Judith Butler, Essay Example

Judith Butler discusses the idea of gender identity and the tendency for societies to establish cultural norms and categories that they can comfortably fit individuals into who don’t fit the ‘natural’ male-female dichotomy.  While this categorization has been known to help in changing the identities that individuals associate with themselves, it also imposes a stigma on those that are considered to be representations of the ‘disorder’ of gender ambiguity.

Butler claims that this imposition is something that should be considered on a deeper level.  By imposing the identities of these individuals it becomes difficult to allow for their individuality.  “To be diagnosed with gender identity disorder (GID) is to be found, in some way, to be ill, sick, wrong, out of order, abnormal, and to suffer a certain stigmatization as a consequence of the diagnosis being given at all.”  In this sense, the idea presents a mental and social barrier to the individual, which ends up having negative consequences in the long run.

This idea is expressed in films that present the idea of gender identification as being something that is an individual’s choice. These expressions present individuals who have overcome the stratification that has been imposed by society, in order to self-identify in a more natural way.  By doing so, they are able to oppose the institutionalization of gender identity.  By overcoming these potential repressive institutions, they can achieve their individual identities.