Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity

The author of Gender Trouble, Judith Butler is an American philosopher, a lesbian, a political activist, and holder of a named professorship in comparative literature at the University of California-Berkeley. In the text, Butler's diction is dense, layered with terms and concepts from the poststructuralist, psychoanalytic, and feminist intellectual traditions that are such important influences on her.

Her use of deconstruction of binaries and her insistent, multipart questions reflect the influence of poststructuralism on her voice in particular. By peeling back what is underneath commonsense terms and interrogating concepts until they fall apart, Butler is engaging in an effort to find the language to talk about experiences and people ignored by the fields that influence her work.

Her focus on subversion is also reflected in the complicated diction of her writing. Elsewhere, Butler has made the argument that this complicated diction is in keeping with the complicated nature of gender; the seriousness with which she treats her subject matter is also an indication of how personally urgent the desire is to clear out space for gay and lesbian voices.

Butler's efforts and the language in which she writes have made her a central figure in many fields associated with gender.