How, if at all, is the notion of dis\u00adcur\u00adsive resi\u00adgni\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion lin\u00adked to the notion of gen\u00adder paro\u00addy or imper\u00adso\u00adna\u00adtion ? First, what is meant by unders\u00adtan\u00adding gen\u00adder as an imper\u00adso\u00adna\u00adtion ? Does this mean that one puts on a mask or per\u00adso\u00adna, that there is a \u201cone\u201d who pre\u00adcedes that \u201cput\u00adting on,\u201d who is some\u00adthing other than its gen\u00adder from the start ? Or does this miming, this imper\u00adso\u00adna\u00adting pre\u00adcede and form the \u201cone,\u201d ope\u00adra\u00adting as its for\u00adma\u00adtive pre\u00adcon\u00addi\u00adtion rather than its dis\u00adpen\u00adsable artifice ?<\/p>\n
The construal of gen\u00adder-as-drag accor\u00adding to the first model appears to be the effect of a num\u00adber of cir\u00adcum\u00adstances. One of them I brought on myself by citing drag as an example of per\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adti\u00advi\u00adty, a move that was taken then, by some, to be exem\u00adpla\u00adry of per\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adti\u00advi\u00adty. If drag is per\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adtive, that does not mean that all per\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adti\u00advi\u00adty is to be unders\u00adtood as drag. The publi\u00adca\u00adtion of Gender Trouble coin\u00adci\u00added with a num\u00adber of publi\u00adca\u00adtions that did assert that \u201cclothes make the woman,\u201d but I never did think that gen\u00adder was like clothes, or that clothes make the woman. Added to these, howe\u00adver, are the poli\u00adti\u00adcal needs of an emergent queer move\u00adment in which the publi\u00adci\u00adza\u00adtion of thea\u00adtri\u00adcal agen\u00adcy has become quite central.<\/p>\n
The prac\u00adtice by which gen\u00adde\u00adring occurs, the embo\u00addying of norms, is a com\u00adpul\u00adso\u00adry prac\u00adtice, a for\u00adcible pro\u00adduc\u00adtion, but not for that rea\u00adson ful\u00adly deter\u00admi\u00adning. To the extent that gen\u00adder is an assi\u00adgn\u00adment, it is an assi\u00adgn\u00adment which is never quite car\u00adried out accor\u00adding to expec\u00adta\u00adtion, whose addres\u00adsee never quite inha\u00adbits the ideal s\/he is com\u00adpel\u00adled to approxi\u00admate. Moreover, this embo\u00addying is a repea\u00adted pro\u00adcess. And one might construe repe\u00adti\u00adtion as pre\u00adci\u00adse\u00adly that which under\u00admines the conceit of volun\u00adta\u00adrist mas\u00adte\u00adry desi\u00adgna\u00adted by the sub\u00adject in language.<\/p>\n
As Paris Is Burning<\/em> made clear, drag is not unpro\u00adble\u00adma\u00adti\u00adcal\u00adly sub\u00adver\u00adsive. It serves a sub\u00adver\u00adsive func\u00adtion to the extent that it reflects the mun\u00addane imper\u00adso\u00adna\u00adtions by which hete\u00adro\u00adsexual\u00adly ideal gen\u00adders are per\u00adfor\u00admed and natu\u00adra\u00adli\u00adzed and under\u00admines their power by vir\u00adtue of effec\u00adting that expo\u00adsure. But there is no gua\u00adran\u00adtee that expo\u00adsing the natu\u00adra\u00adli\u00adzed sta\u00adtus of hete\u00adro\u00adsexua\u00adli\u00adty will lead to its sub\u00adver\u00adsion. Heterosexuality can aug\u00adment its hege\u00admo\u00adny through its dena\u00adtu\u00adra\u00adli\u00adza\u00adtion, as when we see dena\u00adtu\u00adra\u00adli\u00adzing paro\u00addies that rei\u00addea\u00adlize hete\u00adro\u00adsexual norms without cal\u00adling them into question.