1. According to Ortner, what is the cause of women's universal subordination? Do you find her argument convincing? Why or why not?

2. What elements of her earlier analysis does Ortner come to question in "So, Is Female to Male as Nature is to Culture?" What does she mean by "structures," and how does she find these to be useful in thinking about gender?

3. Butler critiques the sex/gender distinction that has been central to much of feminist theory. What problems does she identify with this distinction? Do you find her analysis persuasive?

4. In advancing a theory of gender as performance, Butler writes, "There is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender; that identity is performatively constructed by the very 'expressions' that are said to be its results" (34). What does she mean? What, in your opinion, are the strengths and weaknesses of thinking of gender as a performance?

5. What are the distinctions between Butler's notion of performance and Bourdieu's idea of practice? Is gender, as Butler sees it, a kind of habitus?

6. What is Butler's analysis of Foucault? Do you agree with her?

7. What does Butler mean by "gender trouble"? What role do the concepts of drag and parody play in Butler's analysis?

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