A great read that unpacks and rearranges the predominant discourses of feminism as a means to advance new questions, queries, and critiques about the politics of becoming-gendered and becoming-sexed. Butler works through feminist, psychoanalytic, and poststructuralist discourses, ending at a new rhetorical plateau whereby she argues that gender is, at its most functional level, a performance. This is a thoroughly researched book that exemplifies good academic writing. ( )

Hét boek dat denken over gender de 21e eeuw inleidde: Butler stelt alles in vraag, en terecht. Maar ze is zeer theoretisch en moeilijk leesbaar - Thé book that guided thinking about gender into the 21th century: Butler quesions everything, and with just cause. But her book is very theoretical and very hard to read. ( )

If [Gender Trouble] is the wave of feminism for today, woe is me. I have rarely read a book so unintelligible. I resolutely put it aside as the worse case of deconstructionalism or post modernism I have encountered. If, however, the reader is enamored of decoding signifiers and translating jargon, and I respect those who devote their reading time to this project, this would be a prime text.

This book, which I unfortunately had to read twice, says that gender doesn't really exist; it is merely a social construction. If you don't know that already, you might give this book a skim, though it is really poorly written and often self-contradictory. However, if you understand that, and want to to move on in some direction, there's nothing here to grab onto. Just as an example of the the kind of morass this book leads you into: If there is no gender, than there is no such thing as homosexuality or heterosexuality, since those labels are applied to people based on the gender of their love object. On one level, I can go along with that. But here's the problem: I am attracted to humans with facial hair and penises and so are my gay male friends. But I'm perceived by the world as a heterosexual woman and can pursue my interests without societal approbation or interference. My gay friends can not. In Butler's world this has no meaning (except for an appreciation of the different gender performances each of us puts on). The book makes no acknowledgment of this oppression, nor does it provide a theoretical base to work from if you're going to do anything about it. ( )

Butler attacks notions of essentialism and continues to put forth her view of gender as performance. A wonderful introduction to gender studies, but still readable without a college class behind you. ( )