The gender wars have arrived and after a 20-year hiatus on gender theory, so has Judith Butler.

Who’s Afraid of Gender seeks to address the various concerns of the “anti-gender ideology movement,” including its manifestations in politics, the church, feminism, and globalization. Butler lays out several concerns raised by this movement:
-Gender is a fabrication; only natural sex is real
-Gender will bring about a totalitarian regime
-Gender exemplifies hyper-capitalism
-Gender has stolen creative powers from the divine
-Gender is a force of destruction and colonization and harms children
These disparate concerns collapse into one, using gender as an overdetermined boogeyman (or what Butler refers to as the “phantasm of gender”). Their primary concern in this text is establishing the anxieties behind this phantasm as well as the hatred and anger it mobilizes.

This book is best suited for a feminist audience looking to better understand the cultural landscape around the current gender discourse and controversies. It is not necessarily formulated to convert those with the fascist anxieties, merely to explain the flaws in their lines of thought.

It’s honestly impressive how much I disliked this. I have been looking forward to one of the most prominent gender theorists weighing in on the great gender discourse of the 21st century. I spent the majority of my 20s as a huge Butler stan, frequently assigning their work in various classes. Butler touches on everything - gender, sexuality, activism, democracy, statelessness, their work is relevant to any humanities or social science context. At long last, Butler returns to gender theory when everyone could use some clarity on the subject.

And yet this could have been a Substack.

And not one I would subscribe to.

Even if it were free.

For clarity, I will confess my identity (since this work seems to demand it): I’m politically aligned with the far left. I am a white, cis, bisexual, middle-class woman who asserts transwomen are women and that trans and youth rights should be protected. But I could hear incredibly valid counter-arguments from “the other side” in my head each chapter, counter-arguments Butler narrowly avoids by relying on straw men arguments. It takes a hell of a lot for a former idol of mine to get me agreeing with my political enemy.

Yes, “gender” has become a phantasm that stands in for many other anxieties. None of which are quelled in this text.

The first third focuses on high power players like politicians and the Vatican, but does not address the concerns of actual people who support the same policies. The arguments in these chapters are incredibly obvious if you have not been living under a rock: concerns around gender from the church largely have to do with concerns around homosexuality, teaching comprehensive sexual education does not make children gay, and trans affirming healthcare does not harm cis people.

They then proceed to focus large portions of the text on folks like DeSantis and Rowling, rather than dealing with the intricacies of concerns from regular people. Yes, those heavy hitters are the ones mobilizing the phantasm of gender and keeping people anxious, but how do we realistically address those anxieties held by much of the population in a democratic way? How do we reconcile parental agency and the needs of children? How do we provide appropriate healthcare for children whose parents believe such healthcare is actually violence? Why does the hateful rhetoric employed by right wing politicians work so effectively? Those are the more interesting questions.

While I understand their assertion that critical reading is fundamental to a successful democracy, it’s absolutely hilarious to see a theorist who is very famously and frequently accused of being inaccessible lament that people won’t just read more gender theory before refuting it. Like if only Trump picked up Gender Trouble then he would be better informed. Butler is also making a mistake in that realm but assuming the anti-gender-ideology folks (and other gender theorists) all necessarily value democracy.

Butler has an outstandingly strange way of waffling on materialism. They take no materialist approach at all in the first half of the book (or their career), then claim to incorporate materialist elements very abruptly. It’s clear Butler’s discussion of the co-construction of the social and biological aspects of sex is only to pacify their materialist critics. Despite this supposed co-constitution, there remain large portions of the text that continue to uphold a nature/culture binary and speak in pretty traditionally constructivist terms.

In other sections, Butler simply falls into tired liberal tropes. Even if the political right is against both critical race theory and “gender ideology” in schools, these are not equivalent. They are entirely different discourses with different histories and concerns, and yet Butler flattens them as though they are qualitatively equivalent. It seems Butler is contributing to rather than negating this phantasm of gender by treating separate issues as having a singular answer. Butler also appears to root much of the problem with gender in colonialism, as though the history of patriarchal power only begins in recent history. They recognize the concept of gender has an issue of linguistic and cultural translation, but does not adequately historicize the concept. I expected greater nuance from one of the most significant theorists of our time.

I have saved my critique of the TERF chapter for last because I understand it’s the chapter in which we are most expected to snap our fingers and nod in agreement. Yes, TERFs are bad. I think it’s a bit of a misnomer as not all “gender critical” feminists that very intentionally exclude trans women take perspectives that align with radical feminism, but that’s not really the point so we can leave it aside. Butler comically refuses to use “gender critical” because TERFs misuse the term “critique.” As though sex can be reassigned and gender can be reconstituted throughout one’s life, but the definition and application of “critique” must be stagnant. To define gender would be epistemic violence, but to define critique is within Butler’s authority.

The entire chapter on TERFs and “gender-critical feminism” didn’t address a huge underlying issue: the mutual dependence between the categories of “woman” and “lesbian.” Much of the TERFish emphasis on “sex” is rooted not just in the idea that penises rape (more on that in a moment), but that many lesbians consider the evolving definition of gender to be an affront to their sexual identity. If there is no substantial validity to this argument, then why doesn’t Butler address it? It would be an easy takedown, and yet the glaring omission remains.

Butler uses this chapter to make a “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” style argument regarding rape. As though it is entirely unreasonable someone might associate rape with traditional male anatomy. This is not to say that women don’t rape, that all men have penises, that transgender women are predatory, or that sexual dimorphism is a natural fact - it is simply to live in reality; certain tools and the socialization around them enable violence. You can understand there is a relationship between penises and rape without believing trans women are rapists or denying their womanhood. Instead, Butler makes this ridiculous claim:

“If the implicit point is that someone who has a penis, or even someone who once had one, will rape, because the penis is the cause of rape, or the socialization of those who have penises is the cause of rape, then surely such claims should be debated. Rape is an act of social and sexual domination, as many feminists have argued, arisen from social relations that establish masculine domination and access to women’s bodies without consent as a right and a privilege.”

