Judith Butler, Gender Trouble: In this landmark of third-wave feminism, Judith Butler advances a novel conception of gender identity. Against the prevailing tradition that presupposes gender to be fixed, binary, and implicitly heterosexual, Butler exhibits its dynamic nature as a coercive social force, which maintains its power through the gendered performances of each individual. Gender Trouble is a call to reflect on the myriad ways we reinforce gender expectations in the performances of everyday life; it also reveals our capacity to resist oppressive norms through subversive action. [recommended by Steven Burgess, Benedictine University]