Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free review copy! I loved reading Judith Butler’s work in grad school and am grateful we can continue to think through these theories and concepts through her work in the present. Compelling and interesting overall!

The legend themself, Judith Butler, is out with a new book combating the gender binary. They reinforce that the gender binary is a social construct, that it reinforces totalitarianism, capitalism, consumerism, destroys spirituality, and a tool of colonialism. While I agree with all of these sentiments, it does feel like Butler is preaching to the choir. This is a summary of the contemporary discourse on gender, which feels unnecessary for a brown queer nonbinary femme. This book is definitely made for a white audience.

thank you netgalley and fsg for the digital arc!

judith butler has written a crucial addition to the modern discourse on gender theory (as expected lol). in who’s afraid of gender, they expertly analyze the numerous right-wing anti-gender arguments that plague society and swiftly highlight their failings and logical missteps.

i don’t think this book is meant to change anyone’s mind. rather, this book is meant for anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of gender theory and the current barriers to expanding the modern conception of gender. butler really hones in on the intersectionality at play and how it can be nefariously exploited by terfs, fascists, and the like.

it’s so funny to me that the concept of gender studies has become a punching bag for the alt-right, demeaning those who study it and the entire subject itself. meanwhile, this is one of the most enlightening books i’ve ever read and would have loved to have an entire college course dedicated to dissecting it kore thoroughly.

i am really grateful to judith butler for their work in this field and for giving me their words. <3

This was actually my introduction to Butler’s work; based on other reviews and feedback, I’ve concluded that maybe this isn’t the best place to start…
I enjoyed reading their takes and there’s a lot of potential for me to really enjoy some of Butler’s older books. This one revolves around gender theory, which is what they’re known for, but this one felt less philosophical and more like infodumping. I feel like anyone reading Butler’s work already agrees with their opinions, as they’ve been using non-binary pronouns for quite some time. The takes on gender here are obviously modern but the ideas aren’t really anything special or groundbreaking, and we don’t really get any exploration on the opposing sides of Butler’s very liberal stances.
I’ve heard from others that this is a more watered down version of Butler, perhaps on autopilot, but this made me very curious to check out their iconic previous works.

Resolves a lot of the misconceptions about gender identity that TERFs like to use to scare people from supporting transgender folks.

Judith Butler is known for their work in gender theory, criticism, and activism. They have long established their ethos, and this book is in some ways a much-needed departure into the accessible and mass market - this is a supremely well-researched, argued, and written book on the current state of gender and anti-gender philosophy in contemporary politics. This is a masterful work of rhetoric and should be heralded as such.

I have found that this is an incredibly difficult book to review, partially because it was an incredibly difficult book to read. This is definitely not for the casual reader and requires a lot of thinking, pausing, and rereading. This isn't my first time reading Butler, and I can say this is always my experience reading their writing. I can't imagine going into this book without any background in feminist theory and being able to take anything away from it. It is difficult and academic, sometimes overly so.

That said, this book is so important, especially given the anti-gender climate today. Butler ties this issue to a plethora of historic and contemporary social issues in an interesting, powerful way, showing how hypocritical certain things are and how interconnected different forms of oppression are. Some of these connections didn't hit the mark for me, but overall, it was an intricate, interesting web that I am glad I fought my way through.

Who’s Afraid of Gender is a truly fantastic book. It closely examines the various (often interconnected) groups of individuals who oppose gender freedom & rights — those of women & transgender individuals alike. Whether it’s for religious, political, or simply “radical” feminist reasoning, Butler dedicates a lot of study to these ideologies of hatred.

To be clear: this is not a guidebook for how to combat the lies and harms done by these individuals. (Butler’s only real advice seems to be that we must rally together against everyone’s oppression; a sentiment that is already very familiar amongst leftist circles.) Rather, the focus is on diving deep into these ideologies — including the way that hypocritical and contradicting arguments are used as a tactic to further confuse and scare large groups of people.

I think many folks (myself included) often hope that there is some magical set of words that we could say to stop the escalating hatred towards the trans community. If we could explain the science in the right way, or if we could tell a story that engages with a person’s empathy for other humans… we could change minds. But Butler challenges this notion, pointing out the larger systems that have been using fear as a way to protect patriarchy and capitalism for years. This goes SO much deeper than the recent onslaught of bills against reproductive rights and LGBTQIA+ communities that we’ve seen in the last few years. And this is happening nearly worldwide.

