Judith Butler Beside Oneself Summary

In her essay, “Beside Oneself: On the Limits of Sexual Autonomy”, Judith Butler addresses the topic of basic human rights and the problems facing them today. The essay touches on one main problem and the numerous effects of it. This problem is that not all people are receiving the same and equal human rights. According to Butler, basic human rights entail many things. Perhaps most importantly, as it connects to all the others, is recognition as a human and an equal. Without recognition as a human and an equal, one becomes unreal and loses access to being a human. To be recognized as a human means that that life is accepted. That life and individual are not considered less than or below others. When one is not recognized as a human, several things happen. Butler explains one when she says, “Certain lives are not considered lives at all, they cannot be humanized: the fit no dominant frame for the human, and their dehumanization occurs first, at this level” (Butler 120). This means that society fails to classify all lives as lives

In her essay, Butler asks, “What makes for a grievable life (Butler 114)?” With this question, Butler is suggesting that, according to society, not all lives are grievable. Although in her essay, Butler’s definition of grief and having a grievable life extends beyond death, death can be used to show how people are valued differently. For example, take a celebrity. Society places great value on celebrities. If a celebrity dies, their death is mourned with extravagant memorials and most of society mourns. However, take someone that society does not place much value on, such as a homeless person or an unborn baby. If a homeless person dies or an unborn baby is aborted, most of society is not bothered in the least and does not even bat an