On Thursday, November 21, my group and I attended an event that takes place every month hosted by The National Organization For Women and it specifically regarded feminist philosophy. I learned and we spoke a few other feminists about Judith Butler (a feminist philosopher), gender identity and performativity. Performativity can be a series of effects, regarding the way we speak, walk and overall act, which in many ways define who we are, how others view us and how we identify ourselves. During the conversation we spoke about how everything we do, say and act is “performative”, even the way we sit; cross legged or not. We explored the ideas of a philosopher named Judith Butler; his/her belief on gender identity is that no one is a gender from the start. Butler argues that a penis does not make you a boy nor does a vagina make you a girl, instead, she states, “gender is culturally established, but it is also a domain of agency or freedom and that it is most important to resist the violence that is imposed by ideal gender norms, especially against those who are gender different, who are nonconforming in their gender presentation.” There are certain expectations people have the minute your biological sex is recognized and that all of his or her mannerisms have to be confined within your gender and abide by his/her gender norm weather that is ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine’. Additionally during the conversation we questioned how intersex individuals become a part of society, as they are most likely questioning how to identify themselves, who they are attracted to and what gender that makes them. Though this can be challenging to cope with, it can allow intersex individuals to perform in whichever gender feels best, if that is female, male, both or whatever else they choose to identify themselves as. This then provoked us to examine what might happen if a child is told that having a vagina does not have to make you “female” and how by doing this it allows the child to freely express him/herself and not be influenced by the norms of their society. We learned about the (somewhat) recent event that occurred in which parents decided to not reveal the gender of their baby for five years. They wanted their child to remain gender neutral and express him/herself without feeling a need to conform. The parents simply didn’t want the infants gender to affect what he/she wore and played with, which often structures the type of person they develop into. I thought this was a very interesting way of raising a child, as it can allow the child to freely express itself without the gender status quo confining them from acting a certain way or from whom they want to be identified as if that is a gender at all. Even though I think this is a really interesting and positive way to raise a child, I believe it is inevitable that society and societies gender norms will affect ones view on themselves. Because I believe that even if we are transgender, gay, lesbian, straight, male or female, etc. society has shaped who we are and how we see ourselves. I think it is really important to move away from labels and to not worry about solely being who you want be and being yourself.
