Volume VI Special Issue V June 2026

Name of Author : Westerley R Marak

Title of the paper : The Script and The Stage: A Dive into Judith Butlers Idea on Gender Identity

Abstract: This paper aims to examine Judith Butlers concept of gender performativity through the metaphorical framework of the script and the stage. In this framework, socially defined gender is deconstructed and analysed via Butlers ideas on gender identity. Butler argues that gender identity is not a fixed or innate characteristic but rather a transitional, ongoing process tenuously constituted process. She posits that gender is something one does, rather than something one possesses, which renders gender performative and allows for different modes of performance. The regulatory fictions socially constituted gender norms compel individuals to perform the prescribed scripts, disabling them from exploring or identifying their own identity. This paper discusses and illustrates parodic subversions, such as drag, to expose the artificiality of gender norms as they are enacted on stage. Thus, it views gender as performance, offering a transformative space for agency and enabling individuals to challenge and rewrite the normative scripts governing human identity.

Keywords : Gender performativity, Gender Identity, Social Norms, Parody, Agency

DOI :

Page Number : 168-173