Beyond Binaries: Gender Performativity in Indian and Western Cultural Narratives

Gender, often perceived as a rigid binary, is increasingly being challenged through cultural performances in cinema, mythology, and media. While Western societies have historically adhered to more fixed gender roles, Indian cultural and religious traditions have long embraced fluidity, as seen in figures like Ardhanarishvara, Mohini, and Shikhandi. This paper examines the evolving nature of gender performance in India and the West, using Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity as a critical framework. Focusing on contemporary popular culture, the paper explores Allu Arjun’s gender-fluid performance in Pushpa 2 as a subversion of hegemonic masculinity, drawing from India’s folk traditions like Theyyam and Yakshagana, where cross-dressing is normalized. In contrast, Western gender performances—from RuPaul’s Drag Race to David Bowie’s gender fluid performance art—exist within a countercultural framework, challenging rigid gender norms but often remaining outside the mainstream. By analysing mythological and cinematic representations of androgyny, this paper compares how gender transformation in Indian and Western traditions have historically been perceived—whether as divine power (Ardhanarishvara, Mohini) or liminality (Hermaphroditus, Tiresias). Additionally, it investigates how audiences in India and the West react differently to gender-fluid performances in cinema, questioning the borders of acceptance and the cultural politics of gender representation. This study situates gender as a site of cultural negotiation, demonstrating how gender performativity transcends geographical and ideological boundaries, thereby contributing to global conversations on identity and representation.