Who's Afraid of Gender? A Conversation with Judith Butler

Alara Adilow, a Dutch-Somali writer and poet, wrote one of the most remarkable debuts of recent years with her poetry collection Mythen en stoplichten (2022), winning the Herman de Coninck Prize and the C. Buddingh Prize. According to the jury report, "Alara Adilow blends raw and lyrical elements into a highly successful cocktail, rich in flavor, both bitter and sweet at the same time." Her work explores themes of identity, feminism, and societal issues. Her debut novel Kijk es naar, al dit licht is set for release in 2025, cementing her as a prominent voice in contemporary Dutch literature.

Margriet van Heesch is a Cultural Studies Scholar at the Department of Sociology, University of Amsterdam. She is dedicated to queer studies, feminist theory, and the Dutch intersex movement. She wrote a chapter for the book Critical Intersex (ed. Morgan Holmes Routledge 2016) and is the author of De kleine Butler (Atlas Contact 2024). She co-translated Butlers Who's Afraid of Gender? into Dutch (Ten Have 2024).

Sarah Bracke is Professor of Sociology of Gender and Sexuality at the University of Amsterdam. She is the principal investigator of the research project EnGendering Europe’s 'Muslim Question’ (Vici project, Dutch Research Council). She currently researches population replacement conspiracy theories and has recently edited, together with Luis Hernández Aguilar, The Politics of Replacement: Demographic Fears, Conspiracy Theories, and Race Wars (Routledge, 2024).

Jamil Fiorino-Habib is a researcher and lecturer in the Media Studies department at the University of Amsterdam specializing in the politics of aesthetics, temporality, and resistance. In tandem with their academic research, Jamil also works with a variety of grassroots collectives in the Netherlands where they help mobilize and organize political work centered around radical system change.

SPUI25 is the academic-cultural podium of Amsterdam. Since 2007, they have been giving scientists, authors, artists and other thinkers the opportunity to shine a light on issues that occupy, inspire or concern them. Their programming builds bridges between science, the arts and society.

Uitgeverij Ten Have specializes in books on philosophy, psychologie and religion. Their books cover concepts such as life and death, love, justice, and truth, all while remaining closely connected to everyday experiences.

Wie is er bang voor gender?
Judith Butler, de baanbrekende denker wiens iconische boek 'Gender Trouble' ons begrip van gender en seksualiteit een radicaal nieuwe inhoud gaf, analyseert in 'Wie is er bang voor gender?' de aanvallen op gender door rechtse bewegingen. Butler onderzoekt hoe gender een fantasma is geworden voor conservatief-religieuze groepen, opkomende autoritaire regimes, fascistische formaties en transuitsluitende feministen. In hun onverschrokken nieuwe boek roept Butler op tot het vormen van allianties en het ontwikkelen van een krachtig tegenbeeld waarin leven en samenleven, vrijheid, radicale gelijkheid en rechtvaardigheid aantrekkelijk worden in plaats van beangstigend.