My only complaint about this book is that (like much academic theory) it is very inaccessible. As someone with two bachelor degrees, who reads upwards of 100 books per year (many on sexuality & gender) and even facilitates “Transgender 101” trainings for groups of professionals… Who’s Afraid of Gender was a struggle. I was familiar with all the terms. I understood all the concepts. But still, the writing forcefully demanded all of my attention. Perhaps this is because I have never read anything else by Judith Butler — or any other career philosopher. But I believe that the “average” individual would be in the same position that I was while trying to claw my way through this work.

If you are already familiar with 101-level gender theory and are looking for a challenge, I cannot recommend this book enough. But don’t feel bad if you need (or even just prefer) something a bit less dry.

Thanks to NetGalley and FSG for the ARC of this title.

This was dense, but never impenetrable, and while heady, stays readable rather than veering academic. There's a lot of really good food for thought here as Butler walks through the various groups turning the concept of "g e n d e r" into a boogeyman for larger issues and worries over heteronormative power.

I don't think this is necessarily aimed at me, but it's absolutely the sort of book anyone like me who considers themself an ally _should_ read.

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.”

This was disjointing. I went in to this expecting it to be a far more digestible version of Butlers work which is famously dense.
It read far more like an academic paper filled with elitist jargon and sentiment that is difficult to digest without context.
Some of the ideas were really strong and it was incredibly interesting but overall it needed a good edit and simplification.
I appreciate her work and understand its importance but it is simply too hard for a non-academic audience to read.

Who's Afraid of Gender? is the fantastic Judith Butler's newest book. As to be expected with a Butler title, this book is thought-provoking and interesting, but also dense and academic. Butler discusses the anti-gender ideology of the Right, both here in America and in a number of countries abroad. They discuss the Vatican, evangelical Christianity, and TERFs as some of the many entities that are afraid of gender and seek to use "gender" to deflect attention away from real world problems, such as climate change and authoritarianism.

While this book is thought-provoking and the subject matter is timely and interesting, the complex academic writing could be difficult for some readers. This book would most appeal to those who are already familiar with Butler and/or willing to take the time to grapple with the challenging text.

Who's Afraid of Gender explains how the fearmongering around gender have roots in racism, fascism, misogyny, etc. Butler also explains how the Vatican, politicians, and TERFs use that to voice their "concerns" and spread misinformation. I found this book easier to read than Gender Trouble, but it could still be a bit difficult for a general audience. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more or is confused by why there are suddenly a lot of people using the term "gender ideology".

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance e-book copy in exchange for a review. I’ve really been looking forward to this book!

Who’s Afraid of Gender? helped tie together a lot of threads I’ve been trying to puzzle out surrounding the growing anti-trans movement, and how it relates to other current political movements. I’ve witnessed a surge in the use of the phrase “gender ideology,” but what exactly is meant by this phrase? When groups and individuals proclaim that they are against “gender ideology,” what does that encompass for them, and what are the larger implications of this being taken on as a political stance?

In this succinct read, Butler clearly lays out the reasons behind the current political hysteria surrounding the word and concept of “gender” and identifies who the groups fueling this hysteria are as well as their collective motivations. It’s certainly worth noting that many of these same groups also tend to be anti-gay marriage, anti-miscegenation, and anti-choice.

These groups have pushed the discourse surrounding sex and gender to full blown conspiracy-theory level accusations that humanity is on the brink of destruction, and it’s all the fault of gender studies departments and trans people. Butler uses the word “phantasm” to describe this phenomenon and the larger set of untrue beliefs these groups wish to push.

The title Who’s Afraid of Gender?, a riff on the 1962 play “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” is likely referencing the idea of creating a phantasmic world in which reality is twisted to avoid acknowledging certain truths. The play develops around a couple’s refusal to face a certain reality, choosing instead to create a false fantasy or phantasm to exist within instead. This reversal of reality can be observed in the way anti-trans groups use language like “pro-family” and “pro-religious freedom” in order to justify taking away rights and protections for marginalized groups.

As Butler points out, throughout history and across cultures there have been many different ways of creating and organizing families and creating kinship ties that are outside of a strict nuclear family setting. Yet, in the anti-”gender” phantasm, families made up of same sex couples, muli-adult families, and interracial families, are framed as an affront and a direct threat to the idea of family itself.

