Undoing Gender

In the Introduction, Butler expands the range of their arguments to include sex, gender, sexuality, race, and colonialism. Why are these fields intertwined in the process of “undoing” gender? Is Butler trying to “undo” more than gender?

Though Butler includes some review of their theory of gender performativity, much of gender as performance is assumed in this text. Identify one of Butler’s arguments in the text. How does the background of gender performativity inform their ideas?

While David Reimer’s case is only discussed explicitly in Chapter 3, his life and case impact almost every idea in Undoing Gender. What is the impact of this case study across each essay?

Many of the arguments Butler presents in the text are not given a definite answer. Butler includes both sides of these discussions to encourage thought regarding norms, regulations, and social structures. Pick one of the arguments, and take a side regarding this argument. What evidence from the text supports your position?

Butler’s discussion of the incest taboo wavers between the undeniable violation of the event of incest and the potentially crucial formative component of incestual fantasy. Why is incest a specifically important topic of discussion here?

Butler’s discussion of Agacinski moves from the niche elements of law to the broadest concepts of universality. What does Butler mean when they discuss Agacinski’s view as a defense of French culture as universal? How does the introduction of imperialism and postcolonial thought influence the understanding of how European cultures become/became universal?

Butler presents an extended reading of Antigone’s confession in Sophocles’s Antigone. What is the relevance of this analysis, and how does Butler connect it back to their discussion of confession and the subject more broadly?

Butler cites many other theorists in the text, including Foucault, Braidotti, Irigaray, Spivak, and Anzaldua. Choose one of these theorists. How does your chosen theorist compare to Butler? On what fronts do they agree or disagree?