Don’t Worry Darling and Gender Performativity
Evolution of Gender Norms, Then and Now
Within our society, men and women are expected to uphold the gender standards around them. When in public, it is crucial to act, dress, speak, and behave in the manner associated with your sex. As times have changed and our culture has shifted, the evolution of these expectations has done the same. Women are now able to perform certain actions that used to be restricted or looked down on, such as having jobs and voting.
The film Don’t Worry Darling explores the gender expectations of past generations compared to contemporary society. When Jack Chambers forces his wife Alice to enter a simulation that takes them back to the 1950s, she must conform to society’s standards and the long-established roles of a woman. Alice struggles to find her own identity and true values as she gets closer to uncovering the truth. Jack forcing Alice into a simulation to live out his personal utopia is a representation of gender performativity, as the pair must perform specific actions that adhere to the stereotypical and limiting expectations for each gender.
Synopsis of Don’t Worry Darling
Don’t Worry Darling, directed by Olivia Wilde, takes place in a suburban neighborhood named Victory in the 1950s, where Jack and Alice Chambers are depicted as the ideal couple. Alice is a housewife who cooks and cleans for her husband, while Jack works during the day and comes home with expectations of copulation. Throughout the film, Alice begins to see flashes of distorted memories and unsettling images, making her feel uneasy. The neighborhood that she and Jack reside in is extremely uniform, with each person and item being practically identical. When Alice sees Margaret, another woman in town, kill herself in front of her, she slowly begins to unmask the web of lies and starts having flashbacks of the real world. Alice, in response to these events, challenges Frank, the creator of the simulation and unofficial town leader, but instead is deemed unstable because she is going against the town’s rules. As the layers continue to peel back, Alice discovers in a flashback that she is a surgeon while Jack is unemployed, and they aren’t married in real life. To escape, she kills Jack and leaves the simulation to return to reality.
What is Gender Performativity?
Jack and Alice’s actions in the movie represent the concept of gender performativity. Chris Barker, in The Sage Dictionary of Cultural Studies, attests that a person’s sex is rooted in how they were born and what anatomical parts they have that make them male or female. Mary Klage, an associate professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, delineates that gender is constructed by cultures that determine what is masculine and feminine. In the past, women and men were expected only to be one gender and perform actions that portray their sex.
Nick Crossley, in Key Concepts in Critical Social Theory, notes that Judith Butler took opposition to the idea of sex and gender being the same thing by proposing the concept of gender performativity. Barker alludes that performativity is created through “citation and reiteration of the norms or conventions of the ‘law.’” To add on, Barker posits that Butler derived the idea of gender performativity from J. L. Austin, but connected it to gender, as it originally meant to put speech into effect and form actions. Crossley takes notice that gender performativity elucidates gender distinction being created through public and cultural beliefs. Barker explains that gender is not assigned but expressed by a person’s actions. This means that gender performativity and the expectations of each gender can change throughout time as they are created from society’s ideologies. Thus, Jack and Alice changing their modern routines in the simulation represent gender performativity due to adapting to the societal expectations in the 1950s.
How Influential is Society as a Whole?
In Don’t Worry Darling, when Jack and Alice are back in the 1950s, what is expected from each gender is driven by society. It is essential that Alice, a woman, must keep the house clean for Jack and cook for him. Alice and the other women in town participate in ballet because it makes them feminine and symbolizes order. Both Jack and Alice devote their appearances to what is socially correct in the 1950s. Alice always has her hair done and is wearing a dress, while Jack dresses business casual.
Kaye Mitchell, University of Manchester’s Centre for New Writing Director, emphasizes Butler’s position that gender performativity creates the inherent desire to adhere to societal norms, as the sexes are driven to seek out recognition and praise in relation to gender standards. Jack Chambers believes that he needs approval from society. When in the simulation, his desire to be promoted to a higher status and have more wealth is constructed through his gender. He believes that these values bring a superiority complex and create masculinity. Furthermore, Mitchell observes Butler’s position that the want to fulfill desires regarding our gender makes us subjects. Jack’s attempt to take charge of his life and stop Alice from being a surgeon creates a clash in viewpoints, allowing conflict to form. His main intent in putting them both in the simulation was because he was unhappy with his status as a male in the real world. Jack expresses his discomfort with being unemployed when he asks Alice, “How am I going to take care of you?” Modern society has created the idea that men must be the breadwinners of the family and do things that make them masculine, causing Jack to force Alice into a simulation where he can be superior. Society in the simulation influences both Jack and Alice to uphold the standards of gender in their residential community.
Jack’s Performance to Fit into the Community
When in the simulation, Jack attempts to prove masculinity through his supercilious nature. After Alice watches Margaret kill herself but hears the cover-up of accidentally falling, she can’t help but pin her faith on Jack to comfort her. Jack instead calls her crazy and tells her, “Just get a hold of yourself.”
