| 0:00 | Judith Butler might be |
| 0:01 | the most misunderstood |
| 0:02 | philosopher in the world |
| 0:04 | so I decided to read |
| 0:05 | as much of their work |
| 0:06 | as I could in one month! |
| 0:07 | Actually, I read it in like four months, |
| 0:08 | but YouTube videos need narrative now. |
| 0:11 | Butler has been writing for over 40 years |
| 0:13 | about a lot of things, |
| 0:14 | including gender. |
| 0:16 | If you've ever heard the idea |
| 0:17 | that gender is performative, |
| 0:19 | that's them! |
| 0:20 | Their work has also been the subject |
| 0:21 | of huge backlash, |
| 0:22 | like in 2017, |
| 0:24 | protestors in Brazil |
| 0:25 | burned an effigy of Judith Butler! |
| 0:27 | Philosophy doesn't usually get that spicy, |
| 0:29 | I must have missed |
| 0:30 | the effigy-making class during my degree! |
| 0:32 | Interestingly, the people |
| 0:33 | with the strongest reactions to Butler |
| 0:35 | often haven't understood |
| 0:36 | or even read their work, |
| 0:38 | and now they have a new |
| book about the backlash. |
| 0:41 | 'Who's Afraid of Gender?' |
| 0:43 | I've deliberately filmed |
| 0:45 | the bulk of this video |
| 0:45 | on a white void background |
| 0:47 | with minimal costumes, |
| 0:49 | kind of an old fashioned style |
| 0:50 | on YouTube these days, |
| 0:51 | but I wanted to get across |
| 0:52 | the idea that as controversial |
| 0:54 | as this stuff might be, |
| 0:55 | there's nothing hidden, |
| 0:57 | you're not committing yourself |
| 0:58 | to anything by hearing it, |
| 0:59 | it's just an invitation to listen |
| 1:01 | and consider a different point of view, |
| 1:03 | and really, |
| 1:04 | that's a skill we could |
| all do with practicing |
| 1:06 | because this philosophy has huge |
| 1:08 | real-world implications! |
| 1:10 | I was inspired to take |
| this research journey |
| 1:12 | when I read this article |
| in The Washington Post. |
| 1:14 | Students from EC Glass High School |
| 1:16 | in Lynchburg Virginia, |
| 1:17 | applied for a grant from 'It Gets Better', |
| 1:20 | a nonprofit dedicated |
| to kids' mental health, |
| 1:23 | and they got it! |
| 1:24 | They were awarded $10,000 |
| 1:26 | to put a chill-out room in their school, |
| 1:28 | a space with comfy chairs, |
| 1:29 | and relaxed lighting |
| 1:30 | to go if they're stressed. Nice! |
| 1:32 | But the school board sent the money back! |
| 1:34 | They said that if they took it, |
| 1:36 | students would have to watch |
| 1:38 | pro-LGBTQ videos, |
| 1:40 | which wasn't true. |
| 1:41 | 'It Gets Better' does focus on helping |
| 1:43 | LGBTQ kids, but the room |
| 1:45 | would've been open to anyone |
| 1:46 | and the grant had no requirements |
| 1:47 | about watching anything, |
| 1:48 | but the board wouldn't listen. |
| 1:51 | The board discussed this |
| 1:52 | for longer than they discussed |
| 1:54 | the literal closure |
| 1:55 | of two entire schools in their district! |
| 1:58 | And that stunned me. |
| 1:59 | A school board rejected |
| $10,000 of free money, |
| 2:02 | and talked about something |
| 2:03 | that isn't true for so long, |
| 2:05 | it impaired their ability to work?! |
| 2:07 | So what happened here? |
| 2:08 | Why couldn't they listen? |
| 2:10 | This polarisation is exactly |
| 2:13 | what Butler's interested in. |
| 2:14 | I'll take you through |
| their technical philosophy, |
| 2:17 | although really, |
| 2:18 | I wish I could just show you, |
| 2:19 | because I'm somebody whose mind |
| 2:21 | has definitely changed on these issues, |
| 2:24 | but it's not like I can |
| just go back in time, |
| 2:26 | and talk to my past-self! |
| 2:30 | [bell dinging] |
| 2:40 | - Oh my God, |
| 2:42 | these madeleines are amazing! |
| 2:48 | So, you're surprised? |
| 2:49 | - Yeah. |
| 2:50 | - Fair, but how surprised are you really? |