In another example, Butler points out how the Catholic Church has accused people living outside a strict heterosexual and gender binary of being deviants, and in the extreme of being sexual predators. Yet, it is the Catholic Church itself that has paid out billions in legal compensation to the victims of its own legacy of sexual abuse. In reality, it has been women’s rights and LGBTQIA+ leaders and groups who have advocated for the right to consent to and/or refuse sex, as well as advocating on many other issues related to bodily autonomy, especially when it comes to sex and gender minorities and underclasses.

Butler demonstrates this kind of reversal over and over again with the various claims increasingly leveled at anyone loosely associated with the word “gender”.

The book also addresses the seemingly contradictory nature of the emergence of anti-trans ‘feminism.’ These groups have, in the name of women’s rights, allied themselves with far-right groups, despite the fact that they wish to restrict women’s rights in addition to trans people’s rights. Butler urges those who believe in democracy to pay attention to how this phantasm manifests in the form of authoritarian laws aimed at curtailing freedoms deemed “excessive.”

At the end of the book Butler offers hope in the form of urging the formation of alliances across various left-wing groups. “Even if we cannot put our differences aside, we should carry them along, quarreling as we forge a solidarity for the future…”

I might also add that as someone who has a parent living in ‘the mirror world’, this book struck a personal chord. As I try to make sense of all the various conspiracy theories that have been repeated by my parent over the past several years, this book helped explain why and how our interactions have come to be tinged with a particularly toxic kind of transphobia. On that note I am grateful for the insights Judith Butler offers as I continue to strive for understanding.

Butler at their most materialist! This was a lucidly written, if not super original, investigation of “gender,” the phantasmagorical destroyer of nations as mobilized by right-wing movements around the world. Butler suggests that neoliberal immiseration, exacerbated by climate change and resulting emigration crises, has led to the weakening of social ties and the retreat of the welfare state, leaving the family as the only remaining social safety net. “Gender,” a catch-all phrase that encompasses feminist, queer, trans, and anti-racist movements, arises in the conservative imagination as that which unsettles the traditional family just when the family is called upon to support every aspect of the ongoing and worsening global multi-crisis. In the process, the right projects its own hostility and apocalyptic fantasizing upon marginalized groups arguing for freedom, recruiting the state to strip them of their hard-won liberties.

Butler rehearses their argument across a series of logically connected chapters, among them critiques of the Vatican’s reproductive ideology (and its exporting of that ideology around the world), Trump’s Supreme Court, British TERFs, maintaining the nature/culture split, and translating “gender” and all its historical and social affordances into other languages (which reveals, ultimately, gender’s hopeless parochialism). Overall, these chapters scratch the surface of their individual topic clusters but they never reach the wealth of detail and analysis of journalistic or pop feminist writing. Butler remains a philosopher first and foremost.

My favorite parts of the book were those where Butler reveals themselves to be a scientifically literate materialist (I don’t care if it’s just to appease people like me or if their conversion is “real”) as well as the chapter on the imperialist history of gender dimorphism. Butler didn’t go as far as I wanted them to go on the (probably violent) history of sexual dimorphism itself, but the book felt like a timely and detailed snapshot of today’s political landscape. Butler’s call for radical coalition-building is urgent and necessary.

Ultimately, though, I wonder who this book is for—who is supposed to heed Butler’s call for linking gender with anti-capitalist activism? People who are willing to read Butler from cover to cover will agree with them on most of their salient points and find themselves equally distressed at the social and ecological fabric coming apart. Butler themselves point out in the introduction that education, reading, and understanding are insufficient bulwarks against the social disruptions that likely lie ahead. So, is this a book meant to invite coalitional commiseration? Where is the vision? What do we DO???

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

REVIEW

I’m a bit ashamed to admit this was the first of Butler I’d read. I’ve been meaning to read Gender Trouble for ages (despite the fact it is a little outdated, as Butler themself admits), but haven’t managed to get around to it yet.

That said, I feel Who’s Afraid of Gender? is a book that anyone interested in the emerging authoritarian right-wing movement globally needs to read. Butler’s discussion of gender as a phantasm is a really useful tool for discussing the weaponization and demonization of gender broadly. In their acknowledgements, Butler discusses the scholars who helped them with this book–even without seeing the list of names, though, it was very clear that this text was written with real nuance and care and conversation with a global scholarly community.

Butler breaks down the mass of the gender phantasm, examining the ways different institutions and movements utilize contradictions within the phantasm as ways to displace very real fears about war, cultural change, the climate, and colonialism onto vulnerable populations.

