Gender Trouble

Why it’s on the list: Judith Butler’s argument that gender is performative — constituted by repeated acts rather than expressing a prior inner identity — and the founding text of queer theory.

Where I heard about it

• Replies to @SpencrGreenberg — named, with its author, in the answers to his question “What non-fiction book taught you the most about how the world (or how humanity or society) really works?” (the thread, June 2025). The full list of replies is on A question for you — What non-fiction… (tweet).

Connections

• A question for you — What non-fiction… (tweet) — the thread this came out of; the full recovered list lives there.
• Language of Discourse — the portfolio idea this sits closest to.