Saturday, December 19, 2009
A Transgender Critique of Butler's Notion of Gender
Posted by MgS at 12/19/2009 01:00:00 PM
http://crystalgaze2.blogspot.com/2009/12/transgender-critique-of-butlers-notion.html (http://crystalgaze2.blogspot.com/2009/12/transgender-critique-of-butlers-notion.html)
This essay is a response to the the following question raised here:
I think I might grasp what you're alluding to here -- especially with regard to the social dimension of gender, and the interaction between biochemical input and gender realization -- but I'd very much like to hear what I assume will be your much more articulate assessment of what the Butlerian gender model leaves out.
I draw my understanding of Butler's view of gender primarily from her book "Gender Trouble" (available as an e-book), and "Performative Acts and Gender Constitution". (and yes, I have read her more recent book "Undoing Gender" as well)
In Performative Acts and Gender Constitution, Butler argues as follows:
Further, gender is instituted through the stylization of the body and, hence, must be understood as the mundane way in which bodily gestures, movements, and enactments of various kinds constitute the illusion of an abiding gendered self.