performative
Done for display
Performative describes actions that accomplish something merely by being stated.
A judge saying I sentence you to ten years doesn't describe sentencing—it is the sentencing.
Wedding vows, promises, and declarations work this way.
More broadly, performative has come to mean done for show rather than substance: His apology felt performative, suggesting the gesture was about appearing sorry rather than being sorry.
Name from domestic service
- social constructionIdea shaped by society
- dragResistance through fluid
- presentationFormal display to viewers
- embodimentConcrete manifestation of idea
expression · enactment · self-fashioning · queering · subversion · iteration · citation · passing
Temporarily holding position
- stageRaised performance platform
- dramaTheatrical art or turmoil
- monologueUninterrupted solo address
- soliloquyDramatic speech to oneself
costume · rehearsal · audience · playwright · director · script · curtain · spotlight
Spoken expression aloud
- declarationFormal public announcement
- AustinTexas capital city
- pragmaticsLanguage-in-context study
- felicity conditionsPrerequisites for successful performatives
pronouncement · enactment · constitutive · discourse · directive · expressive · assertive · semiotics
Insincere behavior for effect
- affectationArtificial behavior for effect
- pretenseDeceptive outward show
- virtue signalingShowy ethical posturing
- showmanshipSkill at impressive presentation
grandstanding · hollow · superficial · ostentatious · disingenuous · facade · display · gestural
Formal event marking occasions
- riteCeremonial act or practice
- sacramentSacred ritual conveying grace
- liturgyFormal worship structure
- incantationSpoken magical formula
oath · vow · blessing · consecration · invocation · chant · mantra · proclamation
Butler
Name from domestic service
- social constructionIdea shaped by society
- dragResistance through fluid
- presentationFormal display to viewers
embodiment · expression · enactment · self-fashioning · queering · subversion · iteration · citation · passing · masquerade
acting
Temporarily holding position
soliloquy · costume · rehearsal · audience · playwright · director · script · curtain · spotlight · backstage
utterance
Spoken expression aloud
- declarationFormal public announcement
- AustinTexas capital city
- pragmaticsLanguage-in-context study
felicity conditions · pronouncement · enactment · constitutive · discourse · directive · expressive · assertive · semiotics · contextual
posturing
Insincere behavior for effect
- affectationArtificial behavior for effect
- pretenseDeceptive outward show
- virtue signalingShowy ethical posturing
showmanship · grandstanding · hollow · superficial · ostentatious · disingenuous · facade · display · gestural · tokenism
ceremony
Formal event marking occasions
incantation · oath · vow · blessing · consecration · invocation · chant · mantra · proclamation · ritual
- documentary typesdocumentaries, cinema verite, observational, fly on the wall, expository
- presentationaltheatrical, staged, dramatic, showy, posed
- documentary techniquesinterviews, narration, voiceover, voice-over, voice over
- speech actsspeaking, talking, uttering, pronouncement, locution
- deceptionlie, lies, lying, fake, fraud
- gendergender, male, female, masculine, feminine
performativesincere
Genuinely felt, not feigned
genuine · authentic · heartfelt · earnest · unaffected
performativeprivate
Restricted to certain parties
personal · behind closed doors · quiet · behind-the-scenes · unannounced
performativedescriptive
Portraying with specific details
declarative · assertive · propositional · informative · referential
- performative activismPublic gestures without commitment