/lit/ - Literature

>>13221091
No I do understand this distinction, thank you for describing it so neatly. Biological categories are innate but prepared in advance of experience to react to particular stimuli. Just like for language learning or prioritising certain visual inputs over others. Gender expression is a performance to an extent but I don't think this has any explanatory power nor is it revelatory. All too often this kind of approach to gender is used to justify the belief that such identities are arbitrary and subjective and changeable, and that this negates any essentialism. Your reading of these pomo thinkers is the generous one, I would rather nip them in the bud. Performativity is an interesting observation but the explanatory power lies with biology and evo psych not with the cultural determinists.
I recommend everyone watch pic related if you get a chance. This guy goes around the world and lives with a different tribe each episode for several months, and they are living essentially prehistorical lives, mostly hunter gatherers. They ALL have stratified gender roles, division of labour, and so on, the stereotypical 'masculine' and 'feminine' behaviours are mostly but not entirely identical to what we have in the modern west. Biological categories uber alles. Calling it a 'performance' just doesn't do the reality of gender any justice.