ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to challenge the very ideas of class and gender. Garfinkel's classic analysis of gender is illustrative of some principles. Much of value to social constructionists emerged from his study of the life of Agnes, a male-to-female transsexual who had chosen to undergo gender reassignment at the age of 17. During the modern era the prima donna was the "first lady" of Italian opera, the leading female singer of an opera company. In confessing with regularity and depth, prima donnas like Jessica Simpson blur the distance between private and public spaces. The chapter reflects on gender and class with an analysis of the class-based performance of Canadian rocker Avril Lavigne, who reached stardom in the spring of 2002, when she made her debut with the incredibly successful CD entitled Let Go. Counter-hegemonic readings of Avril Lavigne's persona point to her insincerity and manufactured authenticity.
