Gender Trouble
uthor:Judith Butler
A
Published:1990
Genre:Feminist Philosophy, Gender Studies
Main Themes: Gender Performativity, Identity Politics, Heterosexual
Matrix, Power and Discourse, Subversion of Gender Norms
Key Concepts: Gender as Performance, Drag as Subversion, Social
Constructivism, Binary Gender Critique, Parody in Gender Identity
Famous Quotes:
★ “There is no gender identity behind the expressions of
gender; that identity is performatively constituted bythevery
‘expressions’ that are said to be its results.”
★ “Gender is an identity tenuously constituted in time—an
identity instituted through a stylized repetition of acts.”
★ “In imitating gender, drag implicitly reveals the imitative
structure of gender itself—as well as its contingency.”
★ “The heterosexualization of desire requiresandinstitutesthe
productionofdiscreteandasymmetricaloppositionsbetween
‘feminine’ and ‘masculine.’”
★ “Power not only acts on a subject but, in a transitive sense,
enacts the subject into being.”
Key Words: ➊ Gender Performativity, ➋ Heterosexual Matrix, ➌ Identity
Politics, ➍ Discursive Construction, ➎ Subversion, ➏ Drag, ➐ Binary
Gender, ➑ Power and Discourse, ➒ Social Constructivism, ➓ Parody, ⓫
Normativity, ⓬ Cultural Legibility, ⓭ CompulsoryHeterosexuality,⓮Body
as Discourse, ⓯ Regulatory Practices, ⓰ Gender Citationality, ⓱
Performativity Failure, ⓲ Embodiment, ⓳ Fluid Identity, ⓴ Resistance.
1. Introduction: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity
● Butler critiques the feminist notion of a stable category of "women,"
arguing that defining womenasaunifiedgroupreinforcesthebinary
gender system.
● S he questions whether feminism, by relying on the idea of"woman"
as a subject, unintentionally marginalizes non-conforming identities.
2. Theories of Gender and Sex
● Butler critiques the essentialist view that gender follows from
biological sex, arguing that both sex and gender are constructed
through discourse.
● Drawing from Michel Foucault,shearguesthatpoweranddiscourse
shape how bodies and identities are understood.
3. Gender as Performance
● Butlerintroducestheconceptofperformativity,statingthatgenderis
not something one "is" but something one "does" through repeated
actions and behaviors.
● This challenges the belief that masculinity and femininityarenatural
or fixed.
4. Critique of Structuralism and Psychoanalysis
● Butler engages with the works of Simone de Beauvoir, Jacques
Lacan, and Julia Kristeva, critiquing their views on gender formation.
● She argues that psychoanalytic and structuralist theories reinforce
heteronormativity by assuming a binary gender framework.
5. Drag and Subversion of Gender Norms
● Butler uses drag performance as an example of how gender is
imitated and performed rather than naturally expressed.
● Drag exposes the artificial nature of gender roles and demonstrates
how gender can be destabilized.
6. The Political Implications of Gender Theory
● Butlerarguesthatfeminismshouldmovebeyondidentitypoliticsand
recognize the fluidity of gender.
● She calls for a new politics that resists rigid categorization and
embraces diversity in gender expressions.
Chapter 1: Subjects of Sex/Gender/Desire
In the first chapter of Gender Trouble, Judith Butler critically examines
feminist theories of gender, challenging the assumption that "women" isa
stable and coherent category. She questions the traditional distinctions
between sex, gender, and desire, arguing thattheseconceptsaresocially
constructed rather than biologically determined.
1. The Problem of Defining "Women" in Feminism
● Butler critiques feminist movements for assuming a universal
category of “women.”
● She argues that defining "women" as a single group excludes
marginalized identities, such as non-Western, queer, andnon-binary
individuals.
● Feminism must acknowledge diversity instead of reinforcing binary
gender norms.
2. The Sex/Gender Distinction
● Traditional feminism distinguishes sex (biological differences) from
gender(socially constructed roles).
● Butlerarguesthatthisdistinctionisflawedbecausesexitselfisalsoa
social construct, shaped by cultural and political forces.
● She draws fromFoucault’sideathatpowercreatescategoriesrather
than simply describing them.
3. Gender as Performative
● Gender is not an innate identity but a performance—repeated
behaviors that create the illusion of a stable gender.
● Peopleconformtosocietalexpectationsofmasculinityandfemininity
through daily acts, gestures, and language.
● Since gender is performative, it can also be disrupted or subverted.
4. Influence of Michel Foucault
● Butler applies Foucault’sideasonpoweranddiscourse,arguingthat
gender identities are enforced through social norms and institutions.
● Shecritiquestheassumptionthatthereisa"natural"bodyoutsideof
these social structures.
5. Questioning Identity Politics
● Feminist movements often rely on the idea of a shared identity
among women.
● Butler warns that this approach can be exclusionary and reinforces
rigid gender binaries.
● Instead, she advocates for a more fluid and inclusiveunderstanding
of identity.
