The misapprehension about gender performativity is this: that gender is a choice, or that gender is a role, or that gender is a construction that one puts on, as one puts on clothes in the morning, that there is a 'one' who is prior to this gender, a one who goes to the wardrobe of gender and decides with deliberation which gender it will be today.
Judith Butler challenges the common misunderstanding of gender performativity, arguing against the notion that gender is an individual choice or a role that can be donned like clothing. Instead, Butler asserts that there is no inherent self that preexists gender; rather, gender is a complex interplay of social and discursive practices that shape identity. The idea that one can select their gender from a 'wardrobe' implies a level of autonomy and deliberation that misrepresents the fluid and constructed nature of gender identity.
Butler emphasizes that gender is not simply a genre of roles one can adopt but is instead deeply embedded in societal norms and power structures. This perspective invites us to reconsider how we perceive gender as a performance influenced by cultural, historical, and political contexts. As such, gender identities are not merely choices individuals make but are shaped by the ongoing processes of social interaction and contextual performance.