#### Speech Act Theory and Performativity Speech act theory is the origin of the concept of performativity. The philosophical use of "acts" ties into Butler's theory of gender performativity by providing different ways to think about how actions **don't just reflect an identity but actively constitute one**. Speech act theory arises from philosophy of language. J.L. Austin divides common statements into two categories: 1) constatives and 2) performatives. Constative statements are declarations of fact, describing the state of affairs. This is most of what we do in every day speech. "It's raining outside." Performative statements bring about new states of affairs through their very utterance. "I now pronounce you man and wife." If conditions are right, if someone has the authority, the utterance brings about a new state of affairs. Butler draws on **speech act theory**, particularly from John Searle's idea about performative language. Speech acts are instances where **saying something brings about what it declares**. For example, when a judge says, "I now pronounce you married," or when someone says "I promise," the statement itself creates the reality. Similarly, gender is something we do, where speech or behavior create the reality of gender. Butler extends speech act theory beyond utterances and into embodiment (dress, gait, posture, etc.), creating a hybrid of speech act theory and phenomenology. Crucially, performativity is different than performance. Performance is like a role we consciously take on, like a theater actor. On the other hand, **performativity is deeper, ongoing, and often unconscious acts** that bring gender into being. #### Phenomenology Butler draws heavily on phenomenology, a philosophy that focuses on **how we experience things subjectively**. For phenomenologists, **the body is a lived, intentional presence** in the world. Butler draws on Merleau-Ponty’s idea that the body is an **historical idea**, rather than simply a biological entity. The **body shapes and is being shaped by social and cultural contexts**, rather than a passive vessel. For example, 19th century corsets shaped women's bodies according to a cultural standard, while today's society promotes fitness and muscle tone. For Butler, the body becomes a site where social meaning (like gender) are inscribed and acted out. Gender is constituted over time through bodily acts— walking, speaking, dressing. Additionally, Butler draws on Beauvoir's idea that "one is not born, but rather becomes, a woman." That is, womanhood is not an essentialist category tied to the body, but is a **socially constructed category**. For example, a girl might be taught to be nurturing and dress in feminine clothing, molding her into the identity of "woman." Butler builds on this, emphasizing **gender is not constructed once but is continuously performed**. Furthermore, these thinkers are steeped in the ideas of Hegel. Hegel asserts that since being is becoming, there's **no essential human essence**. Rather, our human condition is **shaped by the historical circumstances** in which we live. ##### The Body as an "Historical Idea" Butler finds Merleau-Ponty's concept of the body as a "historical idea" useful because it provides a philosophical foundation for understanding how gender is embodied and performed. Merleau-Ponty was reacting against the long-standing tradition of mind-body dualism, which originated with René Descartes. This view sees the mind and body as separate entities, with the mind being the seat of consciousness and the body merely a mechanical object. Merleau-Ponty wanted to show that this division is artificial and doesn't reflect our lived experience. For Merleau-Ponty, our bodies are not mere objects that we possess or control with our minds. Instead, he argues that we are our bodies, and our bodily existence is the primary way we engage with and understand the world around us. When he refers to the body as a "historical idea," he's emphasizing that our bodies are not blank slates or purely biological entities. Rather, they are the result of a complex interplay between our personal experiences, cultural influences, and historical context. For example, the way we walk, our posture, our gestures – these are not just physical movements but expressions of our personal and cultural history. Merleau-Ponty's emphasis on the body as historically and culturally situated resonates with Butler's view that gender norms and expressions are not universal or natural, but shaped by specific historical and cultural contexts. Both thinkers challenge essentialist notions of identity. Merleau-Ponty's rejection of mind-body dualism provides Butler with a framework to argue against the idea of a pre-discursive, natural gender identity. #### Feminist Theory and Gender Essentialism Butler responds to debates within feminist theory about gender essentialism. The sex/gender distinction became a cornerstone of much feminist thought and activism in the 1970s and early 1980s. It informed critiques of socialization processes that produce gendered behaviors and identities, suggesting that if gender was socially constructed, it could be reconstructed more equitably. Butler critiques the tendency for some 1980s feminists to rely on essentialist understandings of gender in an attempt to find some universal identity upon which to politically rally and build solidarity. Many second wave feminists sought to highlight the differences between men and women, suggesting that women's oppression stemmed from their biological differences. #### Poststructuralism and the Deconstruction of Identity Butler's work falls within the poststructuralist tradition, particularly in how it critiques the stability of categories like "identity" or "self." Thinkers like Derrida and Foucault argued that **identities (gender, race, etc.) are discursively produced**, rather than naturally given. Likewise, Butler rejects the notion of a stable, pre-existing gender identity. Instead, **gender emerges through discourse and repetition**— there is no authentic self underlying the performance. >[!info] Defining "discourse" and "discursive" >Discourse refers to language and communication, how we talk, write, and think about things. > >Discursive is the adjective form of discourse. It describes things that are shaped by or related to discourse. When we say something is "discursively produced," we mean it is created or shaped through discourse. > >For example, society has discourses (cultural ideas, language, media, education) that define what it means to be masculine. These are not natural traits linked to our biology, but ideas that are repeated and reinforced. Gender is discursively produced when a boy is taught "boys don't cry." Foucault's work on how social norms and discourses shape identity is also central. Foucault argued that power operates not just through laws and institutions but through everyday practices and norms. Butler takes up this idea, showing how **gender norms discipline bodies**. Poststructuralism also breaks down binary oppositions such as man/woman, nature/culture, etc. Butler critiques the binary between sex as biological and gender as cultural, showing that even sex is discursively produced through acts. #### Queer Theory and Gender Fluidity Butler's ideas are foundational to queer theory, which emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Butler's idea of the subversive potential of gender is central to queer activism, which seeks to destabilize normative categories of gender and sexuality. #### Keywords - **Gender performativity**: Gender is not an inherent identity or fixed trait but a series of actions and behaviors that are repeated over time. - **Performative acts**: Actions or behaviors that not only express, but _create_ the reality the express. For example, dress, gait, or speech that conform to gender expectations. - **Phenomenology**: A philosophy that focuses on lived experience and the ways in which individuals perceive and engage in the world, emphasizing how bodies interact with social and historical contexts. - **Embodiment**: The idea that the body is not just a biological entity, but a site where social meanings (like gender) are lived and performed. For example, how a person "does" gender through gestures or clothing. - **Discursive production**: The concept that identities, like race or gender, are produced through language, social practices, and norms, rather than being natural or innate. For example, "femininity" is created by how we talk about women, represent them in media, and expect them to behave. - **Cultural inscription**: The process by which society "writes" or imposes meanings onto the body, such as assigning gender roles or expectations. For example, the expectation that women wear makeup inscribes femininity onto female bodies. - **Heterosexual Contract**: The implicit societal agreement that enforces heteronormativity to maintain social structures, particularly reproduction and kinship systems. - **Kinship system**: The social organization of families, including rules of marriage, reproduction, and inheritance, which reinforce gender roles. --- Questions: - If gender is purely performative, having no reality outside of its performance, what explains the existence of transgender people who are subject to the same gender norm conditioning and face severe social punishment for expressing an innate, felt gender? - How can we justify the "born this way" argument if, in Butler's view, sexual attraction is the result of culture? - How is performance (theatrical) different from performativity?