The Performance of Gender in Sound and Screen: Unpacking and Countering the Double Standards of Women in Taylor Swift’s “The Man,” Brienne of Tarth, and The Substance

Authors

Alexandra C. Ali, James Madison UniversityFollow

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Date of Graduation

5-15-2025

Semester of Graduation

Spring

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

School of Communication Studies

First Advisor

Matthew Brigham

Second Advisor

Sharon Mazzarella

Third Advisor

Alison Bodkin

Abstract

This rhetorical analysis examines how femininity is constructed, policed, and resisted in popular culture through three case studies: Taylor Swift’s “The Man,” Brienne of Tarth from Game of Thrones, and The Substance, using the lens of Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity. “The Man,” both the song and the music video, reveals the double standards working against women, incorporating an additional layer of analysis through Kenneth Burke’s perspective on incongruity. Brienne of Tarth from Game of Thrones defies gender expectations, blurring the line between the performance of masculinity and femininity. Additionally, this analysis embodies archetypes of women, such as the Maiden, Warrior, and Lover. Lastly, The Substance highlights the pressure to conform to external influences, specifically surrounding the standards of youth and beauty in aging women. Ultimately, this thesis argues that popular (pop) culture both reinforces and subverts societal norms, demonstrating how gender performance can challenge power structures, albeit often imperfectly, across different modes of media.