Study Notes on Gender: Performed vs. Performative

The Concept of Gender: Performed vs. Performative

Definitions

• Gender Performed:

  • Refers to the act of taking on a role or acting in a specific way.

  • Indicates that individuals engage in role-playing that is crucial to their identity and how they present their gender to the world.

• Gender Performative:

  • Suggests that gender actions produce a series of effects.

  • Implies that our behaviors—how we act, walk, speak, and talk—consolidate an impression of being male or female.

Example of Gender Performance

• A personal anecdote from the speaker:

  • While walking in Berkeley, a young woman leaned out her window and yelled, "Are you a lesbian?"

  • The question possibly stemmed from harassment, confusion, or curiosity based on the speaker's appearance.

  • Response from the speaker:

    • Instead of feeling harassed, the speaker replied, "Yes, I am," which shocked the woman.

Internal Reality vs. Social Phenomenon

• Internal Reality Assumption:

  • Often, society acts as if gender identity (being a man or a woman) is an inherent truth about a person.

• Reality of Gender:

  • Contrary to this belief, gender is continuously produced and reproduced through social interactions and societal expectations.

  • Claim:

  • No one inherently possesses a gender identity from the start, as this is a controversial but significant assertion.

Social Challenges and Norm Enforcement

Issues Faced by Non-conforming Individuals

• Discusses the challenges faced by individuals like sissy boys and tomboys:

  • Difficulty in social integration without facing bullying or teasing.

  • Experiences of threats of violence.

  • Parental interventions may push for psychiatric normalization, questioning their non-normative behavior.

Institutional Power and Norms

• Institutional Powers:

  • Elements like psychiatric practices that aim to normalize gender behavior, often discouraging deviations from established norms.

• Informal Practices:

  • Bullying and teasing represent societal pressures that reinforce rigid gender roles.

Disruption of Gender Norms

• Inquiry into how gender norms are established and policed:

  • Questions the methods for disrupting these norms.

• Cultural Formation of Gender:

  • Gender is seen as culturally constructed and subject to individual agency and freedom.

• Resistance to Violence:

  • Emphasizes the importance of resisting harmful gender norms, especially for individuals whose gender expression does not conform to societal expectations.