Gayle Rubin

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.

Two foundational contributions: (1) 'The Traffic in Women' (1975): introduced the concept of the 'sex/gender system' — the set of arrangements by which a society transforms biological sexuality into products of human activity and in which these transformed sexual needs are satisfied. This framework gave feminist theory a term for the social organization of sexuality and reproduction. (2) 'Thinking Sex' (1984): argued for a sex-positive feminism that defends the erotic rights of sexual minorities (including those vilified by mainstream feminism) and challenged the anti-pornography feminist politics of the early 1980s. Foundational for queer theory's break with some feminist politics.