Gender Trouble
Feminism and the Subversion of Identity
by Judith Butler · first published 1989
55% recommend27% neutral18% critical
Why HN recommends it
Dense but approachable theory of gender as performed rather than fixed. It serves as a good starting point for newcomers to gender theory and a route into modern feminist thought.
Common criticism: Several find the writing dense and the tone or conclusions off-putting.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
One of the most talked-about scholarly works of the past fifty years, Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble is as celebrated as it is controversial. Arguing that traditional feminism is wrong to look to a natural, 'essential' notion of the female, or indeed of sex or gender, Butler starts by questioning the category 'woman' and continues in this vein with examinations of 'the masculine' and 'the feminine'. Best known however, but also most often misinterpreted, is Butler's concept of gender as a reiterated social performance rather than the expression of a prior reality. Thrilling and provocati
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If you want a challenge, and want to read some really dense academic deconstruction of gender and gender roles, I recommend Judith Butler, specifically "Gender Trouble" and "Undoing Gender". And hopefully someday Kahn Academy will do a video series explaining her work in laymans terms. :) EDIT: Can't reply, so I'm responding to the comment below here: Symmetry:…
…that's how I've understood it in layman's terms and with my very basic knowledge--it's very complex, as with anything worth studying. The seminal text on the issue in the eyes of many is Judith Butler's Gender Trouble--If you truly are serious about wanting to learn about this stuff I suggest you check it out.
on “Ask a Female Engineer: Thoughts on the Google Memo” ↗Gender Trouble by J. Butler and Precarious Life by J. Butler These two allowed me to adopt a whole new perspective on not just gender but life and liberty in general. Also, great writing style!
on “Ask HN: What was the one book that you read and it actually changed your life?” ↗…attempt to form an existentialist ethics, and is short, and good. Tbqh "The Second Sex" is a bit dry for modern tastes - even though it is important. I'd recommend reading something like Judith Butler's "Gender Trouble" if you want a better feel for modern feminism.
on “World Philosophy Day: 70 Philosophy Books Everyone Should Read” ↗…to is that you're too weak to be yourself. This might hurt to hear, but you're a coward if you let gender roles stop you from enjoying something. I sincerely recommend reading some theory on gender. Gender Trouble by Judith Butler is a surprisingly approachable introduction to the subject, despite not being written as such.
on “The great Miyazaki watch of 2022” ↗…unable to accept that the meanings of words is as they are understood by the parties in the discussion is a sign of emotional immaturity If you'd like further reading on how sex and gender work, I suggest Gender Trouble by Judith Butler.
on “Twitter: 'We are the free speech wing of the free speech party' (2012)” ↗…delusional about how supportive the UK government is towards trans people because Iran's very exceptional asymmetry in how accepting they are of trans people and not gay people. Counter suggestion: Read Gender Trouble.
on “Netflix to Employees: If you don't like our content, you can quit” ↗…the search results. So instead I realised that Mort and Mortal Engines are adjacent, genre-wise and tried: Mort - Terry Pratchett My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness - Kabi Nagata Gender Trouble - Judith Butler and in the search results I got: The Far Side comics "This Book Is Full of Spiders" Douglas Adams Kurt Vonnegut Brian Lee O'Mally Calvin and Hobbes All of these…
on “Show HN: An anti-book recommendation tool, to help you escape your echo chamber” ↗…behind when I was young is not the end, but there are more things to be vigilant about, lest your critical mind becomes anaesthetised and subjugated by the current intellectual orthodoxy. Judith Butler, Gender Trouble A truly insane book. Prior to reading it I thought that the criticisms coming from "the other side" were caricatures. After reading this book I've known that there truly are people denying the reality…
on “Ask HN: Are there any books that changed your life during college or school?” ↗Good catch. :) I was thinking about Judith Butler. Philosophist, gender theorist and published author. I read her "Gender Trouble" to a bout halfway. It occurred to me that she might not really recognize that some women might be genuinely straight. It explained the tone of the book bit too well. Also my queer ex-roommate also expected…
on “What Developmental Milestones Are You Missing?” ↗…Reimer's. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_dysphoria http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Reimer and in the Googling I've been able to do all I can find is either transgendered people being annoyed at "Gender Trouble" or people who have read it saying that they don't see how transsexuality can exist. If there's some official reconciliation I'd be happy to hear about it but I haven't found any evidence of such. EDIT:…
I had similar suspicions about women's studies. But I didn't really believe it. Then I read Judith Butlers Gender Trouble to about halfway. It's a book that's canonical in womens studies these days. Holy shit it reads like political manifesto, with sciency stuff only to mask it little bit.
on “A Disadvantaged Start Hurts Boys More Than Girls” ↗The earliest most popular publication that posited that "sex is a social construct" might be Butler's Gender Trouble. This article is a pretty good overview on the evolution of the discourse on this topic: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-gender/#SexGenDi... (I linked straight to the section on sex as…
on ““Twitter will be forming a content moderation council with diverse viewpoints”” ↗