At OUTMemphis, we are celebrating Women’s History Month with a focus on LGBTQ women who have made radical change in the United States.Every week we will be highlighting an LGBTQ woman whose work has impacted the lives of LGBTQ people nationwide.
Spotlight: Judith Butler
Judith Butler (1956) is an American philosopher best known for her work in feminist gender theory and queer theory. She identifies as a lesbian woman, and her work has made it possible for people of all genders (and otherwise) to live genuine, out lives. Butler is credited with contributing to the theory of gender and sexuality as performative in her influential book: Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity (1990). Her work explores the dynamics of gender, sexuality, and race and has had a monumental impact on the academic world.
Currently, Dr. Butler serves on the board of the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York. She received the Andrew Mellon Award for Distinguished Academic Achievement in the Humanities from 2009 through 2013. She was also awarded the Brudner Prize from Yale University for “lifetime achievement in gay and lesbian studies”.
Learn more about Judith Butler: Wikipedia, The Nation, The New York Times, Open Culture
