Butler's Gender Performativity Theory

Butler's Gender Performativity Theory suggests that gender is not something we innately possess but is created through repeated behaviors, actions, and roles that society expects of us. Instead of being a fixed trait, gender is like a performance we enact based on cultural norms—such as mannerisms, speech, and dress—that reinforce societal ideas of masculinity and femininity. Over time, these repeated acts shape and sustain our gender identity, making it seem natural, even though it is actually constructed through social performance.