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emeraldgarnet's review against another edition
1.0
Terrible. Butler is notorious for her difficult writing yet even once you dig down into what she actually says, you find that so much of it is wishy-washy and contradictory. I particularly disagree with Butler's assertion that identity is no longer necessary to any kind of feminist politics.
brisingr's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
Okay, back with less of a headache for some more comprehensive thoughts, but I really enjoyed this book and, obviously, Butler's theories and ideas in here have shaped the entire thought landscape of gender studies. I think it's easy to see why, but it's been great to read this as already familiar with its key concepts (rather than go in blindly, because you can easily get lost in the wording) and it has some incredible insight into the issue of social constructiveness of gender, sex, body and the performance that unites all three.
Okay, back with less of a headache for some more comprehensive thoughts, but I really enjoyed this book and, obviously, Butler's theories and ideas in here have shaped the entire thought landscape of gender studies. I think it's easy to see why, but it's been great to read this as already familiar with its key concepts (rather than go in blindly, because you can easily get lost in the wording) and it has some incredible insight into the issue of social constructiveness of gender, sex, body and the performance that unites all three.
homoerotisch's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
i have issues and critiques of this book already worked out by people smarter than me, but with reason a classic and transformative work
outcolder's review against another edition
4.0
Sometimes, it's like an idea soup. A comforting idea soup that feels like finally home, like this is one inclusive idea soup. You can be who you are. Other times, it's like a plow running through the mind, turning all the dirt upside down, making it possible for new stuff to grow. The language gets absurdly difficult but if you try hard to parse it, you could wind up with new vocabulary to talk about things that seemed invisible or even impossible before. At least, that's the mood I had while struggling through this.
Some bits were easier for me than others. I tore through the psychoanalytic stuff; I think I have more of a foundation there, but I am also more willing to let go and not understand everything, because there is so much of that that I reject, and Butler just seems to be giving more reasons to not engage, even though these thinkers like Lacan and Kristeva are so important to her.
I think it's interesting how others find "Gender Trouble" threatening. Why are some people so invested in "compulsory heterosexuality" that they want to set fire to a library that hosted a drag queen story hour? Butler doesn't get into that. To be honest, though, it's so highfalutin', I would rather recommend more basic books about gender, since anything written after this book is going to have to explain this in simpler language.
Some bits were easier for me than others. I tore through the psychoanalytic stuff; I think I have more of a foundation there, but I am also more willing to let go and not understand everything, because there is so much of that that I reject, and Butler just seems to be giving more reasons to not engage, even though these thinkers like Lacan and Kristeva are so important to her.
I think it's interesting how others find "Gender Trouble" threatening. Why are some people so invested in "compulsory heterosexuality" that they want to set fire to a library that hosted a drag queen story hour? Butler doesn't get into that. To be honest, though, it's so highfalutin', I would rather recommend more basic books about gender, since anything written after this book is going to have to explain this in simpler language.
maximum_moxie's review against another edition
3.0
Absolutely unintelligible if (like me) you're not up on philosophy--but what little I managed to understand was fantastic. The foundation of a lot of the theory floating around now, and quite an achievement of philosophy.