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

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