Analysis of Juthith Butler´s Besides Oneself: On the Limits of Sexual Autonomy

818 Words2 Pages

Are we really humans? What is the definition of a Human being? What makes us Humans? Society is so complicated that anything can be true these days. In Judith Butler’s essay, “Besides Oneself: On the Limits of Sexual Autonomy”, she talks about how humans are vulnerable to life around us socially and physically, and humans are dependable on others. She also uses examples such as grief to define who we are because when humans go through the grief process it reveals who that person really is and it can change that person forever in. Some people go through the grief process differently because it affects everyone. Losing someone close to you can change your prospective about life and how you look at things. We live in a country where everyone is going to be judged and looked at differently no matter what gender a person is. In certain countries such as the U.S, people discriminate against others to a certain extent based off their gender, race, and sexuality. Butler states that “to be a body is to be given over to others even as a body is “one own,” which we must claim right of autonomy” (242). Gays and Lesbians have to be exposed to the world because some of them try to hide their identity of who they truly are because they are afraid of how others are going to look at them. There are some who just let their sexuality out in the open because they feel comfortable with whom they are as human beings and they don’t feel any different than the next person. The gender or sexuality of a human being doesn’t matter because our bodies’ will never be autonomous because it is affected by others around us. This is where humans are vulnerability to violence and aggression. In countries across the globe, violence and attack are drawn towards tran... ... middle of paper ... ...mans that we are today. Loving and supporting others no matter of your likings is the nature of life. Being violent and showing hate towards others is also part of life, unfortunately. Humans are vulnerable to the world socially and physically. There is no correct answer what actually makes humans normal. Everyone is normal in their own way and no matter what a person do, there will always be others that will judge you and find any way possible to dislike you. That’s why a person needs to be themselves and do what make them happy because nobody is perfect. Humans being humans is what makes life livable and dependable and humans dependable. Works Cited Butler, Judith. "Besides Oneself: On the Limits of Sexual Autonomy." Ways Of Readers An Anthology For Writers. Ed. Davis Bartholomae and Anthony Petrosky. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 240-257. Print.

Show More
Related

  • The Stonewall Riots

    1224 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the past decades, the struggle for gay rights in the Unites States has taken many forms. Previously, homosexuality was viewed as immoral. Many people also viewed it as pathologic because the American Psychiatric Association classified it as a psychiatric disorder. As a result, many people remained in ‘the closet’ because they were afraid of losing their jobs or being discriminated against in the society. According to David Allyn, though most gays could pass in the heterosexual world, they tended to live in fear and lies because they could not look towards their families for support. At the same time, openly gay establishments were often shut down to keep openly gay people under close scrutiny (Allyn 146). But since the 1960s, people have dedicated themselves in fighting for

    Read More

  • Stereotypes In Judith Butler's Besides Oneself?

    1456 Words  | 3 Pages

    Stereotypes have become a socially accepted phenomena in today’s society. So socially acceptable, in fact, they have made it onto advertising billboards and into our daily language. We do not think twice as they pass our tongues, and we do tilt our heads in concern or questioning as they pass into our ears. In Judith Butler’s essay “Besides Oneself: On the Limits of Sexual Autonomy”, stereotypes are exposed and explored. Especially stereotypes pertaining to sexual orientation. Butler explains how stereotypes are unacceptable. She does this in a way which allows her to concurrently explore what it means to be human, and also what humans do or need to make Earth a livable place for ourselves. When examining Butler’s essay, one could say, and

    Read More

  • The New Civil Rights By Kenji Yoshino

    1528 Words  | 4 Pages

    All human beings are born with genes that are unique to them and make us the individuals we become. The right to exist as an individual in society achieving the best possible potential of one’s existence irrespective of any bias is expected by most humans. In the essay, ‘The new Civil Rights’ Kenji Yoshino discusses how the experience of discovering and revealing his sexual preference as a gay individual has led to him proposing a new civil rights by exploring various paradigms of the rights of a human being to exist in today’s diverse society. In exploring the vast demands of rights ranging from political or basic human rights we have differentiated ourselves into various groups with a common thread weaving through all the demands which

    Read More

  • Hate Crimes Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, And Transgender Individuals

    1191 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals people make up more than ten percent of the population; that means if you are sitting in a classroom of thirty, then more than three of those people are LGBT individuals. However, this overwhelmingly large minority group continues to be one of the least protected by the government as well as most heavily targeted by discrimination and hate crimes. Regardless of the powerful shift in public opinion concerning LGBT individuals during the last twenty years, the laws concerning hate crimes have remained invariable.

    Read More

  • Discrimination In Paris Is Burning

    2078 Words  | 5 Pages

    Discrimination has always been prominent in mainstream society. Judgments are quickly formed based on one’s race, class, or gender. The idea that an individual’s self-worth is measured by their ethnicity or sexual preference has impacted the lives of many Americans. During the early colonial period, a social hierarchy was established with white landowners at the top and African-American slaves at the bottom. As equality movements have transpired, victims of discrimination have varied. In the late 1980’s when Paris is Burning was filmed, gay rights were still controversial in society. The lack of acceptance in conventional society created hardships in the lives of transgender women and gay men.