My personal favorite chapter was “Foreign Terms, or the Disturbance of Translation Conclusion: The Fear of Destruction, the Struggle to Imagine.” I’m someone who loves talking about and thinking about language and translation, so this chapter was right up my alley. Butler discusses the interaction of language and gender as an English/Western construction that exists as both a colonialist and anti-colonialist concept. They also question the very act of gendering as an act of translation--how do we translate ourselves to each other? How do we translate the performance of others? And how does our translation of that performance change over time and context (and, yes, language)?

If you want answers for any of this, you won't get it here. With Who's Afraid of Gender?, Butler is more interested in examining the construction and weaponization of the gender phantasm. The only 'answer' offered is the only one that I think is necessary for this text: a call for broad coalition that encompasses everyone who fights for equity and against injustice.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Who’s Afraid of Gender? is a vital crossroad that I see as becoming a new cornerstone in how we discuss gender as a political, social, and cultural phenomenon.

That said, it is nonfiction written by a scholar. That means the text can be difficult to get through at times, even if you are someone who does like academic writing. Be prepared to possibly have to look up a lot of terminology.

Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux for providing a digital ARC via Netgalley. If you are interested in Who’s Afraid of Gender?, the book releases 19 March 2024.

Find more information from the publishers [https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374608224/whosafraidofgender]. If possible, support indie bookshops by purchasing the novel from your local brick and mortar or from Bookshop.org!

It took me a long time to read this book because it made me think, and also because I was trying to read it at the same time I was going through my first semester of grad school. I ended up having to take notes as I read because I knew a lot of what Butler was saying would come in handy later. This is a very thoughtful, well-put together book. I've complained about Butler's tendency to write five pages when a sentence would do before, but I didn't find I had the same complaint with this book - each part was there purposefully.

It's a very good book if you want to think more, and learn more, about why people have been so deeply weird about gender in recent years, or if you're a big gender and/or social forces of society nerd. A very specific book, but one that is extremely worthwhile when you need something that drills down into specifics.

It was difficult to rate this book. I had never read Judith Butler's work before but was very interested in this one, as it approches some major and actual themes.
Globally, I appreciated it and learned a lot about the moral panic around gender. However, I found it quiet difficult to understand sometimes and it is clearly too difficult for general audience. Which is a shame, as it would be more beneficial to those readers than people who are already familiar with gender studies.

5 stars

It seems like there are two camps of readers who will come to this text: Butler's preexisting acolytes (*raises hand faster than Tracy Flick*) and Butler's detractors. I can't speak to what the latter gets out of this, and I also...don't care.

Butler's work was part of my scholarship throughout all of my undergraduate and graduate coursework, it's foundational in the college courses I've been teaching for decades, and it has helped me better understand the world at large. For obvious reasons, I came in with high expectations, and I'm feeling fulfilled.

Butler answers their titular question, and they also provide a lot of context for where we are now and how we got here. I got a lot of out of this, but the most important benefit is the counteracting of so much gaslighting. I'm fortunate to be mostly in environments where that's not happening, but I still live in this society, where a lot of the issues Butler digs into here are the subject of constant f***ery, and there's only so much of that one can take before they start asking what the heck is even going on anymore.

So, Butler is showing up here not only with a well devised exploration of the central subject but also with some important, grounding reminders from the premier expert. It turns out there are still some folks afraid of gender (*sighs forever*), but Butler is still here to help the rest of us keep fighting for the obvious: basic human rights. I'm not sure there's a higher endorsement available.

This is - as anticipated - more foundational content from one of the greatest theorists of our time.

Major thanks to NetGalley and FSG for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts:

*DNF

Not in the proper headspace for this and won't be until I find myself in the classroom where this is assigned.

Strong in its introduction with "left good, right bad" with guarded language, I wasn't eased into this with the kind of welcome that I thought the queer community was supposed to provide. I get it. Our people are hurt. Especially for those whose voices are lost to a government that ceases to acknowledge the rights of minorities. But with Aunt Charlie's or Mood Ring, or any used bookstore in the Castro or Hillcrest, we come welcome with open arms. Here the arms are folded across the chest, wanting not to create a space for communication. It's really just a campus soapbox to loop in echo chambers.

Given that this is being released in election year, I see no use in staying guarded. I'm here to talk. I'm here to have a conversation. I'm here to form community. Given opposing views, I'm here to really sit with the people and talk through with what we can do to keep people safe.