tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652296434223557736.post3134504572895193702..comments2008-10-06T16:17:33.068-07:00Comments on The Gay Utopia: Julia Serano: Performance PieceNoah Berlatskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07224228101183148043noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8652296434223557736.post-1843699847062705062008-10-06T16:17:00.000-07:002008-10-06T16:17:00.000-07:00The whole gender/performance thing is ridiculous e...The whole gender/performance thing is ridiculous especially in light of what Butler meant re: performativity of gender. <BR/><BR/>"Performative" doesn't equal "performance": the latter word is taken from speech theory. A performative speech act is one that enacts what is being said (like how saying "I pronounce you man and wife" actually makes someone married.) <BR/><BR/>What gender performativity means, then, is that by saying you're a man, you're a man, or by saying you're a woman (or a genderqueer or anything else), you are whatever you're asserting. That's what it's about: gender being in the eye of the asserter, not the beholder (or the doctor.) <BR/><BR/>"Gender is performance" is just a misunderstanding of the language.Russellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13466712304441190736noreply@blogger.com