Judith Butler states, in the bottom portion of page 10, that “Gender Trouble sought to refuse the notion that lesbian practice instantiates feminist theory, and set up a more troubled relation between the two terms.”
She further states that “lesbianism is not the erotic consummation of a set of political beliefs,” where she is referring to feminism, as a vast series of beliefs. These statements seem to call attention to what was an issue at the time of their writing, and what continues to be an active misconception, in the modern day. This is a fascinating topic, as it boils down to subconscious social reasoning that expands beyond just lesbianism and feminism, or sexuality and belief. But, regarding this specific instance, there is a tendency for “lesbian,” as an identity, to be innately tied to the assumption that one surely must self-identify with strong feminist beliefs. Often, this spans into various other presumed beliefs, political and philosophical, solely on the basis of an individual’s sexual orientation. There is certainly a norm (as a large portion of lesbians do identify with some form of feminism), but these descriptors (“lesbian” and “feminist”) are not intrinsically linked; assuming as such often leads to an idea that lesbians “choose” their orientation, as it is seen as a “product” of one’s feminist beliefs. Again, as described by Butler, lesbian identity is reduced simply to a logical “consummation” of one’s feminist values.
