Gender is the cultural meaning a sexed body assumes. It is not something fixed by nature. “All gender is, by definition, unnatural” (Simone de Beauvoir, 1984, p.160) However in my understanding what Beauvoir means by this is that the roles we associate with women are not directly given to them during birth, but instead are socially constructed. Furthermore, the construction of gender refers to how cultures take the framework set up by biology (sex) and adds meaning to it. Judith Butler on the other hand suggested that both are socially constructed.
Queer theory was developed by Judith Butler in her post-modern feminist text, “Gender Trouble: feminism and the subversion of identity” (Horitar, 2015). She discussed the role that gender and sexual orientation play in the way in which society uses this concepts in order to place individuals in a specific category on the basis on how they behave (Guantlett, 1998; Horitar, 2015). This theory examines the diverse ways in which current beliefs serves to reintegrate societal anticipations of gender identity, appearance and sexuality, it also offers a negotiation for the fragmentation of constructed gender categories (Horitar, 2015). According to Western society, sex defines your particular gender (feminine or masculine) which in turn defines your true identity, for example a biological female is considered to be a women who is anticipated, by their society, to be more sensitive and nurturing than a man and who needs a sensual relationship with the opposite sex (Horitar, 2015). This notion was rejected by Butler because according to her gender should be regarded as a performance and not as a category (Guantlett, 1998; Horitar, 2015).
Attention is brought to the fact that the natural given body can 'put on ' different genders as it is socially constructed. However, it is regularly assumed that the sexed body must generate a certain gender identity that is the performance of gender is assigned to reflect the biological sex and is restricted by it. It seems then that if the ‘inner truth ' of gender is fabricated and gender is only inscribed on the surface of bodies that it can only be produced as the effects of a stable identity. Butler places some focus on how persons 'act ' in ways that draw attention to the construction of heterosexual identities that presents individuals as essential ' and natural '. She goes on to suggest that gender is a form of parody and some genders are more parodic than others; in highlighting the disjunction between the body of the performer and gender being performed she reveals the imitative structure of all gender.Forced heterosexuality is an important concept in Butler’s work where the ‘natural division of men and women is based on the regulation of sexuality within the boundaries of heterosexuality.
Thus it becomes apparent the belief in gender equality is the central feature of feminism, however, activism is also considered as being an important feature of feminism for certain individuals. The text suggests about stereotypes attached to feminists. It as well asserts that feminists seem to be aware of the unattractiveness stereotype and also influenced by it. One study of the author showed that feminist college women were more influenced by a woman with a feminine appearance delivering a profeminist message than a woman with a masculine appearance. The study also suggests that feminism is one sub category of gender stereotyping and that feminist are less hostile towards men.
The second model of gender, which I call “categorical theory”, treats women and men as pre-formed categories. This approach often appeals, explicitly or implicitly, to the biological difference of the sexes as the explanation of social behaviour. The focus is on some relation between the categories, which is external to their constitution as categories. This is, for instance, the logical structure underlying most discussion of equal employment opportunity. It is also found in much of the discussion of sexual harassment and gender violence.
I argue that one’s internal sense of their inborn gender identity influences how one will outwardly express their gender in society. I disagree with Butler’s stance that there is no identity behind expression, because I believe that gender expression is an outward reflection of one’s internal reality, which leads to my final point. My final argument against Butler is that humans are in control of their gender expression. I argue that humans have the ability to create their gender expression. Whether it be clothing and personal style, mannerisms and personality traits, or interests and jobs, I believe that humans ultimately make the conscious decision to choose these gendered characteristics in accordance with their gender identity.
On the other hand, on the side of feminist, they rather believe that in the real life the one who holds the human rights are not women but men, and ‘that gender equality, and freedom from discrimination for women, is given a low priority in the international arena’ (Donnelly in Reitman 1997, 100). This journal attempts to explain to the readers how both cultural
Queer Theory As the materials that directly discuss defeminization are relatively absent, in pursuit of the comprehension of the dynamics of defeminization – a phenomenon involving a change in gender performance – I extended the coverage of my review and perused the seminal works of Judith Butler, the proponent of the concepts of gender performance and performativity of gender. Judith Butler’s works are considered major contributions to Queer Theory, a collection of intellectual works focusing on the social constructedness of concepts such as sex, gender, and sexuality (Gauntlett, 1998; Spargo, 1999). Queer theorists question the established links between the three aforementioned concepts and claim that gender and sexuality are independent
However the consequences of this silencing and also the doable solutions for a modification is essentially divided in associate understanding of essentialist ‘female nature’ and a construction primarily based understanding of gender as a discursive follow. For a feminist theory on peace the analysis of war and conflict is essential. The variety of approaches vary from historical accounts of girls in war to the psychological scrutinizing of gendered upbringing of youngsters. Critical writings by ladies in liberation movements in Latin America, Africa and Asia as well because the critique on western feminism by labor, Black and lesbian scholars have additional formed the discussion. 4 Feminist Peace and Conflict Theory reflects on the need of visibility of girls in conflicts and has crystal rectifier to a broader understanding of security problems.
Deploying Professor John Carl Flugel’s Psychology of Clothes in conjunction with queer theory — particularly the theories of Judith Butler, this essay will attempt to examine the concepts of gender and identity in relation to artist Grayson Perry, ‘Britain’s pre-eminent transvestite’ through the lens of adornment. Gender can be defined as a set of different attributes and behaviours that comply to the socially constructed masculine/feminine binary. Adornment, has historically, at least from the 17th century onwards in Western society (Wilson, 1985, p. ), been a highly significant gender divisive tool useful for deciphering apparent ‘identities’, “in the case of an individual whom we have not previously met, the clothes he is wearing tell us