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Judith Butler

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Philosopher

The Resume

    (February 24, 1956- )
    Born in Cleveland, Ohio
    Argued that gender is a product of actions and speech associated with a particular set of traits, creating an illusion that underlying natures exist
    Also argued that any attempt at censorship only increases what it prohibits and that hate speech is context-dependent
    Taught at Wesleyan University, George Washington University, Johns Hopkins, and University of California, Berkeley
    Writings include 'Subjects of Desire: Hegelian Reflections in Twentieth-Century France' (1987), 'Performative Acts and Gender Constitution' (1988), 'Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity' (1990), 'Imitation and Gender Insubordination' (1990), 'Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of 'Sex'' (1993), 'Excitable Speech: A Politics of the Performative' (1997), 'Precarious Life: The Powers of Mourning and Violence' (2004), 'Undoing Gender' (2004), and 'Giving an Account of Oneself' (2005)
    Co-wrote 'Contingency, Hegemony, Universality: Contemporary Dialogues on the Left' with Ernesto Laclau and Slavoj Žižek (2000)
    Served as chair of the OutRight Action International board
    Received Theodor W. Adorno Award (2012)

Why she might be annoying:

    She was described as 'too talkative in class' by her Hebrew school's rabbi, who had her study Jewish ethics as a form of punishment.
    Her argument on gender has attracted criticism from other scholars who argued that the body is a major part of identifying gender.
    She has called Hamas and Hezbollah 'progressive organizations on the Left', raising accusations of her support for them.
    She has also been accused of elitism because of her dense writing style.
    She was awarded first prize in the 'Bad Writing Competition' of Denis Dutton's journal 'Philosophy and Literature'. (1988)
    She supports the boycott against Israel.
    She turned down the Civil Courage Award of the Christopher Street Day Parade, claiming that its organizers were motivated by commercialism and failed to distance themselves from racism. (June 2010)

Why she might not be annoying:

    Most of her maternal grandmother's family perished in the Holocaust.
    She is a Fulbright Scholar who spent one academic year at Heidelberg University.
    She opposes demonizing men as enemies of women, claiming that it worsens gender inequality.
    She has been praised for giving new insights on several areas of study, particularly heterosexism, througg her research.
    She strives to prove people that Israel's actions don't necessarily reflect the opinion of all the world's Jews.
    She raises awareness of feminism, queer, gender-related issues, and war atrocities.
    When Israel's ambassador to Germany objected to her selection for the Theodor W. Adorno Award, she responded that her ideas are grounded on Jewish philosophical thought and that criticism of Israel doesn't equate to anti-Semitism.

Credit: Big Lenny


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 7 Votes: 14.29% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 24 Votes: 91.67% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 78 Votes: 51.28% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 82 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 13 Votes: 46.15% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 48 Votes: 52.08% Annoying