Book Review: Who’s Afraid of Gender? by Judith Butler

Gender studies, especially in how it pertains to members of the LGBTQIA+ community, has become a very volatile subject around the world in recent years. Judith Butler, a professor at UC Berkeley and an author of several academic books including 1990’s Gender Trouble, has taken it upon themself not to try and define “gender” but instead to take a closer look at what is behind the various movements opposed to it and what their aims might be. It’s a lot to tackle in a relatively small book, but Butler proves to be largely successful.

They take an in-depth look at the different tactics that various right-wing groups use to try to demonize anyone who exists outside of their preconceived notions of gender norms and provide examples of how they are often derived from a misunderstanding of history, usually done in service of maintaining a preferred power structure. They posit that some of the most vociferous groups and individuals attacking modern ideas around “gender” are all too eager to blame it, along with other allegedly “woke” notions, as the root cause of all of society’s ills, making the notion into a convenient “phantasm” towards which they can direct their fears and hatreds.

Butler is impassioned and convincing in their points and has a plethora of citations to back up their statements, including work by anthropologists, sociologists, and doctors. While this is allegedly their most “accessible” work, most will probably find it rather dense and academic in tone, sometimes being a lot to get through. The insights provided here are worth the work however, especially as they build towards their ultimate point that we must not allow ourselves to succumb to the fears stoked by those who would turn us against each other in their own pursuit of authoritarian power, but instead, “[should] show we are on the side of livable life, love, and freedom, making those ideals so compelling that no one can look away.” ★★★★