Jacque Derrida, a key figure of the postmodern movement, critically analyzes  assumptions of literary texts and political institutions, specifically with a preoccupation with language. In his book “The Ear of the Other”, Derrida attempts to reexamine the theories of traditional Western philosophy, using deconstructionism to question “meaning”. He aims to expose and then subvert binary oppositions by looking to philosophers, such as Friedrich Nietzsche, to question contemporaries matters such as the concept of academic freedom and the feminist movement. By questioning the traditional beliefs that structure society, he formulates his own interpretation and relates its significance to postmodernism. One may wonder if a mere twelve pages is sufficient to cover the realm of Derrida’s formidable propositions. I guess you’ll find out.  
Deconstruction is a critique that gives attention to the shifting and unstable patterns of language challenging the relationship between text and the establishment of a secure meaning.  This method of critical analysis pioneered by Derrida challenges the assumptions of Western philosophy that have been presumed to be true, natural, and unchanging throughout history.  Many of these inherent beliefs have been strictly defined and have suggested meaning through the utilization of binary oppositions, a pair of opposite concepts that are used to explain how phenomena were constructed. You can give meaning to related pairs such as life and death, men and women, speech and writing, and mind and body by using comparisons and categorizing each term on a hierarchical scale, one valued more than the other. For example, the traditional way of thinking can view women as being absent of male characteristics, therefore devaluing them. The expression of emotion can be thought of as an absence of reason.The literary method of comparing subjects of opposition provides the means of discovering a central “meaning” of categories, yet is it accurate to claim that they should be accepted as inherently true? Derrida harnesses the postmodern philosophy and questions these accepted truths through the methodical analysis of deconstruction. One strategy of deconstruction is to uncover and subvert the binary oppositions. Deconstruction involves exploring “meaning” and dismantling the foundations of a traditional edifice such as distinguishing the gender binary of men and women or the self in general. Postmodernism views the self as not reducible to a position of categories; however, we still obsess over creating categories and clinging to them so that we can connect our identity to something. The political state reinforces the necessary condition of having an identification and we do so through our relationships, family, and through physical evidence of our existence such as our birth certificate or social security number.  
Postmodernism argues that femininity has been constructed on the basis of social, historical, and cultural influences that associate a woman with a certain body type, behavior, and value in society. Traditional masculinity is built on signifiers of reason and aggression whereas traditional femininity on emotion and support. Despite the opposite appearance of the binaries, they have a lot of characteristic overlap when broken down for analysis. Deconstructing femininity can result in women taking on a more masculine role and gaining characteristics they were lacking, such as being more aggressive and possessing reason. The complication of shifting concepts of binaries can be seen on television where it is humorous for a male to take on a feminine role. In this year’s Super Bowl NFL advertisement “Dirty Dancing”, Odell Beckham Jr.  and Eli Manning challenge traditional gender roles as they gracefully engage in an intimate dance to the song “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life”. Reflective of cultural norms, many young children look to sports icons as models for behavior; many times this reinforces the stereotype of men being strong and tough, and women being weak and emotional. This advertisement showing a dance of refined masculinity may be intended for those young fans in order to reveal a more playful, and creative identity for the typically aggressive football players. Using deconstruction as a method of analysis, one may see that the purpose of the commercial is to promote men to loosen up and express themselves in nonaggressive forms. One application where such strategies could be used are in touchdown celebrations. Yet, the idea of becoming less masculine results in overlap with the traditional characteristics of what it means to be feminine, such as being more emotionally expressive, and it therefore comes across as humorous.  There is complications in attempting to deconstruct social norms which can result in backlash.  As men disconnect from the true “meaning” of what it means to be a man they may in turn become more feminine. This reveals an endless cycle of signifiers pointing to the same thing showing that there is no core meaning. So this begs the questions what does it mean to be a man or a woman? Derrida’s response to the deconstruction of dualisms is that neither term of the opposition can exist without the other and both depend on the other; they are not reducible. In an interview broadcasted on youtube, Derrida describes that the function of deconstruction is “to not naturalize what isn’t natural” and the philosophy is not about assuming that what has been conditioned by history, institutions, or society is natural. He ended the interview saying that since he does not want to accept or reject a conclusion, he will leave the question of defining deconstruction suspended.  
