Judith Butler never said that gender is a performance, like we are kids at a pick & mix stand, trying on different genders everyday. It's performative. That means gender is brought into being & becomes a thing because we all do it. We do it so well that ppl say it's natural.

If we didn't gender babies as pink or blue from pre birth, & spend time & £ fitting into gender norms - fashion, dieting, cosmetics, cosmetic procedures, overtraining etc - then gender wouldn't exist. If we stopped doing it, it would change, because there is no original gender.

Because there is no original or primary gender, we shouldn't say anyone in particular is copying or aping gender norms, because everyone is. The majority of gender upholders, & often gender enforcers, are male heterosexual masculine men & female heterosexual feminine women.