Imitation and Gender Insubordination- 1991

 

The purpose of Butler's essay, in her view, is to resist homophobic normative oppression by rethinking gender and sexuality. Emphasize that identity categories are tools of oppressive regulatory systems. Butler opposes an essentialist approach of adapting sexuality to a clear definition, because the definition does not take into account all the complexities and pluralities within a particular group. She wonders if there is a right way to be gay and argues that saying so would discriminate against homosexuals who don't fit that image. Instead, it suggests that the sexuality is fluid and unclear, and also implies that this is what makes it intriguing.

How do you “be” what you already are? Is there an act that you have to stage to play the role of a man or a woman? How about a straight man versus a gay man, or a lesbian versus a straight woman? In the essay, “Imitation and Gender Insubordination,” these are the questions she seems to be asking. Butler's main arguments in this piece are that “going out” can be as isolating as staying inside, the genre is executed and performative, and the gender identity is unstable. Even though she has decided to join this kind of medium, she expresses her anxieties and fears of being labeled as a lesbian. She argues that when they self-identify as gay or lesbian, they also enter this stereotypical world of what that means, and that such labeling can be overwhelming. The categorization of people is a closed practice. Since we are all humans, it is natural to have one's own experiences. Butler points out the irony of the term "get out". The sham of this coming out is described as a liberating experience, but how can it be when there are so many implications that come with it?

The “opacity” produced by “being outside” is as insulating as “staying inside” and not revealing one's sexuality, because society is ready to judge these on what it means to “be gay”.   Butler argues that there are also critics who assert that lesbians and gays can be described as "impossible identities, misclassifications, unnatural catastrophes in forensic discourse". How offensive it is to one's identity to be unfairly categorized and stereotyped, and at the same time to be labeled as impossible or non-existent. Some people will criticize homosexuals and say that their "exuberance" is just an act, as if it somehow discredits their sexuality. Butler admits to "being a lesbian" to establish that she is. She is one and must therefore "play" as one, in the same way, she asserts, that a heterosexual man or woman behaves as one person. A straight man and a gay man are likely to dress differently, or a straight woman and a lesbian. It is also likely that a large part of society will try to judge their sexuality by their appearance. This idea of ​​"performance" can be seen through flirtation and is prevalent in "gay culture". It's almost as if the point of drag is to say that: even heterosexuality can be copied and imitated. Just by looking at the title of his essay, "Gender Imitation and Insubordination", one can come to the conclusion that to imitate the genre, as with drag, is to disobey it. But all straight guys and gays mimic the genre through a variety of shows. These "acts" discredit critics who claim that homosexuals cannot exist because they are all just copies of each other. In this case As Butler pointed out, how is it possible that heterosexuality can be posited as original, and homosexuality as a copy, if it too can and is imitated and copied?For the identities of heterosexual and homosexual individuals to exist, there must be copies of each to define origin. This lack of stability is evident, as female and male identities can be falsified by performance, but they must also be realized in order for society to know the masculinity or femininity of individuals. The question that seems to arise is: if each type of sexuality is equally stable and unstable, how can one be better or more original than the other?

Without “repetition” of identity, by a heterosexual or gay person, the identity would not be known. Since this "repetition" is necessary, the instability of gender identity is evident. The fact that "being" a heterosexual woman or man and a homosexual woman or man requires some sort of performance to represent oneself reflects that all "sides of sexuality" are unstable and not original. This is why there is no point in judging someone based on their sexual orientation, especially when judging something can lead to misunderstanding and isolation.