9 thinkers, books, and ideas connected to this field.
American poet and feminist theorist who wrote at the intersection of Blackness, womanhood, and lesbianism — one of the founding voices of intersectional feminism.
Gloria Steinem's 1978 satirical essay imagining a world where men menstruated — arguing that whatever the dominant group does becomes valorized, so menstruation would be treated as a sign of power and virility if men experienced it.
American philosopher who transformed feminist and queer theory with the concept of gender performativity — arguing that gender is not an expression of identity but a repetition of acts that constitutes the appearance of a stable identity.
American author who revolutionized science fiction and fantasy by centering anthropological imagination, gender theory, and anarchist political philosophy in genre fiction — producing works of lasting literary and cultural significance.
American author and activist who wrote at the intersection of race, class, and gender — critiquing mainstream feminism for its whiteness and developing a vision of love as a political practice.
Judith Butler's 1990 foundational text of queer theory — arguing that gender is not an expression of an inner essence but a performative achievement, constituted through repeated acts and citations of norm.
American anthropologist and feminist theorist — author of 'Thinking Sex' (1984), a foundational essay in queer theory, and 'The Traffic in Women' (1975), which introduced the sex/gender system concept.
Gayle Rubin's 1984 essay arguing for a value-neutral sociology of sexuality and the political defense of sexual minorities — a foundational text of queer theory and sex-positive feminism.
Kimberlé Crenshaw's analytical framework (1989) for understanding how multiple systems of oppression (race, gender, class, sexuality, disability) overlap and compound — rather than operating independently.