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《蝙蝠女侠：挽歌》：朱迪斯·巴特勒的性别的表演论

Batwoman: A Queer Woman's Performance of a Female Vigilante

    In Batwoman: Elegy, Greg Rucka depicts Kate Kane as someone who finds her purpose in performing the role of Batwoman as her "way to serve". Kate's practice of vigilantism, or the act of taking matters into her own hands ("vigilante, n."), in essence, is developed to be a substitute for her unfulfilled desire to serve in the army due to her queer identity and her unwillingness to sacrifice her honesty.

    Kate's queer identity is the direct reason that she has to find an alternative way – as a vigilante, to serve. The "don't ask, don't tell" policy of the US military and her refusal to lie prevented her from initiating a successful career in the army despite her apparent capabilities (Rucka et al. n. pag.). The combination of Kate's unwillingness to lie or to challenge the established military policy despite it being unjust and her identity as a queer woman force her to turn to alternative ways to find a purpose, or "a way to serve", which she has been desperately searching for since the traumatic event she experienced as a child that led to the death of her mother, and presumably, her twin sister (n. pag.). The creation of the Batwoman identity, then, redirects Kate's frustration of not being able to serve in the army to a new purpose, a new way, which is the practice of vigilantism.

    The identity of Batwoman is a façade that Kate puts on to carry out her vigilantism. In the novel, members of the "Religion of Crime" refers to Kate as "twice-named", referring to her possession of two identities – one as Kate Kane, the other as Batwoman (n. pag.). As such, the two identities of Kate are inherently different – Batwoman is a performance by Kate to carry out the mission of combating crime as a vigilante to grasp onto a sense of purpose. The aesthetics of Batwoman reflects the performative nature of femininity (Butler 519) – she is seen with fiery long hair, prominent breasts, and wears tight leather suits, constituting an image of a stereotypical female superhero (Rucka et al n. pag.). In reality, however, Kate has a fluid sense of gender identity as she is not afraid to present herself in what would be considered traditionally masculine ways, evident in her natural short hair and her choice of wearing a tuxedo to a formal ball (n. pag.). Even though sexuality and gender identity should be considered separately, Kate's identity as a queer person may prompt underinformed eyes to equate her as not being traditionally feminine. Thus, by performing the role of Batwoman, Kate transforms herself into a symbol of, albeit stereotypical, female vigilante.

    In conclusion, Batwoman is an identity created by Kate Kane, a queer woman who is forced to seek out alternative ways to serve due to her adherence to the very military policy that severs her from a successful career in the army. As she finds a new purpose in carrying out vigilantism, Kate performs the Batwoman identity as a stereotypical female vigilante while her true underlying gender identity and gender expression are more fluid.

Reference

Butler, Judith. “Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory.” Theatre Journal, vol. 40, no. 4, 1988, p. 519., doi:10.2307/3207893.

Rucka, Greg, et al. Batwoman: Elegy. DC Comics, 2010.

"vigilante, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2020. Web. 26 March 2020.