Folding in Performativity: The Utilisation of Western Gendered Theory for Māori Gendered Reality

Abstract

 Judith Butler’s influential work on gender performativity has been praised for cutting to the heart of the formation and deployment of gender in the modern world, but its academic popularity has been accompanied by critiques on its applicability to discourses of race and Indigenous perspectives. The article proposes a Māori theory of gender that draws on local contexts and challenges some of Butler’s more universalist, Western notions, not necessarily discounting performativity, but treading around its more Eurocentric elements. While performativity offers valuable insights into the function and purpose of gender, it must evolve beyond theoretical abstraction to address material and ontological realities, especially concerning Indigenous communities’ experiences with colonialism. This article advocates for Indigenous-led gender theories that take performativity further, to embrace community-aligned research that focuses on the impact, practice and politics of gender in New Zealand.