Butler and James

In her essay “Imitation and Gender Insubordination,” Judith Butler questions the creation of the binary system of gender as a result of imitation. Butler examines the popular idea of heterosexuality as the true and authentic and lesbianism as a king of miming, and then claims that this may not necessarily be an accurate claim as drag is not an imitation; it is not putting on a gender that belongs properly to some other group. As Butler explains, there is no proper gender, “feminine” does not belong to “female” and “masculine” does not belong to “male,” which constitutes the problems associated with categorizing gender. This notion that categories are indeed incredibly problematic falls in line with the Queer Theory idea that gender is a fluid entity that cannot be constrained in any way; gender is constantly shifting and exceeding any linguistic attempt to categorize it.

Winston James’ short story “Uncle” entails a young boy narrator who grapples with desires for fellow male characters. The narrator struggles with how to act upon his sexual desires for his uncle and the secret relations his has with his brother, not knowing how to handle the situation. He does not want his mother to find out the truth about his homosexual feelings, as he does not want to upset her more than she already is by living a “deviant” lifestyle. In this way, Butler’s idea of gender fluidity comes into play as the parents of the young boy should not expect him to have masculine desires because he is biologically determined a male—“masculine” does not belong to “male” and there is no proper gender. The child lives in fear of the socially constructed categories dividing gender that Butler describes, as he is wary of straying from the heterosexual norms and exploring alternate paths. Even though the narrator may not be aware of his struggle with social constructions and categories, as he comments on how he is unsure why he feels guilty for staring at his uncle or engaging in shaving games with his brothers, he is nonetheless grappling with his homosexual desires in a society full of heterosexual expectations.