    Read More

  • The Spark of the Stonewall Riot

    1756 Words  | 4 Pages

    For many generations, especially in North America, homosexuality was not accepted in any way, shape, or form. Many believed that it was a medical illness that was curable, when in reality, people were, and still are, ignorant and could not come to terms that everyone in this world is different from one another. For many instances of being treated unjust, many individuals in the gay community did not want to “expose” themselves and remained in the “closet”. As means to make gays and lesbians proud and take a stand for who they are, a movement spread across internationally. This movement is known as “The Gay Liberation” movement which occurred between the late 1960s and the early to mid 1970s (“Gay Liberation”). The Gay Liberation movement urged individuals of the gay community to “come out,” revealing their sexuality to their loved ones as a form of activism, and to counter shame with gay pride (“Gay Liberation”). The Stonewall Riots are believed to have been the spark that ignited the rise of the Gay Liberation movement; it influenced the way the gay community is viewed socially and how their rights are politically present day.

    Read More

  • Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Issues - The Struggle of Sexual Minorities

    713 Words  | 2 Pages

    One group of people for whom the question of respect for diversity and individual freedoms comes into stark relief are those belonging to so-called sexual minorities. The struggle for acceptance by sexual minorities is almost universally undertaken in the face of strong and often even violent prejudice and misunderstanding.

    Read More

  • Legacy and Respect: The Usefulness of Feminism

    2043 Words  | 5 Pages

    Rubin, Gail. "Thinking Sex: Notes for a Radical Theory of the Politics of Sexuality." American Feminist Thought at Century's End : A Reader. Ed. Linda S. Kauffman Cambridge, Ma : Blackwell, 1993. 3-64.

    Read More

  • Gays on College Campuses and the Problems They Face

    698 Words  | 2 Pages

    In addition victimization can be more serious than verbal abuse or threats and some youth are the victims of a risen number of assaults and other hate crimes committed against gays and lesbians (Comstock, 1991; Herek, 1989 pg. 246). For college students who identify themselves as gay or lesbian, normative expectations of identity exploration render much more

    Read More

  • What Is The Difference Between Civil Rights Movement And The Civil Rights Movement

    997 Words  | 2 Pages

    The world as we know of it today has evolved over several decades of conflict. The conflicts have taken place due to many factions fighting for their rights. It began with African Americans wanting to be treated as equals. The Civil Rights became the theme of the 1950’s and continued for many years. More recently, there have been conflicts based on sexuality and gender preferences. The LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) Movement of today has changed and evolved over the last several decades just as the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s which gave African Americans the fight for racial equality. The similarities and differences of both movements are striking, and deserve thorough investigation.

    Read More

  • Besides Oneself: On the Limits of Sexual Autonomy

    1175 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...t?” (Butler Page 240). A human life is a human life. We are all made the same way and we all of the ability to make choices, we have an ability to learn, and to adjust to uncomfortable situations in order to maintain a mindset without prejudice. Society is as a whole is slowly learning this aspect of acceptance of gays, lesbians, and transgendered people. Society is slowly creating laws for people of these sexual preferences in order to protect them.

    Read More

  • LGBT Related Hate Crimes

    639 Words  | 2 Pages

    Most states don’t have any laws against hate crimes based on gender identity or sexual orientation. According to police agencies, the third most frequent hate crimes are because of sexual orientation, after race and religion (C). Additionally, US News and World Report found that one in seven teens are targets for bullying because they are, or are assumed to be gay (A). Some sources indicate that at least 90 percent of LGBT related hate crimes go unreported (E). These crimes are almost always overly violent (B). For example, on October 7, 1998, Matthew Shepard was abducted, tied to a fence, and violently beaten with the butt of a pistol. He died in the hospital five days later (B). Only 15 states have laws protecting all LGBT individuals (F).

    Read More

  • Lgbtq Argumentative Essay

    729 Words  | 2 Pages

    Barack Obama once said, "When all Americans are treated as equal, no matter who they are or whom they love, we are all more free.” Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people are more likely to experience the threat of violence and harassment in their lifetime. They only get treated this way because they don’t have much rights as us. LGBTQ rights is what the people of that community try to fight for on a regular basis. The LGBTQ community goes through bullying, violence, and discrimination in bathrooms. These topics are not all they go through, but here are just some that the are the worst.

    Read More

  • Essay On Discrimination Against Lgbtq

    887 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the United States there are many types of people that are discriminated against, one of the types of people are people in the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer) community. There are quite a few people that are very much against the people that do claim a non hetero sexualuality. Some of these people say and do things to both harm LGBTQ people physically and mentally. There are also people who do not do these things, they are supportive and in some cases they do not care in the slightest. Nonetheless there are still LGBTQ people being discriminated against and discrimination is not okay.

    Read More

  • LGBT Community and Discrimination.

    1284 Words  | 3 Pages

    When one hears the words “LGBT” and “Homosexuality” it often conjures up a mental picture of people fighting for their rights, which were unjustly taken away or even the social emergence of gay culture in the world in the1980s and the discovery of AIDS. However, many people do not know that the history of LGBT people stretches as far back in humanity’s history, and continues in this day and age. Nevertheless, the LGBT community today faces much discrimination and adversity. Many think the problem lies within society itself, and often enough that may be the case. Society holds preconceptions and prejudice of the LGBT community, though not always due to actual hatred of the LGBT community, but rather through lack of knowledge and poor media portrayal.

    Read More

More about Analysis of Juthith Butler´s Besides Oneself: On the Limits of Sexual Autonomy

Open Document