“Is Gender Real?” — 8-Bit Philosophy, 2015, 4:18 — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkilQ87UUj8

Contributed by Mary Scafidi, Cabrini University

This is a fun, game-like video on the social construction of gender. It features Judith Butler and her theory of performativity. Gender is a script that society expects us to act, and this includes the expectations that accompany masculinity and femininity. This includes things such as mannerism, speech, and thoughts. Gender is essentially the narrative we ascribe to anatomy. Moreover, when we do not want to want to act according to these social scripts, the neat binary between men and women starts to fall apart. This brings up the question of should there be gender categories in the first place. It also causes us to ask, how else can we subvert gender and its perceived naturalness?