57 pages 1 hour read

Judith Butler

Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1989

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Essay Topics

1.

Discuss Butler's notion of gender performativity. How does it differ from the other major ways of theorizing gender?

2.

Butler engages with the work of several significant feminists. Select one of the theorists included in Gender Trouble. Research that person's contributions to his or her field, then trace how Butler uses that person's ideas to advance her argument.

3.

At present, almost thirty years has passed since the publication of Gender Trouble. Do some of the notions of "congealed" gender still apply? If so, what are they, and in what ways do you think gender identities today are more flexible based on what you know of Butler's era?

Related Titles

By Judith Butler

Study Guide

logo

Bodies That Matter

Judith Butler

Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of Sex

Judith Butler

Study Guide

logo

Performative Acts and Gender Constitution

Judith Butler

Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory

Judith Butler

Study Guide

logo

Precarious Life

Judith Butler

Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence

Judith Butler

Study Guide

logo

Undoing Gender

Judith Butler

Undoing Gender

Judith Butler