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  • Who's Afraid of Gender?

  • By: Judith Butler
  • Narrated by: Judith Butler
  • Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (2 ratings)

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Who's Afraid of Gender?

By: Judith Butler
Narrated by: Judith Butler
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Publisher's Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

From a global icon, a bold, essential account of how a fear of gender is fuelling reactionary politics around the world

Judith Butler, the ground-breaking philosopher whose influential work has redefined how we think about gender and sexuality, confronts the attacks on gender that have become central to right-wing movements today. Global networks have formed "anti-gender ideology movements" dedicated to circulating a fantasy that gender is a dangerous threat to families, local cultures, civilization -- and even "man" himself. Inflamed by the rhetoric of public figures, this movement has sought to abolish reproductive justice, undermine protections against violence, and strip trans and queer people of their rights.

But what, exactly, is so scary about gender? In this vital, courageous book, Butler carefully examines how "gender" has become a phantasm for emerging authoritarian regimes, fascist formations, and transexclusionary feminists. They illuminate the concrete ways that this phantasm displaces anxieties and fears of destruction. Operating in tandem with deceptive accounts of critical race theory and xenophobic panics about migration, the anti-gender movement demonizes struggles for equality, fuels aggressive nationalism, and leaves millions of people vulnerable to subjugation.

An essential intervention into one of the most fraught issues of our moment, Who's Afraid of Gender? is a bold call to make a broad coalition with all those whose struggle for equality is linked with fighting injustice. Imagining new possibilities for both freedom and solidarity, Butler offers us an essentially hopeful work that is both timely and timeless.

©2024 Judith Butler (P)2024 Penguin Audio
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: LGBTQ+

Critic Reviews

'An international celebrity academic...Butler's influence is immense.' (Masha Gessen)

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How does Gender ideology threaten power structures

An accessible extension of Butlers prior work in gender studies, this time exploring the threat of gender ideology that is both 'felt' and 'created' by colonial power structures and religious orders. This is a story of how the power structures created a monster, namely gender, and are simultaneously spooked by it and now want it gone (shout out to 'My Words to Victor Frankenstein').
Various topics are discussed including world views of gender theory, the mess in the US, censorship, laws and rights, Trump, TERFs and Harry Potter, a clever criticism of gender-critical feminism, white supremacy and colonialism, cultural-linguistic language barriers, and the depressing problems we face in the future if we do not fight for cultural heterogeneity and to keep that rainbow alive.
Each chapter presents as a mini essay and one minor criticism would be that Butler feels the need to reiterate the driving message of each chapter, as a communication and pedagogical device, however sometimes this style of writing can come across as repetitive and uninspiring.
Bulter also narrated this audio book, which I personally appreciated as they were able to give certain phrases vocal nuance and accentuation. Overall and as a fan of Butler's oeuvre and post-modern philosophy, I enjoyed the articulated thought provoking examples contained in the book and would recommend to other feminists, scholars and people curious to understand the world a little more.

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