Trouble at Every Turn: Christian Anthropologists Ponder Sex/Gender

Jesus declared to his disciples, "In this world you will have trouble" (John 16:33, New International Version). Trouble is a theme throughout Scripture; God's people suffer trouble, cause trouble, and seek God (or don't) during times of trouble. In most regards, Christianity may not connect easily with Judith Butler's philosophy, but she also sees the world as a place of trouble. In Gender Trouble she explicates ways that gender causes trouble, and not only because it is the site of problems including interpersonal and structural sexism, violence, misogyny and more. Taking a radical approach, going to the root, Butler "seeks to provoke critical examination of the basic vocabulary of the [feminist] movement of thought to which it belongs" (Butler 1999, vii). In her view, conceptual critique is a form of feminist self-criticism that supports the movement. It is often difficult to embrace self-criticism, or "immanent critique" (vii), because it may seem disloyal and likely feels unpleasant, but such foundational critique of the symbols we employ is precious and helpful.