Flexner Book Club Blog

2011 Mary Flexner Lecturer: Judith Butler

October 27, 2011
by Sara Alcid
Comments Off on Rachel Maddow and Judith Butler’s Critique of “the Shiny New Gay Citizen”

Rachel Maddow and Judith Butler’s Critique of “the Shiny New Gay Citizen”

Earlier this month, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow expressed skepticism regarding the value of the inclusion of gays and lesbians in the institution of marriage.  “I feel that gay people not being able to … Continue reading

October 13, 2011
by Sara Alcid
Comments Off on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and Masculinity as Repudiated Homosexuality

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and Masculinity as Repudiated Homosexuality

Many approaches to Gender and Sexuality Studies encourage us to divorce gender from sexuality, so while reading “Melancholy Gender/Refused Identification,” it felt somewhat “illegal” to be examining them in a way that considered them to be co-defining.  Of course, throughout … Continue reading

September 30, 2011
by Sara Alcid
Comments Off on The Imperatives of Pornography: Realizable Fourteen Years Later?

The Imperatives of Pornography: Realizable Fourteen Years Later?

Having previously read MacKinnon’s work on pornography in relation to how liberalism undermines women’s rights, I was pleased to see Butler address MacKinnon’s theories in “Burning Acts, Injurious Speech.”  As far as we know, in 1997, Butler disagreed with MacKinnon’s … Continue reading