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basis, through constant repetition.
In this way, the sexual norms
imposed by society are “troubled,”
shown to be artificial and based on
a nonexistent status quo, and the
rights of all kinds of different sexual
identities (straight, gay, lesbian,
transgender, and beyond) can be
asserted as having equal validity.
Controversy and change
Butler’s widening of the issue
of sexuality and gender was a
cornerstone of what came to be
known as queer theory. As well as
moving the discussion away from
traditional ideas of masculinity and
femininity to include a broad
spectrum of sexuality and gender
identity, her ideas showed how our
perceptions of sexuality are socially
molded, rather than an essential
part of us. But she is also a political
activist, and beneath her theories
of gender are the Foucauldian ideas
of power and how it is exercised in
society. It is not necessarily just our
sexual identity that is shaped by
repeated performance of certain
behaviors, but our whole social and
political outlook. Butler maintains
that we can challenge other
aspects of the status quo by
deliberately performing in new,
subversive ways.
Butler has faced considerable
criticism, not least from feminist
thinkers such as US scholar
Martha Nussbaum. Some have
argued that she implies a lack of
free will in those imitating the
sexual norms of society, whereas
in fact those norms have frequently
been broken by those who felt
uncomfortable with them. And,
as with many postmodern thinkers,
her writing has attracted the
criticism that its convoluted form
conceals some basically simple
ideas. Butler has, however, moreFOUNDATIONS OF SOCIOLOGY
followers than critics, and the field
of gender and sexuality in sociology
has been much influenced by her
broadening of its scope. Whether
in part as a result of her work, or
simply contemporary with it, there
has been increasing liberalization
of attitudes to different forms of
sexuality in Western society, to the
extent that same-sex couples and
LGBTI issues are accepted in
mainstream and popular culture
almost without controversy in some
places, changing the nature of
the “gender acts” that inform our
individual sexual identities. But in
those countries where the cultural
mores continue to be restrictive,
and regimes push ferociously
straight agendas, the impact of
those not conforming to the rigid
sexual norms is that much greater,
and more clearly demonstrates the
power of subversion. ■Drag is subversive to the
extent that it reflects on
the imitative structure
by which... gender is itself
produced and disputes
heterosexuality’s claim
on naturalness.
Judith ButlerPriscilla, Queen of the Desert is a
1994 cult movie about two drag queens
and a transsexual. Some claim it
merely reproduces stereotypes; others
that it brings LGBTI issues to the fore.