ABSTRACT
As these brief examples show, gender is a much contested concept, as slippery as it is indispensable, but a site of unease rather than of agreement. If gender is used to mark the differences between men and women, portmanteau words like gender-bending or gender-blending call those differences into question, drawing attention to the artificiality of what we think of as ‘natural’ behaviour. This sense of discord ought to warn us against seizing too quickly upon a summary definition of the term, seeking order and clarity where none is to be had. Instead, this introductory chapter will try to explore some of the reasons why gender has become such a vital, but nonetheless intensely problematic word in the contemporary critical lexicon.
