An Analysis of Judith Butler's Gender Trouble

Butler's 1990 work shook the foundations of feminist theory and changed the conversation about gender. While many thinkers already accepted that "gender" was a category constructed by society defined by one's genitalia, Butler went further and argued that gender is performative--it exists only in the acts that express it. Society determines that wearing makeup is "feminine"--but some men wear makeup. Are they "women"? Following Butler's argument, they are if they say they are. Butler frees gender from the age-old binary construct and demonstrates that it is indefinable, at least by society. Her approach gives each of us the power to define our gender.