| 2:58 | [Abigail laughing] |
| 3:01 | - You look like mum. |
| 3:02 | - Right?! |
| 3:03 | - You sound different. |
| 3:04 | - Seattle Voice Lab, look 'em up. |
| 3:08 | [Deep voice] |
| I can turn it on and off whenever I want. |
| 3:10 | [Abigail laughing] |
| 3:12 | Oh my God, |
| 3:13 | so, in about three years, |
| 3:14 | we have to move flats, |
| 3:15 | and the internet contract is in your name |
| 3:17 | so when I call to cancel it |
| 3:19 | they won't talk to me, |
| 3:20 | and I have to say, |
| 3:21 | "Hang on a minute, I'll go get him." |
| 3:23 | and do your voice down the phone! |
| 3:28 | - How do mum and dad take it? |
| 3:30 | - Really well actually! |
| 3:32 | There's this nice moment |
| 3:33 | in about three years when you |
| 3:34 | and dad are gonna be out |
| 3:35 | (actually, I think you're |
| gone by this point, it's just me and him) |
| 3:38 | and we bump into some old family friends |
| 3:39 | and they're super awkward about it |
| 3:40 | and Dad's just like, |
| 3:41 | "Pfft, whatever. Their problem." |
| 3:42 | - He's not embarrassed? |
| 3:47 | - Why would he be embarrassed? |
| 3:49 | - Were you dressed like this? |
| 3:52 | - I dress however I want. |
| 3:55 | Dude, that's the whole point! |
| 3:57 | The whole thing is so liberating, |
| 4:00 | seriously, you are gonna love it. |
| 4:02 | Just the freedom to be who you wanna be. |
| 4:03 | - I don't wanna be like you. |
| 4:08 | - Why not? |
| 4:11 | Let's talk about femboys! |
| 4:13 | I began at the beginning, |
| 4:15 | Butler's 1988 paper, |
| 4:18 | 'Performative Acts & Gender Constitution', |
| 4:20 | one of the first things they ever wrote. |
| 4:23 | And right up top, |
| 4:24 | we should acknowledge |
| 4:25 | Butler's academic writing |
| 4:26 | can sometimes be pretty difficult, |
| 4:28 | and that's fair enough, |
| 4:29 | gender is a difficult subject: mine took me two attempts. |
| 4:33 | What made it click for me |
| 4:35 | is it reminded me of a friend, |
| 4:38 | who we'll call... 'F'. |
| 4:41 | 'F' is very cool, |
| 4:43 | clever, and funny, |
| 4:45 | and unpretentious, |
| 4:46 | the kind of person who turns up |
| 4:47 | to a fancy restaurant |
| wearing a trucker hat. |
| 4:50 | 'F' is also a femboy. |
| 4:52 | Femboys take on attributes |
| 4:54 | that are typically considered feminine, |
| 4:56 | but they are not |
| themselves women, usually. |
| 4:59 | Femboy is also a genre of online content, |
| 5:02 | 'F' dresses up like a girl, |
| 5:04 | and streams themself playing video games. |
| 5:06 | When I first met 'F', |
| 5:08 | I wondered, |
| 5:09 | "Is 'femboy' a gender?" |
| 5:13 | Well, it's less a thing that you are, |
| 5:15 | and more a thing that you do, |
| 5:18 | like a job. |
| 5:19 | And interestingly, |
| 5:20 | because the femboy aesthetic |
| 5:22 | is so shaped by online content, |
| 5:24 | to do 'femboy' in a way |
| 5:26 | that other people will recognise |
| 5:28 | requires you to adopt certain behaviours |
| 5:30 | and stylised practices |
| 5:32 | whose meaning is not determined by you. |
| 5:35 | You can't choose what the trends are, |
| 5:38 | what styles of makeup |
| 5:39 | or dress signal 'femboy', |
| 5:42 | you've gotta learn them |
| 5:43 | and do them |
| 5:44 | if you wanna be seen that way, |
| 5:46 | and 'F' works pretty hard at that. |
| 5:48 | If you're very clever, |
| 5:49 | you'll already have guessed |
| 5:51 | where this is going. |
| 5:52 | According to Butler, |
| 5:54 | all gender works that way! |
| 5:58 | In this paper, |
| 5:59 | they say that |
| 5:59 | gender is a thing we do |
| 6:01 | through repeated stylised acts. |
| 6:05 | Not a property, |
| 6:06 | but an embodied event. |
| 6:09 | Those acts get their meaning |
| from a social world |
| 6:12 | so, in a way |