Let me get this straight: Butler does not agree that the socialization of those who have penises is a cause of rape but does assert that social relations which establish masculine domination are a cause of rape (in the same paragraph, no less). Is the socialization of those who have penises not relevant to the social relations which establish masculine domination? Especially within the psychoanalytic framework Butler claims to draw from? In lieu of an explanation they merely state that masculine domination is not biological, upholding the culture/nature binary they later claim to be against. A consistent argument would require Butler to address the co-constitution of the biological and the social as they relate to power. Butler instead opts for self-contradiction.

Every chapter is essentially Butler disagreeing with a claim that they purport exists in society, while misrepresenting that claim in order to make their counterarguments. You could weave one thousand baskets with the dearth of straw. Butler concludes the text with a call to arms for all who have been harmed by these anxieties around gender to take up an ill-defined strategic alliance, rather than developing strategies for mitigating or refuting those anxieties. With decades of experience in theorizing both gender and democracy, Butler is uniquely positioned to propose such strategies yet fails to do so. Who’s Afraid of Gender is wildly bad theory: academically dull, intellectually lazy, and politically tired.

I thank NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the e-arc in exchange for my unfortunately honest opinion.

I haven’t read Butler’s work since undergrad Women’s Studies classes. I remember finding it impenetrable yet so damn smart then, and I feel similarly now.
Butler contests the fantasies and phantasms the right has created around the idea of gender, basically putting everything they dislike into this undefined space. I got a little lost in Butler’s chapter about what it means for women of color to be flesh instead of people, but I haven’t read the underlying theory on that —and butler wasn’t inventing it, just using the theory of somebody else and applying their work on gender.
It’s a really good book and I hope it has the same world-shifting impact Gender Trouble did 20 + years ago. I’m so grateful to Butler for continuing this work to help us think about our lives and how to make them legible, and our rights and how to work to protect them. The answer is “together.”

I received an e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book is a manifesto and should be required reading to help usher in a next generation of cooperation and global understanding.

I loved how Judith Butler methodically set up her argument and supported each point with great detail - defining terms and ideas. This scholarly approach made for a thoughtful read.

One of my favorite quotes illustrates Butler’s excellence in supporting her position while delivering the message with a tongue-in-cheek voice: “ The opposition to “gender” as a demonic social construct culminates in policies that seek to deprive people of their legal and social rights, that is, to exist within the terms that they have rightfully established for themselves. Stripping people of rights in the name of morality or the nation or a patriarchal wet dream belongs to the broader logic amplified by authoritarian nationalism”

Judith Butler is an author who has contributed so much to queer and feminist theory and literature over many decades. I read some of her material for a university course, and this book did not disappoint. Her questions will make you rethink your world and better analyse the arguments, especially in the 'gender wars' happening in many political spheres. Her work continues to thrive and stay relevant in our day and age, and this book continues her questions towards the governmental and societal structures we have rested upon for so long.

Another important and insightful collection from Judith Butler. The content is timely and the arguments fierce, though the writing itself is typically dense. Not the easiest read from Butler, nevertheless one of their most important contribution.

This honestly felt like a must read for me. In the current climate there is so much misinformation and fear mongering being spread around gender and a major socio-political divide around all things gender.

Judith Butler bravely tackles this topic with thoughtful insight and care, whilst simultaneously holding a firm stance against bigotry.

The stories were impactful and the topic was handled with a lot of care and nuance. An excellent read by an accomplished author.

The construction of gender has been something I am very interested in ever since doing my social science degree with Judith butlers first book opening my eyes to the perceptions of gender. I was so excited to start this book and it did not disappoint. It was so well written and really makes you think, thank you so much for allowing me to read this book

A blistering attack on the political right, Butler explores how fearmongering around the concept of gender has deep roots with racism, fascism, homophobia, antisemitism, and misogyny. From the hypocrisy of the Church to the gaslighting faux concern of well-known celebrity figures, Butler offers a searing takedown of the ease with which the political right exploit fears surrounding trans and gender nonconforming individuals. The author provides moments of fierce burns that had me wincing, demonstrating their firm grasp on complex material and their visceral ability to cut through to the heart of the matter and reject ignorance, manipulation tactics, and prejudice. Reading this book confirmed to me the importance of knowing where one stands on contemporary political issues, and to consider whose political company I wish to associate myself with. If "protecting family values" means keeping wives barefoot at home chained to a stove; restricting abortion access to encourage more white babies and more BIPOC fodder for the industrial prison complex; withdrawing hard-won rights for LGBTQIAP+ parents; restricting healthcare access for LGBTQIAP+ children and adolescents, thereby increasing suicide risks and rates amongst this population; blaming the Jews in general (standard); and essentially hating anyone who represents a different worldview to oneself, then I'm out.

I am grateful to have received an ARC of this book from Farrar, Straus and Giroux via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Gender, it’s construction and our own perception of it is, something that has been discussed over and over - even more so in recent times. Butler delves deep into ideas whilst poising the question: ‘who’s afraid of gender?’ Exactly how is the fear generated? And why does it occur?

In this complicated world in which gender is as hot a topic as ever, Butler (a leader in this field) enters the fray with another well researched and written book about the subject.

How do we perceive of gender and what does it mean? How do we change that perception as a society and as individuals. Why is this such a threatening topic?

I highly recommend Butler's work as a whole and Who's Afraid of Gender in particular.