Ron Burgundy, Butler

The second section of the reading by Judith Butler discussed the difficulties of gender and representation, particularly with feminist theory. It seems as though the subject of "women" is no longer an easy topic, as the word no longer is able to encapsulate all that individuals are. Butler points out that "there is a political problem that feminism encounters in the assumption that the term women denotes a common identity (193)". What she is explaining her is the exploration and transformation that womanhood has undergone and the therefore problem that exists as the term women has become more arbitrary. This ties in with De Saussre explanation of language, particularly with signs, signifier, and the signified as the word woman no longer can signify a particular quality or individual. For example, in the past womanhood was made a bit more simpler because of the political and societal structures that limited a woman's existence. At one time to be a woman meant to not work, to not have the right to vote, and to do little more than tend to the man and children. This was the structure of the woman and anything outside of that was considered not right and not correct. In today's society however, with the exploration of sexualities and greater freedoms and equality among men and women, the signifier woman becomes a bit more obscure. If I asked you today what to be a woman would mean most people may say that it only denotes a physical quality of the individual. But even this explanation becomes difficult with the idea of transexuals, particularly individuals born with male parts who consider themselves to actually be women. Butler explains this issue perfectly by stating that the term woman "rather than [being] a stable signifier that commands the assent of those whom it purports to describe and represent, women, even in the plural, has become a troublesome term" (193). In my opinion, this piece solidifies De Saussre's argument about the arbitrary nature of language and signs, revealing that our language, with it's inabilities to fully encapsulte ideas, causes many problems in a highly political and structuralized society.