Who's afraid of gender? | Judith Butler

Who's afraid of gender? | Judith Butler

From Philosophy For Our Times by IAI

May 19, 2026 · 41 min

About this episode

Judith Butler discusses the controversies surrounding gender identity in modern politics and offers insights from their upcoming book.

Why has gender identity become such a controversial talking point in modern politics? Judith Butler, pioneering gender theorist whose changed the way we think about gender and sexuality, explores the topic of their most recent book, Who's Afraid of Gender? (March 2024). Butler offers a compelling and powerful diagnosis of the anxieties and fears that make up today's wars over gender. In this talk, Butler will explore how, despite 'gender' being the most fraught issue of our times, there is still cause for hope. This timely and timeless intervention continues to imagine new possibilities for freedom and solidarity.  Judith Butler is Distinguished Professor in the Graduate School and formerly the Maxine Elliot Chair in the Department of Comparative Literature and the Program of Critical Theory at the University of California, Berkeley. They are most well-known for their ground-breaking book Gender Trouble (1990) and their theory of performativity. Don't hesitate to email us at  podcast@iai.tv  with your thoughts or questions on the episode! To witness such debates live buy tickets for our upcoming festival:  https://howthelightgetsin.org/festivals/ And…

People in this episode

Guest: Judith Butler

Topics covered

  • gender identity
  • politics
  • gender theory
  • sexuality
  • freedom
  • solidarity

Keywords

  • gender identity
  • Judith Butler
  • gender theory
  • politics
  • sexuality
  • freedom
  • solidarity

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of California, Berkeley

Books & works: Who's Afraid of Gender?, Gender Trouble

More episodes of Philosophy For Our Times

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Philosophy For Our Times podcast page.