Traumatic Experiences In Judith Butler's Narrative

Judith Butler’s concept of gender being performative focuses on how it creates a sequence of effect or impression. Human have a consistent way of talking about their gender as if it were something that is simply a fact. People go about their lives following patterns that are interconnected with their male or female appearance. They get very settled in the expected behaviors and common attributes of male or female, without recognizing that gender is a social construction. It is difficult to wrap your head around the idea that gender is always changing and being reproduced because it is conversation that often goes unnoticed. Butler realizes that it will be a struggle to get people to grasp the idea that nobody actually is their gender and that

it is not a factual part of who they are.
Judith Butler’s goal is to try to get people to re-think how we communicate and comprehend gender. We go about discussing gender in a very patterned, ritualized way allowing people to believe the way you look, talk, dress, and act are in direct relation with your gender. Butler’s work to challenge gender, “trouble” gender has become to so widely known that I am discussing it in two courses. Her approach to troubling gender norms while concrete has not been made into action. Butler strives to encourage people to disturb the idea of gender but there has not been enough movement in society because it seems like an impossible goal.
Her abstract and complex approach seems like a challenge to those who have been at receiving end of gender stereotypes and oppression. Psychiatric institutions and other groups try to “ keep us in our place”, making it even more difficult to transform. Judith Butler attempts to give some solutions to the issues of challenging authorities that enforce gender norms, but unfortunately, even with some progress, the task is far from over. Judith Butler is a voice of hope for those that struggle daily with gender oppression and is a representation of how communication about gender is becoming part of a central conversation in society. Although, Butler has a clear idea about the issues surrounding gender, it is clear through her facial expressions and body language that she is still somewhat unsure about how to describe the issue to reveal her main point.
I appreciate Judith Butler’s video because although she has large background discussing gender and gender performativity, the video allows viewers to get a different more personal sense of what she means and it has the ability to reach a large audience. The video opens up conversation not only about gender performativity, it is transferable to racial performativity. For example, the same idea accompanies race and how individuals communicate their race through their ritualized behaviors. How an individual performs “whiteness” can be looked at through the same lens that Butler creates for troubling gender. Overall, Judith’s Butler is encouraging others to join her efforts in “troubling” and challenging our standard principles of gender.

Journal 4: Kiesinger’s Narrative Reframing
Kiesinger’s article on narrative reframing had challenging content to get through but, I found the article’s compelling in the reasoning and message behind it. Kiesinger’s article portrayed a great, yet unfortunate; example of how to strategically reframe a narrative to it has a different impact. It seems like a very simply concept but, I assume it can be challenging to complete. There are many stories and experiences that might benefit from reframing a story.
One of the things I found most beneficial in reading this article was that Kiesinger provided a lot of detail in terms of the story and truly evoked emotional responses from the readers. I found this article difficult to get through because it is such a horrific story yet, I was eager to read on because her writing style was very captivating. As I read this article, I felt a strong connection to the words that made me feel like I knew her very well. Her narrative style was vulnerable while also being very relatable. The first few pages of the article I was primarily paying attention to the storyline, but as she started to bring up how her perception changed, my thoughts shifted to those about not what she was writing but how. While I will never fully understand how she was able to have any relationship with her abusive father, I appreciate the fact that she changed this horrible story into something else. Her reframing of the narrative to be more positive wouldn’t take away the hurt that she suffered but, it will allow her to not carry around the burden everyday. It was clear the control she had with transforming her thoughts to help her live a healthier life. There are so many benefits to narrative reframing however, it can seem very confusing and daunting for an individual to put themselves in that situation.
Kiesinger was able to remove herself emotionally from her father and see him as a human being who dealt with a traumatic experience.

Her willingness to view both of their experiences within a larger system seems confusing to outsiders, such as myself, but to Kiesinger it was the only way she could somewhat heal herself. There are so many situations and stories where reframing of a narrative can be transformative to a person. When a traumatic or negative experience happens, it might seem impossible to have a positive outlook, however; reframing can be helpful. In my life, situations have occurred or problems have appeared that are regrettable yet I find the concept of narrative reframing encouraging for the future. Although, I have not had any traumatic experiences like Kiesinger, I think I could have and should utilize this idea for even minor experiences. For instance, one summer I was living at home for the first time in 10 years because I wasn’t at summer camp. Most of my friends were off at camp or busy working while I was bored, lazy, and somewhat miserable. That would have been a great example of a situation where eventually I could look back on the experience and frame it as a time to be by myself or relax before I didn’t have my summers

anymore.
While this example is drastically different from Kiesinger’s horrific story, it shares the same idea that any narrative can be framed in more than one way. Kiesinger demonstrates how a person can recognize their agency and strategically reframe a negative experience. While her experience will never be forgotten, she was able to take a step back and develop a new perspective on her dad by relating to him as a human.