<\/p>\n On other occa\u00adsions, though, the trans\u00adfe\u00adra\u00adbi\u00adli\u00adty of a gen\u00adder ideal or gen\u00adder norm calls into ques\u00adtion the abjec\u00adting power that it sus\u00adtains. For an occu\u00adpa\u00adtion or reter\u00adri\u00adto\u00adria\u00adli\u00adza\u00adtion of a term that has been used to abject a popu\u00adla\u00adtion can become the site of resis\u00adtance, the pos\u00adsi\u00adbi\u00adli\u00adty of an enabling social and poli\u00adti\u00adcal resi\u00adgni\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion. And this has hap\u00adpe\u00adned to a cer\u00adtain extent with the notion of \u201cqueer.\u201d The contem\u00adpo\u00adra\u00adry rede\u00adploy\u00adment enacts a pro\u00adhi\u00adbi\u00adtion and a degra\u00adda\u00adtion against itself, spaw\u00adning a dif\u00adferent order of values, a poli\u00adti\u00adcal affir\u00adma\u00adtion from and through the very term which in a prior usage had as its final aim the era\u00addi\u00adca\u00adtion of pre\u00adci\u00adse\u00adly such an affirmation.<\/p>\n It may seem, howe\u00adver, that there is a dif\u00adfe\u00adrence bet\u00adween the embo\u00addying or per\u00adfor\u00adming of gen\u00adder norms and the per\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adtive use of dis\u00adcourse. Are these two dif\u00adferent senses of \u201cper\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adti\u00advi\u00adty,\u201d or do they converge as modes of cita\u00adtio\u00adna\u00adli\u00adty in which the com\u00adpul\u00adso\u00adry cha\u00adrac\u00adter of cer\u00adtain social impe\u00adra\u00adtives becomes sub\u00adject to a more pro\u00admi\u00adsing dere\u00adgu\u00adla\u00adtion ? Gender norms ope\u00adrate by requi\u00adring the embo\u00addi\u00adment of cer\u00adtain ideals of femi\u00adni\u00adni\u00adty and mas\u00adcu\u00adli\u00adni\u00adty, ones that are almost always rela\u00adted to the idea\u00adli\u00adza\u00adtion of the hete\u00adro\u00adsexual bond. In this sense, the ini\u00adtia\u00adto\u00adry per\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adtive, \u201cIt\u2019s a girl!\u201d anti\u00adci\u00adpates the even\u00adtual arri\u00adval of the sanc\u00adtion, \u201cI pro\u00adnounce you man and wife.\u201d Hence, also, the pecu\u00adliar plea\u00adsure of the car\u00adtoon strip in which the infant is first inter\u00adpel\u00adla\u00adted into dis\u00adcourse with \u201cIt\u2019s a les\u00adbian!\u201d Far from an essen\u00adtia\u00adlist joke, the queer appro\u00adpria\u00adtion of the per\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adtive mimes and exposes both the bin\u00adding power of the hete\u00adro\u00adsexua\u00adli\u00adzing law and its expro\u00adpria\u00adbi\u00adli\u00adty<\/span>.<\/p>\n To the extent that the naming of the \u201cgirl\u201d is tran\u00adsi\u00adtive, that is, ini\u00adtiates the pro\u00adcess by which a cer\u00adtain \u201cgir\u00adling\u201d is com\u00adpel\u00adled, the term or, rather, its sym\u00adbo\u00adlic power, governs the for\u00adma\u00adtion of a cor\u00adpo\u00adreal\u00adly enac\u00adted femi\u00adni\u00adni\u00adty that never ful\u00adly approxi\u00admates the norm. This is a \u201cgirl,\u201d howe\u00adver, who is com\u00adpel\u00adled to \u201ccite\u201d the norm in order to qua\u00adli\u00adfy and remain a viable sub\u00adject. Femininity is thus not the pro\u00adduct of a choice, but the for\u00adcible cita\u00adtion of a norm, one whose com\u00adplex his\u00adto\u00adri\u00adci\u00adty is indis\u00adso\u00adciable from rela\u00adtions of dis\u00adci\u00adpline, regu\u00adla\u00adtion, punish\u00adment. Indeed, there is no \u201cone\u201d who takes on a gen\u00adder norm. On the contra\u00adry, this cita\u00adtion of the gen\u00adder norm is neces\u00adsa\u00adry in order to qua\u00adli\u00adfy as a \u201cone,\u201d to become viable as a \u201cone,\u201d where sub\u00adject-for\u00adma\u00adtion is dependent on the prior ope\u00adra\u00adtion of legi\u00adti\u00adma\u00adting gen\u00adder norms.