Perfomativity in "Pariah"

As I pointed out during our brief discussion of Pariah at the end of class on Thursday, I felt that writer and director Dee Rees did an effective job of presenting the three different worlds that Lee has to navigate throughout the course of the film.

Rees is able to do this through a number of different techniques, but I think one of the most salient is that of Lee’s changing wardrobe as she moves from one to the other. This relates closely to Butler’s general notions of gender performativity as well as Halberstam’s more specific analysis of butchness.

Because of this, I thought it would be interesting to do a slight breakdown of the significance of Lee’s three general styles as they exist in her three worlds: her home, with Laura, and with Bina.

Laura:

We first see Lee presenting her gender in a very masculine way when she goes out to Laura, to the strip club and elsewhere hoping to attract women. Rees does an effective job of portraying the dichotomy between Lee wanting to fit in with Laura because she identifies with her, but not quite being comfortable with the performativity that entails (eg, the strap-on).

Audrey:

Lee’s gender presentation at home, particularly in the presence of her mother, feels especially forced throughout the film. This is deliberately shown through the Lee and Audrey’s interactions, like when Audrey comments on the pink shirt that “accents her figure” or when she asks Lee to tuck in her blouse before church. The struggle between them over Lee’s gender presentation isn’t one sided, as displayed by Audrey’s genuine internal struggle over the blouse that she buys for Lee but constantly second-guesses.

Bina:

At the beginning of their arranged friendship, Lee is still presenting in a more toned-down verison of her masculine performance as we see with Laura. However, as their relationship becomes more intimate and they spend more time together, she plays down her butchness and wears more colorful shirts as well as scarves so as to present herself to Bina in a more favorable (and feminine light).

Overall, I found this small but consistent variation in Alike’s character to be emblematic of her struggle across her different social lives. Performativity exists as such a fundamentally flawed aspect of gender expression and Alike’s variations show how even multiple different gender performances can fail to adequately display one’s gender identity and sexual expression to any specific group of people.