Judith Butler’s Feminist Theory

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One of the most significant problems in the field of feminism is that of gender. The role of gender in society has always been in the scope of interest of different researchers, who developed certain feminist theories.

Judith Butler is an American philosopher and a representative of post-cultural feminist theory. This essay is focused on one of her articles. The aim of the paper is to reveal the peculiarity of Butler’s theory through discussion of her phenomenological article about gender.

Summary of the article

According to the report, Butler follows the phenomenological tradition and Simone de Beauvoir’s statement “one is not born, but, rather, becomes a woman” (Butler, 1988, 2).

From a phenomenological point of view, gender is a stable identity that is realized through the repetition of certain acts.

Basing on this gender concept, she develops her theory about the different constitution of gender and wants to prove that “gender identity is a performative accomplishment compelled by social sanction and taboo” (Butler, 1988, 3).

The researcher argues that a series of repetitive acts (with a lapse of time) create gender. In other words, using this experience, individuality creates its gender.

Gender is not a concrete “social fiction,” it is moving, shifting and reproducing; for this reason, gender is the flux of new activities that repeat themselves again and again (Butler, 1988, 12). Gender is realized in actions that may be considered as its embodiment.

It is impossible to examine gender out of the context of acts performed by it. Also, she believes that gender is not a set of various identities, but a body that reproduces itself over and over. In a social context, it reproduces itself differently.

Gender has a performative nature, but it expresses itself through it’s internal “I.” This way, the internal is directed to the external, as human gender can be expressed only within society.

Thus, gender is an essential part of each identity. However, using act repetition, a body creates an illusion of social “script” and concrete identities (Butler, 1988, 15).

According to Butler, this is a starting point in female and male relationships. Besides, she pays attention to the essence of language context.

Social expectations and social norms are integrative parts of any gender. The researcher states that gender is neither a given fact nor the cultural meanings imposed upon a body.

Reproduction of gendered identities is realized through act performance and certain relationships. In this context, she pays much attention to the binary nature of heterosexual relationships.

Developing her feminist theory, Butler thinks that feminist theories were rather successful because they try “to rewrite the history of culture in terms which acknowledge the presence, the influence, and the oppression of women” (Butler, 1988, 11).

However, in her theory, she is interested in woman’s divertive experience. She says that sexual difference is a cultural distinction that is vital for human society.

Each sex performs its functions, and if it does not follow the script, it is punished. A woman’s script is not predetermined by nature but is daily put on through various performances.

Discussion of Butler’s key points

One may see that Butler has quite debatable views on gender. When she published the article, it caused a controversial point to be discussed in feminist circles. However, it is evident that the article is saturated with liberty.

Butler was able to explain the problem of gender beyond the context of patriarchal and heterosexual society. A reader may note the key point of the article: gender is expressed through different actions, and forms the illusion of “true gender identity” (Butler, 1988, 19).

Also, one may see that there is a certain relation between gender constitution and performed acts. The phenomenological view on the problem is expressed in the idea that in human society, a social agent becomes rather an object than the subject of the action.

However, Butler believes that female expression is realized through her performance, relationships and power of language that create a certain social experience. Gender is not something stable; it changes over time.

Nevertheless, it is essential to pay attention to Butler’s interpretation of a woman’s role in society. It does not matter what a woman wants or feels. A woman’s “constructed identity” helps to perform her role (Butler, 1988, 2).

A body is not a merely material, given by nature; it has a certain meaning. Each body is labeled with a historical and cultural context that makes one feels different. Any corporal act may be examined as the embodiment of body’s possibilities.

When she analyses woman’s position in society, she underlines her vulnerability: “to be a woman is, by definition, to be in an oppressed situation” (Butler, 1988, 11). In the context of feminist problems, she sees the difference between false and true gender universals.

Butler’s article is dedicated to the role of gender, its relation to a body and performed actions, and its experience. For the researcher, a woman’s identity can be expressed through actions. However, a woman may suffer from her gender constitution, formed by history, culture, and society.

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Judith Butler’s Feminist Theory

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