Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of "Sex (edition 1993)

by Judith P. Butler

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Member:	tanenbaum
Title:	Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of "Sex
Authors:	Judith P. Butler
Info:	Routledge (1993), Paperback
Collections:	Old Library
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Tags:	gender, philosophy, non-fiction

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Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of Sex by Judith P. Butler

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Basically a riposte to the critics of Butler's earlier Gender Trouble (of which I was one), this text is a much clearer and more rigorous articulation of the logic behind performativity. The theory remains problematic in places (which, to her credit, Butler acknowledges for the most part), but there is no question that this text is a major contribution to the canon of poststructuralist theory. (

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amydross | Oct 22, 2010 |

I have just read this book. I think it shows any reader of Butler just how demanding her texts can be, but if you maintain a certain 'discipline' the rewards are certainly well worth it. This book represents for Butler her re-working of some of her arguments in her earlier book Gender Trouble. In particular she moves towards an idea of the "materialization of sex". She also has some chapters on Nella Larson's Passing, and of course her continuing conversation with Lacan and Zizek. Overall if you are in any way a theory head, this book is over the top in its absolutely greatness. (

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logocentric | Dec 11, 2008 |

I.... don't get it.

rachaelster | Dec 14, 2005 |

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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0415903661, Paperback)

In Bodies That Matter, Judith Butler further develops her distinctive theory of gender by examining the workings of power at the most "material" dimensions of sex and sexuality. Deepening the inquiries she began in Gender Trouble, Butler offers an original reformulation of the materiality of bodies, examining how the power of heterosexual hegemony forms the "matter" of bodies, sex, and gender.
Butler argues that power operates to constrain "sex" from the start, delimiting what counts as a viable sex. She offers a clarification of the notion of "performativity" introduced in Gender Trouble and explores the meaning of a citational politics. The text includes readings of Plato, Irigaray, Lacan, and Freud on the formation of materiality and bodily boundaries; "Paris is Burning," Nella Larsen's "Passing," and short stories by Willa Cather; along with a reconsideration of "performativity" and politics in feminist, queer, and radical democratic theory.

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:46:29 -0500)

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