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this video is a short analysis of Judith Butler's book gender trouble this is University quick course first a little about Judith Butler Judith Butler is the author of gender trouble feminism and the subversion of identity a book she wrote in 1990 Butler is an American philosopher who was born in Cleveland Ohio in 1956 she attended a Jewish school until she was 18 and was so fascinated by the origin and nature of ideas that she received extra lessons in ethics and philosophy at 16 she came out as a lesbian Butler attended Bennington College a private school in Vermont and then study for her PhD in philosophy at Yale University where she became a prominent member of the lesbian community and a political activist she received her doctorate in 1984 and now teaches at the University of California Berkeley and in Switzerland Butler has published more than a dozen books and has been active in debates ranging from lesbian gay bisexual and transsexual rights to Middle Eastern politics she works on identity issues and prejudice against minorities having personal experience of both her mother lost her Hungarian family in the Nazi Holocaust during World War two and as a lesbian Butler has herself experienced discrimination she has spoken about the difficulty of coming out as a teenager and about the scars she has received on account of her sexuality her uncle was confined to a medical institution for his anatomically anomalous body and this also influenced Butler's thinking about the pressure to conform to society in accepted ways gender trouble is widely considered the most influential text in gender studies and is impacted on a broad range of disciplines is considered a founding text of queer theory becoming a key text in the history of feminism and lesbian gay bisexual and transgender rights as well as in philosophy and literary criticism by forcing readers to think again about the fundamental identity categories of the modern world Butler's work gender trouble sparked a series of debates that continued to the present day after Butler wrote gender trouble she became a celebrity with a worldwide readership and at least one fanzine so what does gender trouble say gender trouble argues that people must rethink the most basic categories of human identity to make society better she achieves this by asking skeptical questions about sex gender and sexuality and how these define people's identities she asks why do we label ourselves and others as straight or gay or even as male or female where do these categories come from how do they contribute to prejudice in society how can questioning these labels help change society for Butler assumptions about what is normal result in non normal people having less fulfilling lives with gender identities it is viewed as normal for men to behave in masculine ways and women in feminine ways men who behave in feminine ways or women who behave in masculine ways are considered abnormal or strange they suffer prejudice ranging from simple stares in the street to actual violence against them this negatively affects their lives and while homosexuality is commonly accepted today in law and general society society still tends to view heterosexuality as normal this leaves other sexualities to be labeled as abnormal even where open prejudice does not exist this labeling has a negative effect on the lives of those identifying with these sexualities Butler asks why should this be so where do these categories of normal come from and what makes them so strong is their for instance any necessary or natural link between being a man and being masculine if not why does there seem to be one what if there is no necessary link between biological sex being a man or woman and gender behaving in masculine or feminine ways why should it be considered normal for men to be attracted to women rather than two men in the book Butler central argument is that there is no natural basis to gender and no inherent link between gender and someone's sex instead she asserts social conventions about dress and behavior give the appearance of a natural basis this makes it seem as though masculine behavior is natural for men Butler sees this understanding of naturalness emerge from society as a whole that is to say it comes from everybody's actions it is individuals acting in certain expected ways that makes gender real Butler argues that men and women acting as expected makes masculinity and femininity exist she turns this process performative a complex term that is key to her work she asserts that performative is not just a performance it is a performance that makes itself real knowing that this is the case though can help people change the script so why does gender trouble matter it is impossible to exaggerate the importance of gender trouble for anyone interested in philosophy or culture theory from the moment it appeared in 1990 it was hailed as a pivotal text in the history of feminism since then it has become one of the most referenced books in modern philosophy and one of the most significant texts in the history of culture theory this reputation shows no sign of fading because gender trouble has revolutionized critical writing across the academic world in literature it transformed discussions of gender and sexuality from the classics to the present day in feminism it challenged the very idea of women in philosophy it created a new language for tackling identity in cultural studies it changed the way critics read the world mastering the vocabulary Butler uses in gender trouble is useful to any student discussing sex sexuality or gender in fact that vocabulary is vital to anyone discussing individual identity in politics the academic world or daily life even its title has become a common phrase in literary criticism gender trouble provides useful tools for any student in the humanities because Butler uses philosophy psychoanalysis literature and biology to make her case mastering gender trouble is rewarding challenge densely written and technical it is difficult to understand without hard work and guidance it also forces readers to rethink the ideas they have held all their lives ideas they've taken for granted as the basic facts of life although gender trouble has caused countless arguments among academics activists and general readers Butler's ideas about gender sexuality and identity have changed the way critics consider texts gender trouble brought about a rethinking of everything ranging from the conventions of heroes of lovers to the complex ways in which books belong to their times even when critics are not directly quoting Butler they are often using her ideas Butler's big questions are all the more urgent as we grapple with new issues around the roles and rights of women and people of all sexualities in different countries and across cultures understanding how that correct gender rules are imposed by society requires a top-to-bottom rethink of what it is to be male or female masculine or feminine straight bisexual lesbian gay or transgender what in other words it means to be human so in some one gender trouble revolutionized thinking about sex the biological differences between people commonly used to distinguish us as male or female sexuality the specific nature of our sexual desires and gender roughly the behaviors commonly used to distinguish female and male to gender trouble argues that gender identity is not natural but a product of social convention and act that becomes true 3 Butler transformed how gender is studied and understood in philosophy literature and also how certain groups said about demanding political change this is university quick course thanks for watching please like and subscribe