Gender is dead, long live gender: just what is 'performativity'?

It's unfortunate that popular culture often reduces performativity to the idea that 'gender is a social construct'. This catchphrase sets the ' ... Genderisdead,longlivegender:justwhatis‘performativity’?MarleneDietrichonthesetofMorocco(1930).PhotocourtesyParamountPicturesibyWillFraker +BIOWillFrakerisanassociateeditoratAeon.HelivesinBrooklyn.EditedbySallyDavies1,400wordsSaveListenhereBroughttoyoubyCurio,anAeonpartnerListentomoreAeonEssayshereREPUBLISHFORFREEEmailSaveTweetShareLoveAeon?SupportourworkDonateMarleneDietrichonthesetofMorocco(1930).PhotocourtesyParamountPicturesGenderisburdenedbyalotofadjectivesthesedays.It’snon-binary,it’sfluid,it’s‘over’.AccordingtotheAmericanrapperYoungThug,anartistatthehelmofhip-hopwhoisknowntooccasionallyweardresses,‘there’snosuchthingasgender’atall. Thesedescriptionssharethecommonassumptionthatgenderismutable,notfixed.Mostcontemporarypublicconversationsaboutwhatitmeanstobemenandwomenwillengagewithsomeversionofthisthesis–adevelopmentthat’sdue,inlargepart,totheworkoftheAmericanphilosopherJudithButler.Hertheoryof‘performativity’upendedideasaboutgenderbysheddinglightonthemanyprocessesthatproduceit,andthetheory’sfar-reachingconsequencesarestillwidelymisunderstood. It’sunfortunatethatpopularcultureoftenreducesperformativitytotheideathat‘genderisasocialconstruct’.Thiscatchphrasesetsthe‘social’againstthe‘natural’,andimpliesthatgenderismerelyanartificiallayer,encrustedbychoiceontothesupposedlymorefundamentalrealityofsex.ButButlerwascarefultoavoidarguingforasimplesplitbetweennatureandculture,orsexandgender.Forher,genderwasn’tpredeterminedbynatureorbiology,norwasitsimply‘madeup’byculture.Rather,Butlerinsistedthatgenderresidesinrepeatedwordsandactions,wordsandactionsthatbothshapeandareshapedbythebodiesofreal,flesh-and-bloodhumanbeings.Andcrucially,suchrepetitionsarerarelyperformedfreely. What’satstakeinperformativitystretchesintotheminutiaeoftheeveryday.Iwasrecentlyonaroadtripwithagroupoffriends,andonewomanobservedthatshealwaysletsherpartner,aman,drivehercarinsteadofdoingsoherself.Suchanacquiescencefeelsfeminine,shesaid.ThequestionButlerwouldwantustoaskis:doesmyfrienddothisbecausesheisawoman,ordoestheactitselfcontributetomakingherso? AlthoughButlerisitsmostfamousadvocate,theconceptofperformativityisrootedinearlierobservationsabouthowlanguageworks.Inthemid-1950s,theEnglishphilosopherJLAustinpointedoutthatlanguageisoftenawayofaccomplishingthingsintheworld,notonlyameansofdescribingit.Tomakeapromise,forexample,istodothepromising,notjusttosaysomethingaboutit.InHowtoDoThingswithWords(1962),Austindescribedthesetypesofstatements,whichentailedperformingactions,as(youguessedit)‘performatives’.Thisfocusonthefunctionalityofstatements,nottheirtruthorfalsity,provedtoberevolutionary,andtheinterdisciplinaryenterpriseof‘speechacttheory’wasborninitswake.Inawonderfulway,theneologismdidexactlywhatitwasdescribing–itmadethingshappenintheworld. Roughly30yearslater,Butlerlinkedperformativitytogender,makingexplicitreferencetotheAmericanphilosopherJohnSearle’sworkonspeechacttheory.ButlerwasinterestedinSearle’sanalysisofthewaythatperformativesdon’tsimplydothings,theyalsocommitthepeopleinvolvedtofutureactions.Forexample,whenajudgedeclaresacaseclosed,she’snotsimplyendingthetrial,she’ssettingoffachainofevents–plaintiffswillbeacquittedorindicted,andthecourtroomadjourned.WhatSearlenotedisthat,inorderforaperformative(thejudge’sproclamation)tohaveanyimpactonthefuture,ithastoadheretocertainconventionsthathavealreadybeenestablished.Societyneedstoaccepttheauthorityofthejudgeandtheformofherdeclaration.Aperformative,then,isasmucharepetitionorre-creationofwhat’sexpectedasitisanactofindividualagency. It’sagainstthisbackgroundthatButlerprovidesherdefinitioninGenderTrouble(1990):‘genderprovestobeperformative–thatis,constitutingtheidentityitispurportedtobe’.Thebasicideaisthatgenderiscreatedbytheverywordsandactionsthatappear,superficially,tobesimplydescribingitafterthefact.Earlier,ina1988essay,Butlerhadlikenedgenderto‘anact[inaplay]whichhasbeenrehearsed,muchasascriptsurvivestheparticularactorswhomakeuseofit,butwhichrequiresindividualactorsinordertobeactualisedandreproducedasrealityonceagain’.Genderisnotathingsomuchasaprocessbywhichpatternsoflanguageandactioncometorepeatthemselves. EmbeddedwithinButler’sconceptaretwokeyexpansionsupon‘performative’asAustinorSearleusedit.Forone,genderdoesnotoccurwithlanguageonly:it’sverymuchaboutbodiesdoingthings,suchasshakinghandsorwearingclothes.Secondly,performinggenderisnotsomethingthatisdonebyapre-existing,unfetteredindividual.HereButlerisre-appropriatingFriedrichNietzsche’sargumentinOntheGenealogyofMorals(1887),that‘thereisno“being”behinddoing…thedeediseverything’.Thatis,genderisnotarolethatsomeonesimplychooseswhetherornottostepinto,adecisionmadebyadetached,pre-social,consciousmind.Instead,theveryidentityoftheactorisfashionedviatheactionsthemselves–andtheseactionsareoftenunconsciousandatleastpartlycoerced. Takeshakinghands,forexample.A‘masculine’handshakebetweentwomale-identifyingindividualsisnotreallyachoice,butratheracompulsionrootedinpreviousactions–boththeirphysicalperformances(thefirmclasp,thedecisiveshake)andthewaythey’respokenorthoughtaboutas‘masculine’(‘Don’ttrustamanwithalimphandshake’;‘Hehasagood,assertivegrip’).There’sanunspokenchoreographythatmouldstheencounterbetweentwomen–andindeed,thelessitisthoughtabout,thesmootheritoperates.Themomenttheperformanceisbroughttothelevelofawarenessispreciselywhenitcomestofeelclunkyandunnatural,becausethisrevealsthefactthatthesequencecouldhavebeenexecuteddifferently.So,whilegenderisperformed,Butlerargues,itisnotatrulyvoluntaryperformance.Rather,itismadetofeel‘natural’byvirtueofitsbanalityandrepetition.Thehandshakemakestheman,nottheotherwayaround. Butler’sclaimthatperformativityprecedesidentitygoesagainstthegrainofWesternmetaphysics,whichclingstothesovereigntyofthefree,rationalindividual.Thisideaislargelyduetothe17th-centuryFrenchphilosopherRenéDescartes,whoconceivedofthemindasastablefoundation,aninternalspacethat’sontologicallydistinctfromthebodyandtheworld.Butler’sconceptionofgender,however,suggeststhatwearen’tpre-existingCartesianegos‘constructing’ourgenderthroughactsofwill;nordowe‘inhabit’somebiologicallypredeterminedrole.Rather,we’reembodiedindividuals,propagatingparticularwaysofdoinggender,oftenunthinkingly. Intriguingly,there’snowthepotentialforperformativitytobetakenupinamodifiedformbycognitivescientists–especiallythoseconcernedwithhowthebodyandsocietyaffectthewaywethink.Taketherelationshipbetweenpovertyandbrainplasticity,forexample.Thestressoflivinginpovertycanalterphysicalbrainstructuresinsignificantways,suchasshrinkingthehippocampus.Thiscanaffectmemory,emotionandotherqualitiesthatonemightbeotherwisetemptedtoattributetoindividual‘identity’.Byadoptingamoreperformativeperspective,however,wecanseehowtheseneural,bodilystructuresatonceproduceandareproducedbycertainsocialandcircumstantialscripts.Muchlikeperformativitydoesforgender,thisapproachsuggeststhatthemindisnotapre-existingthing,butanongoingachievementofanembodiedorganism,mutableandmouldedbyabroadercontext. Performativityhasbecomeacatchwordinthehumanities,thesocialsciencesandpopularculture.In2016,NewYorkmagazinewentsofarastodeclare:‘It’sJudithButler’sWorld’.Butwhileperformativityhasbeendevelopedinthecontextofgender,ithasmuchdeeperimplications.It’sawayofmakingstrangethatwhichfeelsintuitive,ofchallengingustotakeasecondlookatwhatappearsself-evident.Performativityencouragesusnotonlytoseetheworlddifferently,buttoimaginehowwemightdoitdifferently.AsthephilosopherAlvaNöeputsitinStrangeTools:ArtandHumanNature(2015):‘itisournaturetoacquiresecondnatures’.GenderGenderandidentitySexandsexuality24January2018Aeonisnot-for-profitandfreeforeveryoneMakeadonationGetAeonstraighttoyourinboxJoinournewsletterSaveideaComputingandartificialintelligenceAlgorithmsassociatingappearanceandcriminalityhaveadarkpastCatherineStinsonSaveideaMedicineGentlemedicinecouldradicallytransformmedicalpracticeJacobStegengaSaveideaChildhoodandadolescenceForachild,beingcarefreeisintrinsictoawell-livedlifeLuaraFerracioliSaveideaMeaningandthegoodlifeSoonerorlaterweallfacedeath.Willasenseofmeaninghelpus?WarrenWardSaveideaPhilosophyofmindThinkofmentaldisordersasthemind’s‘stickytendencies’KristopherNielsenSaveideaMeaningandthegoodlifePhilosophycannotresolvethequestion‘Howshouldwelive?’DaveEllis