Linguistic Constructions of Gender Performativity in Elif Shafak's Selected Fictions

Abstract

Elif Shafak’s fiction offers a nuanced portrayal of gendered experiences, intricately shaped through linguistic structures that both reflect and challenge traditional gender identities. This study examines how language functions as a performative force in Shafak’s narratives, constructing gendered realities through narrative techniques, character dialogues, syntactic patterns, and stylistic choices. Language, as presented in her works, becomes a site of negotiation, reinforcing or subverting established gender norms. Using a qualitative linguistic approach, this paper explores how gender performativity is embedded in discourse, with a focus on how Shafak’s female protagonists navigate societal constraints. Their linguistic expressions often become acts of resistance or conformity to patriarchal expectations. Male characters, too, are examined through distinct speech patterns and discursive elements that either uphold or disrupt conventional masculinity. The analysis also considers multilingualism, code-switching, and culturally specific lexicon to investigate the intersection of language, gender, and cultural identity. These elements illuminate the complex ways in which linguistic practices contribute to identity formation in Shafak’s fiction. Guided by key research questions on the portrayal, reinforcement, and subversion of gender identities through language, this paper offers a critical discourse and stylistic analysis of Shafak’s work. The findings contribute to literary and gender studies by revealing how language not only mirrors but actively constructs gendered experiences in contemporary fiction.