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A review by outcolder
Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity by Judith Butler
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.