Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of Sex

Define performativity in Butler’s book Bodies That Matter, explaining its relation to agency. How does performativity contrast with essentialism, and how does Butler anticipate and maneuver around those counterarguments in the text?

Why does Butler insist on the relationship between sex and gender? In what aspects are the two terms similar, and how can they be understood through Butler’s theory of performativity?

How do discursive categories of identity, such as “women” and “LGBTQ+” function in society, and how does Butler think these categories can be strategically mobilized for political action?