Who’s Afraid of Gender? A Conversation with Judith Butler

What does ‘gender’ mean today? How can we understand the increasing attacks on what conservative-religious groups, trans-exclusionary radical feminists, emerging authoritarian regimes, and fascists governments call ‘gender ideology’? How did we get here, and how do we move from fear to freedom?

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On Saturday 19 October, we welcome Judith Butler to share their thoughts on the meaning of gender on the occasion of their latest book release. In Who’s Afraid of Gender? (2024), Butler examines how anti-gender ideology movements use the phantasm of gender to undermine freedom, equality and justice for women, intersex, queer and trans people, and all of those who do not conform to gender norms. They uncover the violent and fear-driven reasoning, underlying the arguments and visions of these political movements, which perpetuate the myth that ‘gender’ threatens our society. Butler’s book calls on us to articulate counter-visions and practices that dismantle the phantasm of gender, envisioning a society that embraces complexity, where we learn to recognize and practice freedom from violence, radical equality, and justice as our best chance for collective survival.

Through their influential works, Judith Butler has shaped Gender and Queer theory and impacted discussions on war, violence, non-violence and human rights. These works include Gender Trouble (1990), Bodies That Matter (1996), Undoing Gender (2004), Frames of War (2009), Parting Ways: Jewishness and the Critique of Zionism (2012) and The Force of Nonviolence (2020).

Cultural studies scholar Margriet van Heesch and Professor of Sociology of Gender and Sexuality Sarah Bracke will join them to explore the ideas and fears attached to gender in our rapidly changing societies. The conversation will be moderated by Jamil Fiorino-Habib (Media Studies UvA) and writer and poet Alara Adilow will share a reading of her latest work.

This evening is a collaboration between Paradiso, SPUI25, and Uitgeverij Ten Have, offering a platform to discuss one of the most pressing contemporary topics. Ticket sale starts on 20 August at 13:00. There will be a few copies of Judith Butler’s Wie is er bang voor gender? for sale at the event or just order your copy here.

About the speakers

Alara Adilow, a Dutch-Somali writer and poet, wrote one of the most remarkable debuts of recent years with her poetry collection Mythen en stoplichten (2022), winning the Herman de Coninck Prize and the C. Buddingh Prize. According to the jury report, “Alara Adilow blends raw and lyrical elements into a highly successful cocktail, rich in flavor, both bitter and sweet at the same time.” Her work explores themes of identity, feminism, and societal issues. Her debut novel Kijk es naar, al dit licht is set for release in 2025, cementing her as a prominent voice in contemporary Dutch literature.

Margriet van Heesch is a Cultural Studies Scholar at the Department of Sociology, University of Amsterdam. She is dedicated to queer studies, feminist theory, and the Dutch intersex movement. She wrote a chapter for the book Critical Intersex (ed. Morgan Holmes Routledge 2016) and is the author of De kleine Butler (Atlas Contact 2024). She co-translated Butlers Who’s Afraid of Gender? into Dutch (Ten Have 2024).

Sarah Bracke is Professor of Sociology of Gender and Sexuality at the University of Amsterdam. She is the principal investigator of the research project EnGendering Europe’s ‘Muslim Question’ (Vici project, Dutch Research Council). She currently researches population replacement conspiracy theories and has recently edited, together with Luis Hernández Aguilar, The Politics of Replacement: Demographic Fears, Conspiracy Theories, and Race Wars (Routledge, 2024).

Jamil Fiorino-Habib is a researcher and lecturer in the Media Studies department at the University of Amsterdam specializing in the politics of aesthetics, temporality, and resistance. In tandem with their academic research, Jamil also works with a variety of grassroots collectives in the Netherlands where they help mobilize and organize political work centered around radical system change.

About the partners

Uitgeverij Ten Have specializes in books on philosophy, psychologie and religion. Their books cover concepts such as life and death, love, justice, and truth, all while remaining closely connected to everyday experiences.

Since 1968, Paradiso is a venue that welcomes youngsters, audiences and artists from Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Europe and the rest of the world. In the past decades Paradiso has become a pop venue, a club and a cultural center in one. Kosmos is Paradiso’s label for the type of programming that has occupied an essential space in Paradiso since its foundation, covering programs about art, literature, science, politics and society.