"Argumentation in the Identity Politics of the Trans Selfie, Recovering" by Emma Frances Bloomfield
 

Argumentation in the Identity Politics of the Trans Selfie, Recovering Greek Mythology to Analyze Contemporary Gender Arguments

Document Type

Book Section

Publication Date

1-1-2018

Publication Title

Recovering Argument

Publisher Location

New York, NY

First page number:

415

Abstract

Identity often appears fixed even though it is a complicated, rhetorical process. A static understanding of identity can limit nuanced consideration of the many constraints on identity performance (Hall, 1984). I agree with Judith Butler (2006) that identity is best understood as a performance. Specifically, I conceptualize identity as a particular type of performance: an argument. Randall Lake (1990) argued that identity forms through debate with an "implied arguer" who "both argues for a claim and enacts a role" (p.70). The implied arguer is in conversation and negotiates with the self, so identity can be conceptualized as a "product of a struggle" (Strate, 2003, p. 17). Static representations of identity are stasis points within an internal argument. Identity can fluctuate and change, depending on a person's performance and also societal constraints. I argue that identity formation is a specific type of fluid, multifaceted argument and negotiation between the self and the presented form. I recover argument in order to interpret identity as a symbolic dialectic among competing claims.

Disciplines

Gender and Sexuality | Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies

Language

English


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