Gender Roles, And Judith Butler's Role Of Women

asome are more susceptible to media effects, how the media influences those individuals, and how media effects can be heightened or neutralized. The sexual missteps taken by politicians connects in part to Judith Butler’s and Erving Goffman’s analysis on human interaction and performativity.[18] Butler stated that performativity of an individual is measured by their ability to stay within their assigned gender role. While Goffman also analyzed individual’s performativity, he examined the preservation of one’s performance. Goffman viewed human errors in communication, composure, and compassion as a glitch in an individual’s performance which could prove detrimental to one’s future. In the Me Too movement, the performance of elites is called

Any break from the cultural and historical norm is at first seen as unacceptable. Unlike Goffman, Butler accepts the notion of change and believes that the role of women would continue to develop. Butler includes the idea of cultural transformations in which gender roles will continue to change as new performances come into play. Butler believes gender roles act as a script for society. She thinks that the people who rehearse and perform in their gender roles are the ones that make gender a reality. These roles have existed for centuries and have been sanctioned by our family and friends. Traditionally, based on historical and cultural context, men are expected to play the role of a strong masculine leader, while women are expected to be feminine and submissive. When one disobeys their gender requirements, they have low performativity. Analyzing the performativity of individuals in the Me Too movement can be difficult because they are expanding upon a woman’s traditional role. But as stated by Butler, this expansion is expected and, with the use of repetition, eventually appreciated by the public. Traditionally, many believed that there was no such thing as unwanted female attention for a man. Through this mindset, one can see how society would dismiss any allegations brought against a female from a man. With the help of millions of women and men speaking out about their experience, it is becoming more acceptable to do so. A consequence of slow cultural change is that many victims of sexual harassment and abuse are still being shamed. According to Butler this will eventually change and a new script will come into play. Butler’s analysis offers a superior analysis compared to Goffman’s, yet both are still applicable.