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kyrajade's review against another edition
4.5
An absolute intellectual mammoth of a book in 180 pages. Commented to my boyfriend that this book is in so many ways "thinking about thinking." The origin of Butler's position is deeply philosophical. The primary question "what is the woman as subject of feminism?" is answered through attempts to ascertain what it means to be sexed, mainly, why sex is treated as reified and "natural", and why this causes the sex/gender split. So before we can ask "what is a woman?", we must ask "what is gender?", and before that we must ask "what is sex?" and also "why is sex?". I read it and am now studying it using an ebook to ensure my understanding.
mirireads's review against another edition
It's too dense for me to grasp in audio form. I need to come back to this in writing at some point.
ciara032's review against another edition
4.0
WHEW okay this is probably the most challenging book I've read but it was really rewarding.
I know Judith Butler comes under fire often for her extremely 'academic' writing and while especially the first two parts of this books were quite dense and full of philosophical jargon, I actually learned a lot from it as I was able to take the time to watch videos and read up about the terms used. However, I appreciate that not everyone has the luxury of time to be able to do this and had I been reading this when I didn't have all the time in the world, I probably wouldn't have finished it.
Nevertheless, this book dramatically changed my understanding of sex and gender. Butler's theory of gender performativity is one that I and many others have misunderstood in the past – essentially, the naturalisation of the category of sex, the assumption of its existence before and beyond time and the law as a biological and factual identification, is what necessitates the performance of gender. Gender is a repeated performance which mimics the culturally understood categories of 'man' and 'woman', and this repetition thus legitimises these categories. It is not performative in the sense that we are expressing some inner truth: "Because there is neither an 'essence' that gender expresses or externalises nor an objective ideal to which gender aspires, and because gender is not a fact, the various acts of gender create the idea of gender, and without those acts, there would be no gender at all." (p.190) The meanings of gender are constructed, and therefore there is no such thing as right or wrong gender, but their construction is concealed by the very real consequences of non-conformity. Butler therefore suggests that the way forward is to displace these descriptors of gender and sex, in order to deprive them of their categorically descriptive power.
The binary category of sex is a fantasy, “socially instituted and socially regulated” (p.172), a political category used to naturalise the institution of heterosexuality. The desire of all cultures to reproduce themselves leads to the framing of heterosexuality as the ‘norm’, the ‘original’ and ‘natural’ sexuality which renders homosexuality illegitimate: “Which pleasures shall live and which shall die is often a matter of which serve the legitimating practices of identity formation that take place within the matrix of gender norms.” (p.96). The language used to describe our bodies and their parts is inherently linked to this political motive, and thus the category of sex itself is inevitably gendered. Those who present as ‘exceptions’ to the binary of sex are only seen as such – exceptions to the rule, rather than proof of the inadequacy of the category. Any analysis which presupposes ‘sex’ legitimates the power it holds over our perceptions – there is no ‘natural’ body to which we must aspire: “There is no self that is prior to the convergence or who maintains ‘integrity’ prior to its entrance into this conflicted cultural field. There is only a taking up of tools where they lie, where the very ‘taking up’ is enabled by the tool lying there.” (p.199). In this way, Butler responds to the idea in feminist theory that there must be an established unity under the term of ‘women’ – these fixed identities and categories are not natural foundations required in order to build a movement, but rather political structures which “limit and constrain in advance the very cultural possibilities that feminism is supposed to open up.” (p.201).
Overall I find Butler’s theory to be very important to our dismantling of the hierarchies of sex and gender. It also greatly improved my understanding of myself and my self-perception. Also I found out apparently Butler donated to Kamala Harris’ campaigns??? Which is gross but at least the PDF of this is free online!
I know Judith Butler comes under fire often for her extremely 'academic' writing and while especially the first two parts of this books were quite dense and full of philosophical jargon, I actually learned a lot from it as I was able to take the time to watch videos and read up about the terms used. However, I appreciate that not everyone has the luxury of time to be able to do this and had I been reading this when I didn't have all the time in the world, I probably wouldn't have finished it.
Nevertheless, this book dramatically changed my understanding of sex and gender. Butler's theory of gender performativity is one that I and many others have misunderstood in the past – essentially, the naturalisation of the category of sex, the assumption of its existence before and beyond time and the law as a biological and factual identification, is what necessitates the performance of gender. Gender is a repeated performance which mimics the culturally understood categories of 'man' and 'woman', and this repetition thus legitimises these categories. It is not performative in the sense that we are expressing some inner truth: "Because there is neither an 'essence' that gender expresses or externalises nor an objective ideal to which gender aspires, and because gender is not a fact, the various acts of gender create the idea of gender, and without those acts, there would be no gender at all." (p.190) The meanings of gender are constructed, and therefore there is no such thing as right or wrong gender, but their construction is concealed by the very real consequences of non-conformity. Butler therefore suggests that the way forward is to displace these descriptors of gender and sex, in order to deprive them of their categorically descriptive power.
The binary category of sex is a fantasy, “socially instituted and socially regulated” (p.172), a political category used to naturalise the institution of heterosexuality. The desire of all cultures to reproduce themselves leads to the framing of heterosexuality as the ‘norm’, the ‘original’ and ‘natural’ sexuality which renders homosexuality illegitimate: “Which pleasures shall live and which shall die is often a matter of which serve the legitimating practices of identity formation that take place within the matrix of gender norms.” (p.96). The language used to describe our bodies and their parts is inherently linked to this political motive, and thus the category of sex itself is inevitably gendered. Those who present as ‘exceptions’ to the binary of sex are only seen as such – exceptions to the rule, rather than proof of the inadequacy of the category. Any analysis which presupposes ‘sex’ legitimates the power it holds over our perceptions – there is no ‘natural’ body to which we must aspire: “There is no self that is prior to the convergence or who maintains ‘integrity’ prior to its entrance into this conflicted cultural field. There is only a taking up of tools where they lie, where the very ‘taking up’ is enabled by the tool lying there.” (p.199). In this way, Butler responds to the idea in feminist theory that there must be an established unity under the term of ‘women’ – these fixed identities and categories are not natural foundations required in order to build a movement, but rather political structures which “limit and constrain in advance the very cultural possibilities that feminism is supposed to open up.” (p.201).
Overall I find Butler’s theory to be very important to our dismantling of the hierarchies of sex and gender. It also greatly improved my understanding of myself and my self-perception. Also I found out apparently Butler donated to Kamala Harris’ campaigns??? Which is gross but at least the PDF of this is free online!