Darlene writes:
> >
> > >Second, I do think that Butler's argument in the first fifty pages of
> > "Gender
> > >Trouble" reveals the inadequacy of the claim that "sexuality is
> > discursively
> > >produced, but...we have sexed bodies also."
>
> Which part of this claim seems inadquate to you?
> >
>
I assume this question was directed toward me, and not Jeff, since the original
claim is mine--or at least it's Butler's. There may be some confusion in the
formulation, because of the phrase "sexed bodies." In my original post I
followed the above quote by saying that, " Butler and Foucault agree that we
have "sexed bodies," but it is precisely discursive practices that "sex" those
bodies--and moreover (and this is Butler's real insight) there is no "sexing"
before the body." If I interpreted Jeff's position correctly, he claimed to
accept the idea that gender and sexuality can be discursively constructed while
still maintaining a body (with a sex) that exists and endures prior to this
discursive construction. It is at this originary "before construction" that
Butler takes direct aim. I can elaborate on this argument with a passage from
"Gender Trouble," but I don't have it with me right now.
Sam Chambers
University of Minnesota
> >
> > >Second, I do think that Butler's argument in the first fifty pages of
> > "Gender
> > >Trouble" reveals the inadequacy of the claim that "sexuality is
> > discursively
> > >produced, but...we have sexed bodies also."
>
> Which part of this claim seems inadquate to you?
> >
>
I assume this question was directed toward me, and not Jeff, since the original
claim is mine--or at least it's Butler's. There may be some confusion in the
formulation, because of the phrase "sexed bodies." In my original post I
followed the above quote by saying that, " Butler and Foucault agree that we
have "sexed bodies," but it is precisely discursive practices that "sex" those
bodies--and moreover (and this is Butler's real insight) there is no "sexing"
before the body." If I interpreted Jeff's position correctly, he claimed to
accept the idea that gender and sexuality can be discursively constructed while
still maintaining a body (with a sex) that exists and endures prior to this
discursive construction. It is at this originary "before construction" that
Butler takes direct aim. I can elaborate on this argument with a passage from
"Gender Trouble," but I don't have it with me right now.
Sam Chambers
University of Minnesota