Cross-cultural performativity of gender communication in Heather Raffo's play nine parts of desire (2006)‎

الملخص EN

Since the mid-twentieth century, the study of gender has constituted a fundamental part of many interdisciplinary research works due to its multi-perspective nature which made it a fertile ground for analysis in diversified fields of science.

Discussions over sex/gender distinction and the representation as well as perception of gender ceaselessly exist within controversially enriching, discursive frameworks.

In 1990, Judith Butler (1956), one of the prominent feminist theorists in the field of gender studies, first coined the concept of “gender performativity, ” where she challenged the conventional notions of ethnomethodologists and phenomenologists who restricted the perception and communication of gender to pre-existing social constructs.

Hence, this study aims to investigate Nine Parts of Desire (2006), written by the contemporary Iraqi-American playwright and actress Heather Raffo, in the light of Butler's theory of gender performativity to prove that the communication of female gender, represented by Raffo's nine Iraqi female characters from culturally diverse background, is linguistically and cross-culturally performative.

Furthermore, given the theatricality of Butler's concept, the study also tends to establish a connection between Butler's cross-cultural performativity and Raffo's dramaturgical performativity while acting the play on stage in order to underscore the fact that the performativity of female gender in the play is both cross-culturally and dramaturgically communicated.