| 6:13 | gender is also a thing that is done to us. |
| 6:16 | [Voice of F1NN5TER] "Gender is in no way |
| 6:18 | a stable identity or locus of agency |
| 6:20 | from which various acts proceed. |
| 6:22 | Rather, it's an identity |
| 6:24 | tenuously constituted in time, |
| 6:26 | an identity instituted |
| 6:28 | through a stylised repetition of acts. |
| 6:31 | Further, gender is instituted |
| 6:32 | through a stylisation of the body, |
| 6:34 | and hence must be understood |
| 6:35 | as the mundane way |
| 6:37 | in which bodily gestures, |
| 6:38 | movements, and enactments of various kinds |
| 6:40 | constitute the illusion |
| 6:41 | of an abiding gendered self." |
| 6:43 | - You're ridiculous! |
| 6:44 | - Says discount Tom Hiddleston?! |
| 6:46 | - Your face doesn't look like me anymore. |
| 6:48 | Did you get plastic surgery on my face?! |
| 6:51 | - Well, there's no plastic in me babes, I'm all natural! |
| 6:53 | - Artificial surgery makes |
| you natural, does it? |
| 6:56 | - At first glance, |
| 6:58 | Butler's ideas seemed |
| 6:59 | a little strange to me, |
| 7:00 | because we often talk |
| 7:01 | as if gender is an inner truth. |
| 7:04 | For example, when people change gender |
| 7:06 | and come out |
| 7:07 | we're often said to be |
| 'living authentically', |
| 7:10 | or 'being true to ourselves.' |
| 7:12 | Even the term 'coming out' implies |
| 7:14 | that there was an authentic self before |
| 7:17 | who was hidden. |
| 7:17 | But according to Butler |
| 7:19 | there might be no such thing. |
| 7:22 | It's not that I exist |
| 7:24 | and then I choose to perform gender |
| 7:26 | in ways that you will recognise; |
| 7:28 | I can't even form a concept |
| 7:29 | of 'I' without using gendered language |
| 7:32 | and stylised practices, |
| 7:34 | whose meaning exists prior to me. |
| 7:37 | Gender is one of the ways |
| 7:39 | that human subjects come into existence |
| 7:42 | (the technical term here |
| is 'subjectification') |
| 7:45 | and that process happens publicly. |
| 7:50 | Gender creates the illusion |
| 7:51 | of a private self |
| 7:52 | which exists before all of that |
| 7:54 | but this is just an illusion. |
| 7:57 | If a tree falls in the forest |
| 7:58 | and nobody's around to hear it |
| 8:00 | it has no pronouns! |
| 8:02 | Herein lies the distinction |
| 8:04 | between 'performative' |
| 8:06 | and 'performance', |
| 8:08 | which are often mixed up. |
| 8:10 | When people say 'gender is a performance' |
| 8:13 | they mean that people exist first |
| 8:15 | without gender |
| 8:16 | and then they put on costumes |
| 8:18 | or makeup or wigs the |
| way that an actor does, |
| 8:20 | but that's not what Butler is saying. |
| 8:23 | 'Performative' is a |
| technical philosophy term |
| 8:27 | for when you say something |
| 8:28 | and by saying it |
| 8:29 | you also do it. |
| 8:31 | For example, if you say |
| 8:33 | "I promise" |
| 8:34 | you say the words |
| 8:35 | and you make a promise. |
| 8:37 | If a judge says |
| 8:38 | "I sentence you" |
| 8:39 | they say it |
| 8:41 | and they do it. |
| 8:42 | When Butler says that |
| gender is performative |
| 8:45 | they mean it that way: |
| 8:47 | you do it |
| 8:48 | and you make it so, |
| 8:50 | and indeed by doing it |
| 8:52 | you are made so. |
| 8:55 | And people have made fun |
| of Butler for this idea: |
| 8:57 | I've seen people say, |
| 8:58 | "Oh, Judith Butler says, |
| 9:00 | 'You can just choose to |
| be any gender you want.' |
| 9:03 | Well, men could choose to be women, |
| 9:05 | and women can choose to be baboons, |
| 9:07 | and I can choose to be |
| an attack helicopter! |
| 9:09 | Ha-ha, how silly!" |
| 9:11 | But when I actually read their work, |
| 9:13 | I realised that's not what |
| they're saying at all. |
| 9:16 | Our very concept of ourselves |
| 9:19 | as gendered subjects |
