Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of 'Sex'

'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.' - from back cover

Access level

Onsite

author

Judith BUTLER

publisher

Routledge (London, United Kingdom)

Location code

REF.BUJ2

Language

English

Keyword

cultural studies, body, gender, sexuality

Publication/Creation date

2011

No of pages

219

ISBN / ISSN

9780415610155

No of copies

Content type

monograph

Chapter headings

Introduction

Part I

Bodies That Matter

The Lesbian Phallus and the Morphological Imaginary

Phantasmatic Identification and the Assumption of Sex

Gender is Burning: Questions of Appropriation and Subversion

Part II

'Dangerous Crossing': Willa Cather's Masculine Names

Passing, Queering: Nella Larsen's Psychoanalytic Challenge

Arguing with the Real

Critically Queer

Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of 'Sex'

Citation

Rights statement

In Copyright

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