《Global Vision Research》

The Performative Politics of Branding: Reconstructing
Gender Norms in Commercial Discourse
Qiu Chen
Liaoning University of International Business and Economics, Dalian, Liaoning, 116000；
Abstract：This paper examines hodw brands performatively construct and commodify gender norms in commercial discourse, using Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity. Through critical discourse analysis of a Chinese brands- Ubras, the study
reveals how brands appropriate feminist discourse to reinforce neoliberal values, transforming resistance into marketable
commodities. Key findings include the entanglement of corporate feminism with state agendas, the commodification of
empowerment, and the exclusionary effects of performative branding. The study concludes that brands act as agents of neoliberal governance, obscuring systemic inequalities through performative feminism. Keywords：Gender Performativity；Brand Marketing；Critical Discourse Analysis
DOI:10.69979/3041-0843.25.02.003
1 Introduction
In an era where consumer culture permeates nearly every facet of social life, brand marketing has emerged
as a critical site for the production and negotiation of gender norms. From cosmetics campaigns that redefine f
eminine beauty to athletic wear advertisements reconfiguring masculine ideals, commercial entities increasingly w
eaponize gender as both a symbolic resource and a strategic tool. While scholars in critical marketing and gende
r studies have long documented the pervasive stereotyping of gender roles in advertising (Gill, 2008), contempor
ary brands now engage in more nuanced—and potentially more insidious—practices. They appropriate feminist di
scourses, repackage progressive values, and performatively align themselves with movements for gender equality, all while anchoring these narratives within neoliberal frameworks that prioritize individual choice over systemic c
hange. This paradox demands rigorous theoretical scrutiny: How do brands strategically deploy gender performati
vity to reinforce commercial interests, and what are the broader implications for feminist critiques of capitalist c
ulture?
This paper interrogates these questions through the lens of Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity
(1990, 1993), arguing that brands act as active agents in (re)producing hegemonic gender norms. By treating gen
der not as a fixed identity but as a set of socially constructed acts—repeated, cited, and materialized through s
ymbolic systems—Butler’s framework offers a powerful tool for dissecting the mechanisms through which marketi
ng discourse naturalizes gendered consumption. While prior research has examined gender representations in adv
ertising (Holt, 2002; Thompson & Arsel, 2004), few studies have systematically applied performativity theory to u
npack the process by which brands transform abstract feminist ideals into marketable commodities. This gap is pa
rticularly urgent in an age of "woke washing," where brands co-opt language of empowerment to obscure struct
ural inequalities (McRobbie, 2009). The study’s objectives are threefold: first, to map how brands performatively construct and commodify gend
er norms through linguistic and visual rhetoric; second, to evaluate the tensions between commercial appropriati
on and feminist critique within these narratives; and third, to assess the broader socio-political effects of such p
erformative strategies on public discourse around gender. By analyzing campaigns from globally recognized brands, this paper demonstrates that performativity in marketing operates as a double-edged sword. On one hand, it e
nables brands to subtly challenge traditional gender binaries; on the other, it entrenches neoliberal logic by fram
ing social change as a consumable choice.