Transgender Identity, Essay Example

The author presents the idea that transgender identity is seen as being rooted in a heterosexual identity.  However, the argument that she formulates indicates that this is not necessarily the case. The idea of heterosexuality is something that self-perpetuates itself within society, becoming the standard or norm by which cultures identify their individual’s sexuality. “To claim that all gender is like drag, or is drag, is to suggest that “imitation” is at the heart of the heterosexual project and its gender binarizes, that drag is not a secondary imitation that presupposes a prior and original gender”. These standards are difficult to overcome, as they are rooted in the fundamental makeup of our psyche.

This ideal, though, cannot ever be fully realized, as the perfection of gender is something that does not exist naturally within the world.  While there are often dichotomies between male and female these boundaries can, at times, be blurred, making the definitions of gender somewhat more complicated then what these ideas tend to present. Within the context of the real world, these definitions become fundamentally biased.

Butler presents her argument by using an example of a film by Jennie Livingston, called Paris is Burning, which outlines drag-style balls that are held in New York City.  These balls present an excellent example of her argument.  This is presented in the sense that, while these drag-balls seem to be an outward creation of individuals expressing their freedoms, these expressions are essentially rooted in identities that are considered the norm by the rest of society.