Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of Sex (Routledge Classics) - Softcover

Butler, Judith

Softcover

ISBN 10: 041561015X ISBN 13: 9780415610155

Publisher: Routledge, 2011

Synopsis

In Bodies That Matter, renowned theorist and philosopher Judith Butler argues that theories of gender need to return to the most material dimension of sex and sexuality: the body. Butler offers a brilliant reworking of the body, examining how the power of heterosexual hegemony forms the "matter" of bodies, sex, and gender. Butler argues that power operates to constrain sex from the start, delimiting what counts as a viable sex. She clarifies the notion of "performativity" introduced in Gender Trouble and via bold readings of Plato, Irigaray, Lacan, and Freud explores the meaning of a citational politics. She also draws on documentary and literature with compelling interpretations of the film Paris is Burning, Nella Larsen's Passing,  and short stories by Willa Cather.

About this title

About the Author

Judith Butler is Maxine Elliot Professor in the Departments of Rhetoric and Comparative Literature and the Co-director of the Program of Critical Theory at the University of California, Berkeley. She is presently the recipient of the Andrew Mellon Award for Distinguished Academic Achievement in the Humanities.

From the Back Cover

In Bodies That Matter, renowned theorist and philosopher Judith Butler argues that theories of gender need to return to the most "material" dimension of sex and sexuality: the body. Butler offers a brilliant reworking of the body, examining how the power of heterosexual hegemony forms the "matter" of bodies, sex, and gender.

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 041561015X
• ISBN 13: 9780415610155
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256