A heroine in-between: Forging fluid gender roles

This study broadly examined the representation of gender performativity and fluid gender roles of a young female adolescent in the oppressive and patriarchal mindset of a dystopian society in Suzanne Collins's trilogy: The Hunger Games (2008), Catching Fire (2009) and Mockingjay (2010). Using feminism as a critical framework, it referred to several influential figures of the second and the third wave feminist movements such as Kate Millett, Simone de Beauvoir, Adrienne Rich, Judith Butler and R.W. Connell in order to analyze the young protagonist of the trilogy as a powerful female figure who manages to empower and liberate herself, along with her society, in the end of her story of survival. Under the monitor of the ideology which encourages patriarchal values by defining and policing traditional gender roles, she metamorphoses into an autonomous, powerful feminist heroine who rejects the social and traditional gender roles tailored for her, and liberates herself as an empowered woman, thus becoming a figurehead of social change. As an androgynous figure, she continually challenges and transgresses gender boundaries defiantly navigating between male and female performances, which enable her to construct her own role and identity as a free agent.