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Judith Butler’s Queer Theory

Judith‘s queer theory is the idea that identity is per-formatively constructed by the expressions that are said to be their results (it’s manufactured through a set of actions). Also the idea that there is no gender identity behind the expression of gender and that perfomativity is not a singular act, but a repetition and ritual. To put it simply the Queer Theory is a widespread debate about critical thinking and theories about femininity, women and queer studies etc and it widens the focus to verify any kind of sexual being/activity falls into normal or different categories behavioural wise.



The wedding planner is one example of a media product that reinforces traditional gender norms and gender roles . As the whole premise of the movie is based on the "those who can't wed, plan" trope. The woman (Mary) is saved by a mystery man who ends up being the groom at one of her weddings. He leads her on, she falls for him, but no one addresses the fact that this engaged man is dancing with her in the park. This suggest that there is an ideology that women can be easily manipulated and pursued into thinking or feeling anything. In the end, she agrees to marry a guy she is disgusted by just for the sake of getting married, only to be saved again by the handsome groom. It contributes to this ideology that women are obsessed with “ happily ever after” and a woman's entire goal in life is to be married.



An example of a media product which challenges the traditional expectations of gender and present alternative ideologies is from Beauty and the Beast. Disney presented a new type of animated heroine with this adaptation of the classic fairy tale. Belle is independent, intelligent and unafraid. She’d rather read a book than swoon over a man, and instead of being the damsel saved by a man, she turns the tables and saves him by seeing the beauty beneath the beast. This represents the idea that women don’t need a saviour and that they can do anything a man can do and supports equality for all genders.

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Nick Saward
Nick Saward
Feb 24, 2021

Without doubt The Wedding Planner fulfils its ambitions of being an old fashioned rom-com in its representations of what it means to be a man, what it means to be a woman - and most importantly how men & women should feel about each other!


Your choice of Beauty & the Beast as an example of breaking gender norms and stereotypes is a little more complicated & deserves a deeper analysis. I think that you might find that for every person (Emma Watson included) that argues that this is a much more modern and, dare we say it, feminist take on a fairytale that was previously pretty old fashioned in its portrayal of women & men & the relationships between…


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