Gender performativity

Gender performativity is a term first used by the feminist philosopher Judith Butler in their 1990 book Gender Trouble. They argue that being born male or female does not determine behavior. Instead, people learn to behave in particular ways to fit into society. The way we fit into gender is an act, or performance. This act is the way a person walks, talks, dresses, and behaves. They call this acting "gender performativity." What society regards as a person's gender is just a performance made to please social expectations and not a true expression of the person's gender identity. The way we behave is not because of our gender, it is because of the ideologies set by ourselves and also by the society.

Performativity is also used by Butler to refer to the opposite, of a social change in gender. They argue that when language changes about gender or sex, the society around us also changes. By appearing, speaking, or acting in certain ways, society changes to reflect those new ideas.