An Analysis of Judith Butler's Gender Trouble

by Tim Smith-Laing

Judith Butler's Gender Trouble is a perfect example of creative thinking. The book redefines feminism's struggle against patriarchy as part of a much broader issue: the damaging effects of all our assumptions about gender and identity.

Looking at the factionalism of contemporary (1980s) feminism, Butler saw a movement split by identity politics. Riven by arguments over what it meant to be a women, over sexuality, and over class and race, feminism was falling prey to internal problems of identity, and was failing to move towards broader solidarity with other liberation movements such as LGBT.

Butler turned these issues on their head by questioning the basis that supposedly fundamental and fixed identities such as 'masculine/feminine' or 'straight/gay' actually have. Tracing these binary definitions back to the binary nature of human anatomy ('male/female'), she argues that there is no necessary link between our anatomies and our identities. Subjecting a wide range of evidence from philosophy, cultural theory, anthropology, psychology and anthropology to a renewed search for meaning, Butler shows both that sex (biology) and gender (identity) are separate, and that even biological sex is not simplistically either/or male/female. Separating our biology from identity then allows her to argue that, while categories such as 'masculine/feminine/straight/gay' are real, they are not necessary; rather, they are the product of society's assumptions, and the constant reproduction of those assumptions by everyone around us. That opens up some small hope for change: a hope that – 25 years after Gender Trouble's publication – is having a huge impact on societies and politics across the world.

Genres: Philosophy, Queer

104 pages, Paperback

Published July 15, 2017

Reviews

[J9sch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suffered a bit from the shortness of the summary, but then manages to give a good and esp accessible overview of the criticism and adjacent debates

[Joseph Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not so much of analysis as a guided tour of Butler:s philosophy, influences, and legacy. It succeeds as an idiot's guide. If you have two and a half hours and want to prepare to read more of her work, this might help inform a broader study.

[Bitterstranger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good crash course on Judith Butler for dummies, as someone else said here. A bit repetitive in places.

[cosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

serves its purpose tho not as elaborative and comprehensive as i expected it to be

[ice · Rating 4 out of 5]

The analysis was great for providing background and impact/debates of the works. I know the historical importance of lesbian feminism but I just cannot see "lesbian" as a static and fixed label. That’s probably why I love Haraway and Butler, for their shared commitment to anti-essentialism, but from different angles. The Nussbaum review seems quite interesting and I added Sokal's book to my to read list for it might resolve some of my longstanding confusion since college

[Kit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not terribly thorough on what the text is about, though does offer a lot of great context as to when it was written, and how it was received. They kind of brush over the more complex ideas.