| 9:20 | requires a social world: |
| 9:22 | we depend on others for |
| the recognition we need, |
| 9:25 | to become gendered subjects. |
| 9:27 | We can still make some choices, |
| 9:29 | wear whatever clothes or makeup you like, |
| 9:32 | but the meaning of those things |
| 9:34 | is not within our sole control. |
| 9:37 | People have been making jokes |
| 9:38 | like that about Butler for decades, |
| 9:41 | even though they addressed |
| 9:42 | this misunderstanding |
| in their first paper |
| 9:46 | in the first paragraph! |
| 9:49 | Almost like the people mocking them |
| 9:52 | aren't really listening... |
| 9:58 | Hmm. |
| 9:59 | - [Robin - JuicyGirlTV] |
| There is no volitional subject |
| 10:01 | behind the mime who decides as it were |
| 10:04 | which gender it will be today, |
| 10:06 | on the contrary, |
| 10:08 | the very possibility |
| 10:09 | of becoming a viable subject, |
| 10:11 | requires that a certain gender mime |
| 10:13 | be already underway. |
| 10:15 | - I didn't come back |
| here to argue with you, |
| 10:16 | I'm trying to help. |
| 10:17 | - I don't believe it, |
| 10:18 | it's a trick. |
| 10:19 | - You were born in Newcastle. |
| 10:21 | Your favourite food is Chinese. |
| 10:22 | Your first crush was named 'Flossie'. |
| 10:24 | - No, no. You could have tortured me, |
| 10:26 | and gotten that information. |
| 10:27 | - What?! |
| 10:28 | - Well, I don't know, |
| 10:29 | you could have gotten it |
| 10:30 | out on me somehow in the future! |
| 10:31 | - Just listen to me, |
| 10:32 | we're the same height, |
| 10:32 | we have the same eyes! |
| 10:33 | - Your body's completely different! |
| 10:35 | - Yes! That's the point! |
| 10:37 | - Human bodies can't change that much! |
| 10:39 | - WHATDOYOUMEEEAAANHUMANBODIESCANTCHANGE |
| - EVEN IF YOU ARE, EVEN IF YOU ARE! |
| 10:42 | - Let's talk about Kristen Stewart! |
| 10:44 | Next on my reading list |
| 10:45 | was Butler's famous 1990 book |
| 10:48 | 'Gender Trouble', |
| 10:49 | but it's pretty tough |
| 10:50 | and technical |
| 10:50 | so we could use a bit of a run-up. |
| 10:52 | We can actually start with this. |
| 10:56 | In March 2024 |
| 10:57 | actor Kristen Stewart |
| 10:58 | appeared on the cover of |
| Rolling Stone looking... |
| 11:01 | [silent lesbian noises] |
| 11:04 | In the interview |
| 11:05 | Stewart said- |
| 11:07 | - [Morgana Ignis] |
| "I wanna do the gayest f*****g |
| 11:09 | thing you've ever seen in your life. |
| 11:12 | If I could grow a little mustache, |
| 11:14 | if I could grow a f*****g happy trail |
| 11:18 | and unbutton my pants, I would." |
| 11:22 | - Later, at the Berlin Film Festival, |
| 11:24 | she added- |
| 11:25 | - [Morgana Ignis] "The |
| existence of a female body |
| 11:27 | thrusting any type of sexuality at you |
| 11:29 | that's not designed for, |
| 11:31 | or desired by exclusively |
| cis straight males, |
| 11:34 | is something people are |
| not super comfy with, |
| 11:37 | and so, I'm really happy with it, |
| 11:39 | I had a great time!" |
| 11:41 | - A lot of people think |
| 11:42 | that there's a difference between sex |
| 11:44 | and gender. |
| 11:46 | Sex is supposed to be the physical thing: |
| 11:49 | some combination of genes |
| 11:50 | or genitals or gametes |
| 11:51 | or maybe it's something in your brain |
| 11:53 | but it's there in the world |
| 11:55 | and gender is just what we do with it, |
| 11:57 | or at least that's how the story goes. |
| 12:01 | It might be helpful |
| 12:02 | to know something of the history |
| 12:04 | of that idea. |
| 12:05 | For millennia, male-dominated societies |
| 12:08 | exploited women |
| 12:09 | and justified it by claiming that |
| 12:11 | we are naturally inferior. |
| 12:13 | From Greek |
| 12:13 | and Roman philosophers saying that |
