Gender essay
Can gender norms be re-constructed through resistance of individuals in Hong Kong?
A. Introduction
What does it mean to be gay or lesbian or bisexual? Is it a matter of love? Sex? Desire? Identity? Biology? Politics? Or choice? The debates on gay law proposal in 2013 have provoked fierce responses from different domains of the society. The term “sexual minorities” has bombarded us with blur images about those people whose sexual identities or originations are deviant from the social norms. Resistance of Individuals occurs in different ways in recent years such as renowned celebrities proudly proclaiming of homosexuality, dressing in stylish neutral look and joining the pride parade.
This paper primarily aims to examine the actions done by resistant individuals and then discuss whether gendered discourses that favor heterosexual society could be reconstructed through the resistance of individuals with the notion of Judith Butler’s “performativity” theory behind.
My opinion, however, is that the individual actions in accordance with “performativity” theory do not succeed in subverting the gendered discourses which is the key to eliminating discriminations.
B. Overview of Judith Butler’s performativity
Judith Butler uses the idea of gender performativity to make trouble by subverting commonly held notion about sex or gender. As Butler said, there is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender… identity is performativity constituted by the very expressions. (Butler, 1999, p. 25) That means your gender identity depends on your way of repetitive expression and, thus, is neither fixed nor labeled as it changes according to times and culture. In other words, gender is a performance. It is, rather, what you do at particular times, than a universal who you are.
In her performativity theory, Butler argues that people all put on gender performance, no matter it is traditional or not. So it is a question of what form that performance will take but not whether
A. Introduction
What does it mean to be gay or lesbian or bisexual? Is it a matter of love? Sex? Desire? Identity? Biology? Politics? Or choice? The debates on gay law proposal in 2013 have provoked fierce responses from different domains of the society. The term “sexual minorities” has bombarded us with blur images about those people whose sexual identities or originations are deviant from the social norms. Resistance of Individuals occurs in different ways in recent years such as renowned celebrities proudly proclaiming of homosexuality, dressing in stylish neutral look and joining the pride parade.
This paper primarily aims to examine the actions done by resistant individuals and then discuss whether gendered discourses that favor heterosexual society could be reconstructed through the resistance of individuals with the notion of Judith Butler’s “performativity” theory behind.
My opinion, however, is that the individual actions in accordance with “performativity” theory do not succeed in subverting the gendered discourses which is the key to eliminating discriminations.
B. Overview of Judith Butler’s performativity
Judith Butler uses the idea of gender performativity to make trouble by subverting commonly held notion about sex or gender. As Butler said, there is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender… identity is performativity constituted by the very expressions. (Butler, 1999, p. 25) That means your gender identity depends on your way of repetitive expression and, thus, is neither fixed nor labeled as it changes according to times and culture. In other words, gender is a performance. It is, rather, what you do at particular times, than a universal who you are.
In her performativity theory, Butler argues that people all put on gender performance, no matter it is traditional or not. So it is a question of what form that performance will take but not whether