Performative Gender Analysis

After completing my observations, I noticed that there is a lot to be learned about someone by just examining their personal belongings. By how they treat their personal objects often reflect what their actual life is like. Think about how you treat your personal items. It may be with lots of care or you may use an item for its intended purpose and not care if it breaks during the process. This says a lot about the person. So, by examining someone’s car, which is a highly valuable item to a person, it is as if we get a small glimpse into their life style.

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic is an autobiography written by Alison Bechdel. The graphic novel takes its readers through Alison Bechdel’s childhood using engaging diction and detailed drawings. One of the big themes of Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic is the discovery of one’s sexual orientation. Over the course of her life, Alison Bechdel eventually comes to the realization that she is a lesbian. Ultimately, Alison Bechdel uses this novel to recount her experience of events that helped to shape her personal identity, which resulted in a transformation of the way she sees herself. In the end, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic is a wonderful narrative that shows its readers the complexity of personal identity, and how things like love, the values of

We live in a society where for decades we have been socialized to believe that there are only two genders: male and female. The idea of gender is socially constructed. Society and culture create gender roles and through those roles we all learn to enact our specific roles. With this in mind, this essay will seek to examine how gender shapes the structural and lived experiences of Chicanxs and Latinxs in the U.S. This essay will draw from Abrego, Acosta, Ocampo, and the documentary “No mas bebés” to see how gender affects an individual’s experiences in the U.S.

Throughout the book, Bruce and Alison both struggle with the concept of gender roles. For Bruce, he displays more of a feminine side going against the typical masculine male. Bruce’s preference for fashion and beauty shines a light on his femininity. Because of this, it becomes clear to Alison that her father is a “big sissy” (97). While most men gravitate towards sports, Bruce’s interest is more towards gardening. For instance, Bruce and his children play baseball in their yard, but as soon as the ball rolls towards the flowers, his attention instantly becomes “lost” (91) within the plants. During Alison’s childhood, Bruce is always one to fix her hair and dictate her outfits; Aspects that are dominantly feminine. While Bruce tries his best to mask this trait about himself, it is through Alison that he is able to openly “express” (98) a feminine side

Society should be socially acceptable to all members of it no matter where they works, how much money they have, or don’t have, the color of their skin, there sexual orientation, where the geographically live, etc. when it comes to topic of this nature, most people are very hesitant and don’t want to talk about it. Is it because they know that there are problems that need to be fixed, or because they know that no matter how much you talk about the topics it’s a lot harder to change the way society is than to just accept it and let it be. The paper discussed the two theories of standpoint theory and the gender theory. They both are present in everyday society but it just isn’t that clear at all times.

The film industry has created the conventional gender roles of society into their movies; A majority of films have supported some of the male and female stereotypes. In the history of the film industry, the role of men is primarilythat of the stereotypical working class man or hero, while the roles of women are primarily portrayed as being somewhat inferior to men. In the 1930s through the 1970s, men held the leading roles in films while women played smaller roles. Men were typically employed, successful gentlemen, while the woman’s only job was a housewife. The film industry was mostly dominated by men. In terms of jobs, women were given mostly family roles and rarely were shown outside of their homes, while men had

Early on in her childhood, Alison came to the realization that her family was different. As individuals, and as a unit, they were just plain weird. Unlike most young girls, Alison lacked a strong bond with her parents, most notably her father, Bruce. Because they both display introverted personalities and had divergent gender identities, Alison and her father never devised a solid relationship. Bruce is described as possessing generally feminine qualities having passion for fine art and sophisticated interior design; whereas Alison claims to have become “a connoisseur of masculinity at a young age” (95). Neither of them fit their stereotypical role within the family; Bruce didn’t act like a macho-man dad, and Alison wasn’t playing dress up with all the other little girls. Though their personas seem compatible, the stark difference in their gender affiliations was a source of great tension between Alison and her father.

