Theoretical / Theatre Journal
Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory
Abstract Butler examines gender as a performative accomplishment, arguing that gender identity is not a stable essence but an ongoing discursive practice that constitutes the very subject it appears to express. Drawing on phenomenological insights, she demonstrates how gender is performed through repetitive acts that create the illusion of a natural, essential identity while actually constructing that identity through the very performance itself.
Judith Butler / Read paper