| 12:15 | women can't be educated |
| 12:16 | to Victorian doctors saying |
| 12:18 | that we are too emotional to vote, |
| 12:19 | to today, some people still say |
| 12:21 | women are by nature |
| 12:23 | not equipped to live as |
| equal members of society. |
| 12:26 | "Oh, she could never lead a nation. |
| 12:28 | What if she got her period, |
| 12:30 | and started a war?" |
| 12:32 | Misogyny has consistently |
| 12:33 | justified itself by appealing to 'facts' |
| 12:36 | about our bodies |
| 12:37 | that are simply made up. |
| 12:39 | If you'd like to know more |
| 12:40 | about the history of this practice, |
| 12:41 | then I really recommend |
| 12:44 | 'The Once & Future Sex' |
| 12:46 | by historian Eleanor Janega. |
| 12:48 | Into this context |
| 12:49 | comes French philosopher |
| 12:50 | Simone de Beauvoir, |
| 12:52 | whose landmark book 'The Second Sex' |
| 12:54 | comes out in 1949 |
| 12:56 | and opens with this sentence - |
| 12:58 | - [SpacedPlum] "One is not born, |
| 12:59 | but rather becomes a woman." |
| 13:02 | - de Beauvoir challenges this history, |
| 13:04 | saying that whilst there are facts |
| 13:06 | about female biology |
| 13:08 | male-dominated society |
| 13:09 | also makes a lot of stuff up, |
| 13:11 | and claims that the stuff |
| it makes up is facts. |
| 13:14 | The technical term here |
| is 'naturalisation', |
| 13:17 | making something appear natural. |
| 13:19 | For example, women are denied the vote? |
| 13:22 | Well, it's not 'cause we live |
| 13:23 | in an unequal society; |
| 13:24 | it's 'cause the female brain |
| 13:26 | just can't handle it, |
| 13:26 | 'cause of uh, biology. |
| 13:30 | So, she says, |
| 13:31 | one is born female, |
| 13:34 | but 'woman' is a socially constructed |
| 13:36 | ideal of subordination |
| 13:38 | that we are encouraged to embrace |
| 13:40 | and punished for defying. |
| 13:42 | And then in the 1980s |
| 13:45 | along come French philosophers |
| 13:46 | Monique Wittig |
| 13:47 | and Michel Foucault who say |
| 13:49 | this sex versus gender distinction |
| 13:51 | is just another layer of control. |
| 13:56 | de Beauvoir thinks that 'woman' |
| 13:58 | is an oppressive social construct |
| 14:00 | but 'female' somehow isn't? |
| 14:04 | Human beings are 99.9% identical: |
| 14:06 | who does it serve to split hairs |
| 14:08 | about the remaining 0.1%? |
| 14:10 | Defining one half of the human species |
| 14:12 | in terms of our capacity to carry babies |
| 14:14 | and be fertile |
| 14:15 | and straight |
| 14:16 | and thereby participate |
| in systems of property |
| 14:18 | and inheritance |
| 14:20 | overwhelmingly controlled by men - |
| 14:22 | does that sound like |
| a natural distinction? |
| 14:26 | Or does it sound like a political one? |
| 14:28 | Wittig actually says that |
| 14:29 | women should reject womanhood entirely |
| 14:32 | by becoming lesbians. |
| 14:34 | Rejecting the patriarchal categories |
| 14:36 | of both 'woman' |
| 14:37 | and 'female'." |
| 14:38 | Categories which she says |
| 14:39 | only makes sense inside |
| the heterosexual matrix. |
| 14:44 | [Lily Alexandre] Do not try |
| 14:45 | and change sex, |
| 14:46 | that's impossible. |
| 14:49 | Instead, only try to realise the truth. |
| 14:52 | - [Devon] What truth? |
| 14:54 | - [Lily Alexandre] There is no sex. |
| 14:56 | We have been compelled in our bodies, |
| 14:57 | and in our minds |
| 14:58 | to correspond feature-by-feature |
| 15:00 | with the idea of nature |
| 15:01 | that has been established for us. |
| 15:03 | Distorted to such an extent |
| 15:05 | that our deformed body |
| 15:06 | is what they call 'natural', |
| 15:08 | what is supposed to exist |
| 15:09 | as such before oppression. |
| 15:11 | Distorted to such an extent |
| 15:13 | that in the end |
| 15:14 | oppression seems to be a consequence |
