Feminist Theories

Judith Butler

Judith Butler suggests that gender is not the result of nature but is socially constructed.  That is to say, male and female behaviour and roles are not the result of biology but are constructed and reinforced by society through media and culture.  Butler argues that there are a number of disruptive representations of masculinity and femininity, which cause, what she refers to as gender trouble.

Butler’s theories of gender trouble have also been linked to queer theory, which explores and challenges the way in which heterosexuality is constructed as normal and the media has limited the representations of gay men and women, often representing them in terms of sin and sickness.

Queer theory also challenges the traditionally held assumption that there is a binary divide between being gay and heterosexual, and suggests that sexual identity can be more fluid, e.g. Captain Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean series.

Queer theory also suggests there are different ways of interpreting contemporary media texts, for instance by looking at texts that were broadcast before homosexuality was decriminalised in 1967.  For example, queer theory offers alternative interpretations of Batman and Robin’s relationship in the 1960s TV show.