The novel That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis is comprised of a lot of gender issues, especially concerning the two main characters. The two main characters are Mark and Jane, a married couple who struggle with their roles as husband and wife. Chapter 1 starts with a quote from Jane that states, “Matrimony was ordained, thirdly for the mutual society, help, and comfort that the one ought to have of the other” (That Hideous Strength, 9) That quote ran through Jane’s mind throughout the day, during her daily house cleaning duties, and while she was waiting on Mark to call and say he would not be able to attend dinner due to work taking longer than expected. Based on that knowledge, it is easy to say that their marriage had trouble from the very

By the same token, Alison wanted to present in the traditionally masculine way that her father and many other men did. However, because she wasn’t in a position of power, she had to defend her desire time and time again. She does this on occasions such as her trip to Switzerland. She wanted to convince her parents to present more masculine (or androgynous in this case) so she did so by pointing out other women that wore what she wanted to. Her desire for the masculine portrayal of self manifests itself in Roy and the other young men that Bruce pursued. Alison used them as models for how she wanted to present when her father’s gender presentation did not suit the image she needed to see. As another sign of the times, Bechdel brings up the illegality of cross dressing, questioning if she would pass the “three article rule” if she were to be searched by the cops. In these instances, it’s not just her father

Fun Home is a retelling of Alison Bechdel’s life through the lens of her relationship with her father. However, because of what she considers to have been his suicide, Alison is left with an incomplete picture of who he was in life. By calling Fun Home an autobiography, Bechdel enters an autobiographical pact with the reader that ensures that what Bechdel is telling us is the truth. However, elements out of her control leave Bechdel unable to provide certain objective facts necessary to her narrative. As an attempt to remedy these absences and in turn maintain the validity of her story, Bechdel uses intertextuality to fill in the gaps of in her retelling. By overlaying masterplots of fictional narratives over her own, the reader is able to get at an understanding of the kind of person Alison’s father was. In this way Bechdel is able to reveal things about her father that she can 't prove to be true, but are reflective enough of his life to become true.

Judith Butler’s essay, “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory” calls for a new way to view sex and gender. Butler argues that “gender identity is a performative accomplishment compelled by social sanction and taboo”. In this case, gender is not constituted by what one is, but rather what one does; the performative acts constitute gender. In other words, gender is not the starting place; it is an identity repeatedly constructed throughout time. Butler is trying to show us a feminist perspective of sex and gender. She attempts to follow Beauvoir’s path in a fight against society norms.

West and Zimmerman claim that gender is not something we are but something we do.

The book “Fun Home: A FAMILY TRAGICOMIC” is a captivating autobiography that entertains readers as well as engages audiences. The content provided in the book challenges views on normative stereotypes while offering a unique perspective. The book impresses upon readers a stir of emotions while conveying messages effortlessly. The memoir focuses upon uncomfortable subjects such as death, homosexuality, and coming of age offering a candid look into aspects of the Bechdel’s life. The book is an interesting read, the subject matter produced is relatable to readers and unique in its format. Additionally, the content produced in the book relies on her relationship with her father, which aids in entertaining audiences because of their strange kinship.

In Things Fall Apart both genders have very different roles, and both face many inequalities, yet it is extremely prominent in women. In this society, there is a specific way women are supposed to act, speak and overall display themselves and live. There are specific responsibilities, tasks and roles the women have been given which seem unequal to the men. For instance, the women have to constantly be aware of their surrounding and the way they act, such as their movements. When Okonkwo’s daughter, Ezinma, places her leg “improperly”, Okonkwo becomes angry and he immediately shouts and tells her to “sit like a woman” (5.44) instead. The women have to mostly be compliant and listen to what their husbands, fathers or brothers say. For example, “Do what you are

     For many years society has embraced the idea that the difference between men and women were biologically determined. Thou through traditions, media, and peers we act accordingly to how others view us. Each individual has pressure placed upon them based on their gender. Our sex is determined by genetics while our gender is programmed by social customs. Some theories interpret that a women is tender and a loving mother while on the other hand men are aggressive hunters and are the dominant one of the family. People who support this theory seems to believe that men and women are happier when fulfilling the roles nature determined for them. Women are to be nurturing and men are to be providers by