Week 11 Reading on Judith Butler

In this article, Judith Butler questions the idea of theorizing homosexuality and categorizing identity. She says “identity categories tend to be instruments of regulatory regimes, whether as the normalizing categories of oppressive structures or as the rallying points for a liberatory contestation of that very oppression.” She does not completely disagree with the idea of categories but raises the question of what their purpose may be, and whether having these categories allows for any sort of individuality.

At another place she says “I’m permanently troubled by identity categories” explaining that these distinctions seek to control, rather than liberate, the people that may identify with these labels. 

She also does not understand the meaning of “theory” in context of gay/lesbian theory because she believes that this term is used by those looking to establish themselves and authenticate gay/lesbian studies within “the academy” as she puts it.

An important point Butler makes is whether sexuality can remain such once it falls prey to these labels. She wonders what is common between lesbians, and criticizes the idea of ‘coming out.’ According to her, ‘coming out’ would mean fighting some sort of oppression, or admitting to something. She also asks what exactly you are “coming into,” and whether it is just another opaque realm with little room for individuality.

“Why is it that the category becomes the site of this ethical choice” she asks.

Following up these claims, she presents her personal experiences and struggles with these identity categories that better illustrate her beliefs.

Butler also analyzes the dofferent psychoanalytic explanations for identification. She addresses the theories of Borch-Jacobsen and Ruth Leys in particular, who say that identity is that which is ‘other to itself.” What this means is that distinction of self/other is not just external but they are intertwined; the self is defined through the other. Finally, Butler says that heterosexuality often presumes gender to be implied through sex; however, acknowledging that sexuality may often work against identity and sex is a necessary step in understanding its implications for each individual.