That argument allows no room for choice, difference or resistance. Butler prefers ‘those historical and anthropological positions that understand gender as a relation among socially constituted subjects in specific contexts’ In other words, rather than being a fixed attribute in a person, gender should be seen as a fluid variable which shifts and changes in different contexts and at different times. Gender is a performance; it’s what you do at particular times, rather than a universal, which you are. This is supported by gothman and his description of life as being a stage, we are given roles and we play that role. Butler doesn’t believe women are still oppressed to the extent they were in the past, she believes women can now construct their own individual identities.

Today women have the ability to express their freedoms in many different ways from body modification to job opportunities. Body image is important, no matter who you are. Beauty on the inside isn’t the only thing that counts. The media shows everyone and both genders in different ways, both positive and negative. Really, what does this matter? We know who we are and who we wish to be.