word
gender performativity
JEN-der per-for-mah-TIV-ih-tee
ˈdʒɛndər pərfɔːrməˈtɪvɪtiListen
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Syllable breakdown
genderperformativity
Dictionary meaning
the theory, most closely associated with philosopher Judith Butler's 1990 work Gender Trouble, that gender is not an innate essence or biological fact but is constituted through the continuous repetition of stylised bodily acts, gestures, and performances; gender appears natural because these performances are so constantly and compulsorily repeated that they create the illusion of a stable gendered identity underlying them
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