Gender materiality and immateriality
 

Mol 38: "[A vagina] is no longer capable, by itself, of turning someone into a woman. A lot more is required to do womanhood: specific styles of talking, ways of walking, dressing, addressing. A womanly way of screaming, raging, smiling, eating, soothing, loving."
 
38-9: "But then again. Performing identities is not a question of ideas and imaginations devoid of materiality either. A lot of things are involved. Black ties and yellow dresses. Bags and glasses. Shoes and desks and chairs and razors. And among the stage props is the physical body."
 
Mol is quick to add: "A vagina or a penis need not cause gender from the inside to be relevant in staging oneself as a woman or a man."
 
But: "The extent to which they are relevant depends on the scene. Out in the streets one does not need a penis to perform masculinity. But in communal showers at the swimming pool, it helps a lot."

> from Annemarie Mol's The Body Multiple: Ontology and Medical Practice (2002)

> tagged with #identity, #performance, #objects, #body, #gender

> created February 29, 2024 at 2:27:48 PM


> part of unfinished everything


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unfinished everything is an original work / ongoing project (1997-present) by jeremy p. bushnell

selection, arrangement, and original text available for creative reuse under this licensing arrangement

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