternative way of existence. Analyzing House of Day, House of Night with Judith Butler’s gender theory demonstrates the characters struggles within the rigid constructions of gender and how some ultimately deal with moving past such restricting expectations.