Judith Butler Quotes on Knowledge
Judith Butler is an American philosopher whose Gender Trouble made the performative theory of gender central to contemporary feminism, queer theory, and political thought. This page collects quotes attributed to Judith Butler on the topic of knowledge, drawn from across the philosopher's works.
Quotes
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“Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity" (1990)”
There is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender; that identity is performatively constituted by the very "expressions" that are said to be its results. -
“If the immutable character of sex is contested, perhaps this construct called ‘sex’ is as culturally constructed as gender; indeed, perhaps it was always already gender, with the consequence that the distinction between sex and gender turns out to be no distinction at all.”
Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity" (1990) -
“Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity" (1990)”
If the immutable character of sex is contested, perhaps this construct called ‘sex’ is as culturally constructed as gender; indeed, perhaps it was always already gender, with the consequence that the distinction between sex and gender turns out to be no distinction at all. -
“Gender is a kind of imitation for which there is no original; in fact, it is a kind of imitation that produces the very notion of the original as an effect and consequence of the imitation itself.”
Imitation and Gender Insubordination" in Inside/Out (1991) edited by Diana Fuss -
“Imitation and Gender Insubordination" in Inside/Out (1991) edited by Diana Fuss”
Gender is a kind of imitation for which there is no original; in fact, it is a kind of imitation that produces the very notion of the original as an effect and consequence of the imitation itself. -
“Indeed it may be only by risking the incoherence of identity that connection is possible.”
Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of "Sex" (1993) -
“Perhaps the promise of phallus is always dissatisfying in some way.”
The Lesbian Phallus and the Morphological Imaginary" (1993), later published in The Judith Butler Reader (2004) edited by Sarah Salih with Judith Butler -
“The Lesbian Phallus and the Morphological Imaginary" (1993), later published in The Judith Butler Reader (2004) edited by Sarah Salih with Judith Butler”
Perhaps the promise of phallus is always dissatisfying in some way.