Jennie Kermode

Okay, let's run throught the basics:-

In biologiy, 'male' means 'producer of comparatively small gametes'; female means 'producer of comparatively large gametes'. That's the only consistent distinction across species. There is no special meaning for humans.

'Man' and 'woman' are in fact the culturally constructed terms. We decide whether someone is a man or a woman based on a set of physiological characteristics including genital appearance, secondary sex characteristics, gonads, chromosomes, hormone levels and brain anatomy. It is important to note, however, that these characteristics do not always align neatly in the expected ways. Between one and four percent of humans are to some degree intersex.

So much for sex. Then there's gender, which may or may not also have its origins in physiological factors (neuroscience suggests that it certainly does in some cases). Like the sex characteristics mentioned above, gender doesn't always neatly align in the ways we'd expect.

Gender has been understood very differently across a range of human cultures over time. No contemporary scientist would claim that women are inherently more interested in shopping - any anthropologist could tell you that in some places that's a masculine behaviour. So in arguing that gender roles are performative, Butler is strongly supported by evidence from a variety of respected scientific disciplines. Her theory is not anti-scientific. It is based on observable evidence.

An earlier comment from The Sub was on the right lines, but was called out on claiming that gender is purely a social construct.