We don’t know what performativity means any more. There is a lot of talk about ‘performative’ (read: empty) gestures in the context of online and offline activism, while Judith Butler’s formulation from 1990 – which brought together repetitions, social norms, and the constitution of identity – hovers in the background. Butler’s new book, Who’s Afraid of Gender?, declines to ‘defend or reconsider’ an earlier theory of performativity ‘that clearly now seems questionable in certain ways’ (p. 23). This paper reassesses Butler’s earlier ideas in light of more recent developments, and suggests some creative ways forward.
Karen Nairn and Carisa Showden Doing gender in activist spaces: Intersectionality and the limits of change Karen.nairn@otago.ac.nz
Social justice activists are always on notice for how they enact their values. Put prosaically: do they practise what they preach? Research with activists in Aotearoa from six groups addressing Indigenous rights, climate justice, feminist and queer rights, and economic inequities, provide the context for analysing how intersectional gender performances and interactions can be sites of change (Deutsch, 2007). A total of ninety participants took part in our study and two-thirds identified as women and/or gender diverse. We undertook interviews and observations of meetings, campaign events and their social media between 2018 and 2021. This was an optimistic moment for social justice activism in Aotearoa and the start of the rising backlash that is more evident now. Understanding what social justice groups can achieve when political conditions are relatively favourable is important for informing how to prepare for the backlash that inevitably follows. In this presentation we demonstrate how social justice activism is a complementary and contradictory eco-system of ‘doing’ and ‘undoing’ normative practices of gender, sexuality and race, and how this eco-system is shaped by changing political conditions.