Chapter 2: Prohibition, Psychoanalysis, and the Production
of the Heterosexual Matrix
In this chapter, Judith Butler examines how gender and sexuality are
regulated through cultural and psychoanalyticstructures.Shecritiquesthe
heterosexual matrix, a system that enforces binary gender roles and
compulsory heterosexuality. Butler engages with theorists like Freud,
Lacan, Lévi-Strauss, and Kristeva to explore how power and discourse
shape gender identity.
1. The Heterosexual Matrix
● Butler introduces the concept of theheterosexualmatrix,acultural
framework that assumes:
1. Biological sex determines gender identity.
2. Gender identity follows a natural binary (male/female).
3. Desire is naturally heterosexual.
● This system reinforces the idea that masculinity and femininity are
fixed and opposite categories.
2. Critique of Structuralism (Lévi-Strauss)
● Lévi-Strauss argues that gender rolesarestructuredthroughkinship
systems, where women are exchanged between men.
● B utler critiques this, showing that these structures impose
heterosexuality and erase other gender/sexual identities.
3. Psychoanalysis and Gender Formation
● Freud and Lacan: They argue that identity is shaped through early
childhood experiences, particularly theOedipus complex.
● Lacan's "Symbolic Order": Language and societal norms force
individuals into gendered positions.
● Butler’s Critique: These theories assume that binary gender and
heterosexuality are natural rather than constructed.
4. Kristeva and the Semiotic
● Julia Kristeva discusses the semiotic (pre-linguistic realm linked to
the mother) versus the symbolic (social norms governed by
language).
● She suggests that femininity is always somewhat excluded from the
symbolic order.
● Butler critiques this, arguing that Kristeva still reinforces a
male-dominated framework by positioning femininity as marginal.
5. Gender as a Regulatory Norm
● Butlerarguesthatgenderisnotaninternalidentitybutasetofrules
imposed by society.
● Individuals are disciplined into gender roles through repeated social
practices.
Chapter 3: Subversive Bodily Acts
InthisfinalchapterofGenderTrouble,JudithButlerdeepensherargument
that gender is not an inherentidentitybutaperformativeact—something
we "do" rather than something we "are." She explores howgendernorms
are enforced, how bodies are shaped by discourse, and how subversive
performances (like drag) can expose the artificial nature of gender roles.
1. Gender as Performance
● Gender is not a stable identity but a set of repeated actions that
create the illusion of a natural gender.
● These actions (how we dress, speak, behave) conform to social
expectations and maintain gender norms.
● Because gender isperformed, it can also be disrupted or changed.
2. The Role of the Body in Gender Construction
● Bodies are regulated by social norms that dictate how they should
behave (e.g., "women should be passive," "men should be strong").
● Butler critiques feminist theories that assume the body isa"natural"
foundationforgender.Instead,shearguesthatbodiesareculturally
constructedthrough discourse.
3. Drag as a Subversive Act
● Butler famously analyzes drag performances, where individuals
imitate gender in exaggerated ways.
● D ragexposesgenderasanimitationofanimitation—sincethereis
no original "real" gender.
● This challenges the idea that men and women have inherent
identities, proving that all gender is performed.
4. Parody and Subversion of Gender Norms
● Since gender is performative, it can be disrupted through
parody—acts that expose its constructed nature.
● Drag, androgyny, and gender nonconformity can undermine
traditional gender roles and reveal them as artificial.
● This opens possibilities for resistance and transformation beyond
binary gender.
Conclusion: From Parody to Politics
In the conclusion of Gender Trouble, Judith Butler moves from theoretical
critique to political implications, arguingthatgenderidentitiesarenotfixed
but can be disrupted and reimagined. She emphasizes that feminism and
queer activism should move beyond rigid identity categories and instead
embracefluidity, resistance, and subversion.
1. Parody as Political Resistance
● Sincegenderisperformativeandnotinherent,parody(suchasdrag)
can reveal its artificial nature.
● Parody is not just a joke—it can be a serious tool of resistance
against rigid gender norms.
● When people mimic and exaggerate gender roles, they expose the
unstable foundationof gender identity.
2. Destabilizing Identity Politics
● Traditional feminist movements often assume a stable category of
"women", but Butler argues this isexclusive and limiting.
● A politics based on fixed identities (like "women" or "gay") may
unintentionally reinforce binary structures and exclude people with
nonconforming identities.
● Instead, activism should embrace gender fluidity and reject rigid
definitions of identity.
3. The Need for a New Feminist and Queer Politics
● Butlercallsforacoalition-basedpoliticsthatdoesnotrelyonfixed
categories.
● Political movements should challenge the systems that enforce
gender norms rather than simply seek inclusion within them.
● Liberation comes not from reinforcing categories but from
destabilizingthe very norms that create them.
4. The Ethics of Ambiguity
● Butlerconcludesthatembracingambiguityandfluidityingenderis
an ethical and political necessity.
● Ratherthanforcingindividualsintopre-existingcategories,weshould
createspace for new possibilitiesof gender and identity.
Final Takeaway
● Gender is not a fixed reality but a social construct that can be
redefined and resisted.
● Drag, parody, and subversive performances reveal the constructed
nature of gender and open new political possibilities.
● Feminism and queer politics should move beyond identity-based
activismand work towarddeconstructing restrictive norms.
● Thegoalistocreateaworldwhereidentitiesarefluid,diverse,and
self-determined.
