Judith Butler and Intersectionality

• Judith Butler

– Again, along with Foucault (and possibly Deleuze), one of the most important social theorists to emerge in the last 50 years, particularly for those examining questions of identity.

• She is particularly known for the idea of “performativity”, which fits well with theories that emphasize contingency of current situations instead of fixity (ie created and changeable instead of eternal and permanent), such as post-structuralism and queer theory.

• Defines gender (on 177) as “A corporeal style, an act which is both intentional and performative, where performative suggests a dramatic and contingent construction of meaning. Without acts, there would be no gender at all.”

• Intersectionality

– It is not a set “theory” about how the world works, but more an emphasis (that many scholars agree should be focused on) on how various processes that create difference work together.

Questions from Butler and Valentine

1. On pg. 172-173, what is the “regulatory coherence” of heterosexuality?

2. Starting on pg. 173, what does she mean that “identification” is “performative”?

3. On pg. 174, what does the “the displacement of the political and discursive origin of gender identity onto a psychological core” (eg the soul, an essence) preclude? If not in an inner “soul”, where does Butler locate the incorporation of gender?

4. Pg 175, what are the “three contingent dimension of significant corporeality”? Why does drag reveal the imitative structure of gender itself? Why is it a “parody of the very notion of an original”?

5. Are there consequences to not “doing gender right”?

6. Pg 179, Butler calls gender a “stylized repetition of acts” – why is repetition so important to Butler’s theory?

7. Pg 179 Where can the “possibilities of gender transformation” be found?

8. In what ways does not performing gender right (matching bodies, with identity, and performance) have consequences in the realm of sports?

9. What are some definitions of intersectionality mentioned by Valentine (pg 12)?

10. Why do her six stories about Jeanette demonstrate intersectionality? Why do those stories show that “space” matters in intersectionality?

11. What are some examples from the course that demonstrate the impacts of intersectionality in sports?