Judith Butler: Challenging the right, gender binaries, and Israeli settler colonialism

KPFA - Womens Magazine

Today we have a special show for fund drive co hosted by feminist Queer activists Kate Raphael and Rae Abileah, who will talk to Jewish Feminist Queer author, scholar and activist Judith Butler about two topics they have become famous for reshaping and making part of everyday discourse, that is gender and anti-zionism.

If somehow you are one of the few people who haven’t heard of American philosopher, gender studies scholar and anti zionist and Queer feminist activist Judith Butler they have written over a dozen books including their seminal book Gender Trouble which came out in 1990 and which shook up the academic and political world with her redefinition of gender. And they have been have been a major influence on political philosophy, ethics, and the fields of third-wave feminism,^[2] queer theory,^[3] and literary theory, and if they wasn’t enough they are also important to anti-zionist activist and Queer activists since to many in these movements they are a huge force in support of these movements. for Butler’s concept of gender as having been constructed they have been seen as a threat throughout the modern world — to national security in Russia; to civilization, according to the Vatican; to the American traditional family; to protecting children from pedophilia and grooming, according to some conservatives and by Zionist they are excoriated as a defender of Hamas terrorism and banned from Israel.

And to interview Judith Butler we are very lucky to have two experienced Queer activists, novelist, journalist, anarcha/feminist and queer activist and a long-time producer with KPFA’s Women’s Magazine Kate Raphael is co housing with social change strategist and ordained Jewish faith leader Rae Abileah and they will be leading our conversation with Judith Butler today . In the first half of the interview Kate Raphael will talk to Butler about their newest book on gender “Whose Afraid of Gender” that looks at the right wings utilization of gender to attack Queers, trans people and women. And in the second half of the show Rae will talk with Butler about her book “Parting Ways Jewishness and the Critique of Zionism” that came out in 2013 as well as her thoughts about anti-zionism today.

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