Gender Trouble, Judith Butler asserts that gender is a performance, an unstable identity that forms through how it is performed over and over. She writes, Gender ought not to be construed as a stable identity or locus of agency from which various acts follow; rather, gender is an identity tenuously constituted in time, instituted in an exterior space through a stylized repetition of acts. The effect of gender is produced through the stylization of the body and, hence, must be understood as the mundane way in which bodily gestures, movements, and styles of various kinds constitute the illusion of an abiding gendered self.
In "Gender Trouble," Judith Butler presents the concept of gender as a performance rather than a fixed identity. She argues that gender is not an intrinsic or stable entity from which behaviors emanate, but rather is continuously shaped through repeated actions and expressions. This view suggests that gender identity is crafted over time and relies heavily on societal norms and expectations.
Butler further elaborates that the manifestation of gender occurs through various stylized bodily gestures and movements. These repeated performances create the illusion of a consistent gendered self, which is actually fluid and constructed. This perspective invites readers to reconsider traditional notions of gender and recognize the complexity of its formation in relation to social and cultural influences.
