Final answer:
Judith Butler conceptualized gender as performative in her 1990 work, contrasting with the traditional binary understanding and suggesting that gender expressions are culturally constructed rather than biologically determined.
Step-by-step explanation:
Judith Butler, a prominent gender theorist, contributed significantly to the understanding of gender as a complex phenomenon through her works in the early 1990s. In her influential book Gender Trouble, Butler describes gender not as a fixed set of natural categories, but rather as a fluid set of cultural identities performed by individuals. This perspective challenged the conventional binary understanding of gender, proposing instead that gender is an impersonation of cultural norms, an act people engage in rather than an innate quality.
Butler's ideas emerged alongside the rise of third-wave feminism, which sought to upend patriarchal norms and introduce a more fluid conception of gender. This theoretical shift moved the discourse away from the accepted binary of male and female, acknowledging those who do not fit neatly into these categories, including intersex and transgender individuals. By framing gender as performative, Butler argued that any differences in male and female behaviors and identities are cultural rather than biological.
Such a conception of gender has profound implications across various domains of society, including culture, politics, and law. It questions essentialist views of gender and opens the conversation to a more nuanced understanding of gender identity and expression.