This talk by Judith Butler may interest many here:

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Long way Around the Woodshed

BarbieLee's picture

If one drops in at the ten minutes thirty second mark she finally gets closer to the situation between sex, gender, transgender. I admire the lady for trying to define something that is akin to explaining what is the difference between mortal and immortal or religion and faith. Until one has an understanding gender is more than form, voice, looks, what is on top and between the legs, explanations are a wash. Explain astrophysics to a mechanic working on his car.
Let me see if I can bring a few more to understanding. Gender isn't between the legs, it begins in the brain. Can we admit male and female think differently, they solve problems differently. It's almost impossible to describe the difference mind set between male and female. Yet the majority want to define male and female by visual first and then possibly sex appeal second.
There are millions of things must go according to the schematic or blue prints when sperm meets egg and end up as a normal healthy baby boy or girl. Sometimes there is a glitch in the design either from a missing code in the DNA or it happens in assembly. Drugs, alcohol, etc. can cause an error in the perfect baby. Thalidomide caused thousands of deformed babies. Goggle "Babies born without" and look at all the birth defects of babies born without teeth, eyes, arms, etc. and it isn't thalidomide causing it now.
Because it isn't hanging out there for everyone to see, a male born with a female brain or a female born with a male brain escapes almost everyone. There are thousands of degrees between full no default males and full no default females. It isn't boobs or lack of a water weasel that defines a male or female. Try looking up a little higher than either and you might find the real person.
Hugs Alan
Barb
Looking back I realize I failed. They didn't care to understand.

Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl

Too technical?

Is her talk comprehensible by someone who is not a philosopher?

I once tried to read Gender Trouble, and couldn't get through the first paragraph. It used a lot of what appeared to be technical terminology which I couldn't really make sense of.

I later read someone else's retelling of what she was saying, and that made a fair amount of sense.