Behind the Paper Veil: Exploring Performative Femininity in Susan Sontag’s As Consciousness is Harnessed to Flesh: Diaries 1964-1980

Abstract

In 1990, Judith Butler’s work titled Gender Trouble introduced the definition of gender performativity into the critical discourse regarding gender identities. Butler’s definition, though initially pertaining to the social aspect of gender identity, delineates the performance of gender as an act of social self-expression. In the case of women, however, gender performativity has become a method of self-adjustment to patriarchal demands. Moreover, traces of performative femininity permeate the writing of female diarists who use their diaries not only as a site for self-creation, but also a tool for gaining social acceptance in a patriarchal environment through their performance of femininity. My analysis, focused on Susan Sontag’s As Consciousness is Harnessed to Flesh: Diaries 1964-1980, aims to reveal the influence of performative femininity onto her internal dialogue, and establish connection between both the causes and nature of her gender performance and her use of a diary as a site of performance.