Queer Theory and Gender Performativity (Video)

• The Yale lecture by Paul H. Fry focuses on the intellectual phenomenon of psychic excess, which emerges from the unconscious and unsettles even the aspects that can be performed, such as identity and gender.

• Fry discusses the distinction between the deployment of alliance and the deployment of sexuality, as discussed by Foucault. The deployment of alliance is related to the social body's homeostasis and focuses on reproduction, while the deployment of sexuality involves the proliferation, innovation, and control of bodies in a more detailed and comprehensive manner.

• Butler's work emphasizes that sexuality cannot be wholly performed, unlike identity. Sexuality is considered more flexible and authentic, reflecting actual drives, but remains discursive, arising from linguistic formations and performance.

• Butler is reflecting on ontology, specifically the concept of being. They explore the difference between merely "being" something and actively "being" in that role, using the example of being busy versus performing busy-ness.

• Butler argues that the ontological realm (the realm of being) is not entirely separate from the performative realm (the realm of doing). They suggest that even "being" is to some extent performed.

• Butler presents the sentence, "Since I was sixteen, being a lesbian is what I've been," to illustrate their point. They emphasize the doubling up of the word "being" to highlight the performative aspect of identity.

• Fry discusses how both Foucault and Butler share a common political agenda of challenging hetero-normative norms and questioning the authenticity of privileged gender roles.

• There is a brief disagreement between Butler and Foucault on the role of discourse in shaping identity. Butler believes that Foucault overlooks the importance of discourse in constituting identity, but Fry suggests that ultimately agree on the matter.

• Foucault's method is more historical, focusing on how views and categories change over time, while Butler's method is more philosophical, exploring the relational nature of identities and performances.