<\/p>\n It is in terms of a norm that com\u00adpels a cer\u00adtain \u201ccita\u00adtion\u201d in order for a viable sub\u00adject to be pro\u00addu\u00adced that the notion of gen\u00adder per\u00adfor\u00adma\u00adti\u00advi\u00adty calls to be rethought. And pre\u00adci\u00adse\u00adly in rela\u00adtion to such a com\u00adpul\u00adso\u00adry cita\u00adtio\u00adna\u00adli\u00adty that the thea\u00adtri\u00adca\u00adli\u00adty of gen\u00adder is also to be explai\u00adned. Theatricality need not be confla\u00adted with self-dis\u00adplay or self-crea\u00adtion. Within queer poli\u00adtics, indeed, within the very signi\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion that is \u201cqueer,\u201d we read a resi\u00adgni\u00adfying prac\u00adtice in which the desanc\u00adtio\u00adning power of the name \u201cqueer\u201d is rever\u00adsed to sanc\u00adtion a contes\u00adta\u00adtion of the terms of sexual legi\u00adti\u00adma\u00adcy. Paradoxically, but also with great pro\u00admise, the sub\u00adject who is \u201cquee\u00adred\u201d into public dis\u00adcourse through homo\u00adpho\u00adbic inter\u00adpel\u00adla\u00adtions of various kinds takes up or cites that very term as the dis\u00adcur\u00adsive basis for an oppo\u00adsi\u00adtion. This kind of cita\u00adtion will emerge as thea\u00adtri\u00adcal to the extent that it mimes and ren\u00adders hyper\u00adbo\u00adlic the dis\u00adcur\u00adsive conven\u00adtion that it also reverses. The hyper\u00adbo\u00adlic ges\u00adture is cru\u00adcial to the expo\u00adsure of the homo\u00adpho\u00adbic \u201claw\u201d that can no lon\u00adger control the terms of its own abjec\u00adting strategies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How, if at all, is the notion of dis\u00adcur\u00adsive resi\u00adgni\u00adfi\u00adca\u00adtion lin\u00adked to the notion of gen\u00adder paro\u00addy or imper\u00adso\u00adna\u00adtion ? First, what is meant by unders\u00adtan\u00adding gen\u00adder as an imper\u00adso\u00adna\u00adtion ? Does this mean that one puts on a mask or per\u00adso\u00adna, that there is a \u201cone\u201d who pre\u00adcedes that \u201cput\u00adting on,\u201d who is some\u00adthing other than [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"quote","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3141,3136,466,53,3137,292,3138,82,1511,3134,3140,580,3139],"class_list":["post-22521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-quote","hentry","category-non-classe","tag-citation","tag-drag","tag-genre","tag-identite","tag-masque","tag-performance","tag-persona","tag-personne","tag-propriete","tag-queer","tag-show","tag-spectacle","tag-travestissement","post_format-post-format-quote"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/testanonpertinente.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/testanonpertinente.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/testanonpertinente.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testanonpertinente.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testanonpertinente.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22521"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/testanonpertinente.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22521\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22623,"href":"https:\/\/testanonpertinente.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22521\/revisions\/22623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/testanonpertinente.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testanonpertinente.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/testanonpertinente.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}