He fails to soothe her because he believes that he will lose his power. Comforting someone isn’t viewed as a masculine action, causing Jack to scream and belittle Alice instead. In addition, when Alice starts to hallucinate and have more flashbacks of the real world, Jack tells her, “Let’s have a baby.” Rather than asking her, he commands her with what he wants to do. This proves the power dynamic between Jack and Alice. David Alderson, a professor at the University of Manchester, highlights that masculinity has been linked to having sex and being dominant or showing aggression to others. Jack’s desire to have a child is crucial to his role in society as a male. His masculinity is questioned when he is asked by Frank, “Are you the man you say you are?” The pressures from others in the community force Jack to center all of his energy on being the epitome of a man. Jack often attempts to guilt-trip Alice into believing that she lacks power and authority over herself and what she believes. When she discovers the truth of the simulation and wants to leave, Jack tries to manipulate her into thinking that he gave her everything she has. Alderson proposes that men and masculinity consolidate around the idea of power, often causing them to oppress women. Jack expresses gender performativity through his behaviors because he chooses to perform socially acceptable masculine actions.
Social Structure Constructing Gender Standards
According to Thekla Morgenroth and Michelle Ryan, in an article published by the National Library of Medicine, gender roles within society emanate from social structures. In the simulation, Frank has built the world around men being in control. Frank being deemed important in the community due to his money and status has created a precedent that those in the simulation continue to follow. All men hope to receive the victory ring, which signifies being masculine. Jack wants to be seen as eminent, so he devotes all his time to impressing Frank. Jack is finally chosen for a ring at a victory party, which unifies himself to Frank’s purpose.
Once the ring is on his finger, Frank asks the crowd, “Do you wanna see the boy dance?” Dancing for his life and being turned into Frank’s puppet, Jack ignores the red flags and works to associate himself with the man who is the highest in the social system. When a flashback of Jack learning about the simulation is shown, Frank’s voice is heard in the background saying, “Modern society has smothered our true selves, and driven us from biological destiny.” Pushing his ideology onto those in the simulation, no man seems to reject his ideas but rather conform to his standards. Jack shuts down any negative thoughts Alice has about Frank and reminds her that she should be grateful for everything they have. The cult-like group that Frank has created is a result of the social structure in the community removing power from those who go against his belief that men have control.
Time’s Influence on Socially Correct Actions
Following the expectations of your gender depending on culture and time period is crucial to gender performativity. Mitchell claims that, according to Butler, gender is created through a contract, meaning that there are limitations on what is acceptable. When Margaret tries to go against the town’s culture and what is considered feminine by not listening to her husband, she is kicked out of the town. Alice undergoes frequent endeavors to break out of the oppressive chains the 1950s poses, as her personality and behavior combat the societal conventions portrayed in the film. The 1950s shaped masculinity and femininity from traditional and patriarchal beliefs. Frank, the creator of the simulation, represents these principles. His response to Alice trying to change the norms was, “Why should anyone believe you?” When Alice and Margaret attempt to eradicate these traditional beliefs, they are rejected because females having any form of power wasn’t accepted during the mid-1900s. Alice killing Jack at the end of the film represents the evolution of gender performativity.
When she breaks free from the simulation, she is able to go back to her life in the real world based on the culture modern-day society has crafted. What is expected with the performativity of gender has changed as females have gained more rights. Alice making more money than Jack, working as a surgeon, and wearing pants represent the progression of gender performativity. Women being in the workforce and not wearing dresses is now normalized and not looked at as a form of rebellion against social norms. When Alice is involuntarily pushed into the simulation and living in the 1950s, her not fitting in is symbolic of gender performativity evolution. It encapsulates the essence of gender norms changing through time and adapting to communities.
Final Thoughts: Evolution of Gender Roles
With all of these thoughts in mind, Alice and Jack represent gender performativity in Don’t Worry Darling, as they create their gender through their actions and demonstrate the modifications of what is considered normal. Through their mannerisms and behaviors, the expectations of each gender are prominent. Jack and Alice going back in time and conforming to the standards of the public created their social natures. Jack acting superior and using his power over women signifies traditional masculine standards in the 1950s. Alice choosing to break free and perform actions that are acceptable only at the present time directly coincides with culture creating gender. Ultimately, the general principles of gender create standards and stereotypes. Communal efforts, such as the women’s rights movement, launched a segue to more equality and freedom of choice for femininity in the same way that they reduced power over women for men. Shaping society is done by widespread presence and commonness.
Additional Sources Used in this Article
Chris Barker. “Performativity.” The Sage Dictionary of Cultural Studies. 2004. Found on Credo Reference.
Chris Barker. “Sex.” The Sage Dictionary of Cultural Studies. 2004. Found on Credo Reference.
David Alderson. “Masculinity and Cultural Studies.” The Edinburgh Encyclopaedia of Modern Criticism and Theory. 2002. Found on Credo Reference.
Don’t Worry Darling. Directed by Olivia Wilde, Warner Brothers, 2022.
Kaye Mitchell. “Butler, Judith.” The Encyclopedia of Literary and Cultural Theory. 2011. Found on Credo Reference.
Mary Klage. “Gender.” Key Terms in Literary Theory. 2012. Found on Credo Reference.
Nick Crossley. “Sex/Gender Distinction.” Key Concepts in Critical Social Theory. 2005. Found on Credo Reference.