| 15:15 | of this nature within ourselves. |
| 15:18 | By admitting that there |
| is a natural division |
| 15:20 | between women |
| 15:21 | and men, we naturalise history, |
| 15:23 | not only do we naturalise history, |
| 15:25 | but also consequently, |
| 15:26 | we naturalise the social phenomena |
| 15:28 | which express our oppression, |
| 15:30 | making change impossible. |
| 15:32 | Lesbian is the only concept I know of |
| 15:34 | which is beyond the categories of sex, |
| 15:36 | women, and man, |
| 15:38 | because the designated subject, |
| 15:39 | 'lesbian', is not a woman, |
| 15:41 | either economically |
| 15:42 | or politically |
| 15:43 | or ideologically. |
| 15:45 | For what makes a woman |
| 15:46 | is a specific social relation to a man, |
| 15:49 | a relation that we have |
| 15:50 | previously called 'servitude', |
| 15:52 | a relation which implies personal |
| 15:53 | and physical obligation, |
| 15:55 | as well as economic obligation, |
| 15:57 | forced residence, |
| 15:57 | domestic corvee, |
| 15:58 | conjugal duties, |
| 15:59 | unlimited production of children, |
| 16:00 | et cetera. |
| 16:01 | A relation which lesbians escape |
| 16:03 | by refusing to become |
| or stay heterosexual." |
| 16:07 | - I'm not sure that I personally agree |
| 16:08 | with everything Wittig says, |
| 16:10 | but it's a provocative thought |
| 16:11 | worth listening to, |
| 16:12 | and in 'Gender Trouble', |
| 16:14 | Butler thinks so too. |
| 16:16 | They say |
| 16:17 | we should question the idea that sex |
| 16:19 | is a natural category. |
| 16:21 | That might sound very out there, |
| 16:23 | but just listen for a moment. |
| 16:25 | Once upon a time, |
| 16:26 | people believed that race |
| 16:28 | was a natural category: |
| 16:29 | they wrote scientific papers about it |
| 16:31 | and measured peoples' skulls |
| 16:33 | and took blood samples |
| 16:34 | and they believed that it was real. |
| 16:36 | Nowadays we know that race |
| 16:38 | is a political grouping |
| that was naturalised, |
| 16:40 | made to look natural, |
| 16:42 | in large part |
| 16:43 | to justify slavery. |
| 16:45 | And we also know that sex |
| was a big part of that: |
| 16:47 | Black women |
| 16:48 | and white women |
| 16:49 | were categorised very differently. |
| 16:51 | So, are you certain that the distinction |
| 16:55 | between male |
| 16:55 | and female is as secure |
| as you've been told? |
| 17:01 | Who told you that? |
| 17:04 | [Deep Voice] |
| Why did they tell you it? |
| 17:09 | [Normal voice] |
| And who benefits from you |
| continuing to believe it? |
| 17:12 | [Devon] You think that's pussy you're eating now? |
| 17:13 | - This is the artistic space |
| 17:16 | that Kristen Stewart's |
| photoshoot is playing in: |
| 17:19 | the piece |
| 17:20 | and Stewart's comments engage |
| 17:21 | in what Butler calls 'resignification', |
| 17:25 | giving a new meaning to something, |
| 17:28 | in this case |
| 17:28 | Stewart's body. |
| 17:30 | The question it poses is, |
| 17:32 | "What if this is also female? |
| 17:36 | What does that tell us about the sense, |
| 17:39 | or non-sense of gendered categories?" |
| 17:42 | But, if sex isn't real |
| 17:46 | then why did I go through all the trouble |
| 17:50 | of changing mine?! |
| 17:52 | It's a blunt question |
| 17:53 | but it's not an unfair one. |
| 17:56 | So, when I finished 'Gender Trouble', |
| 17:57 | I also read this, |
| 18:00 | 'Whipping Girl' by Julia Serano. |
| 18:02 | Serano is a biologist, |
| 18:04 | she believes in what she |
| calls 'subconscious sex', |
| 18:07 | something in the brain |
| that expects the body |
| 18:11 | to be a certain way, |
| 18:12 | she thinks this would |
| explain the existence |
| 18:14 | of people like me, |
| 18:15 | and also her, |
| 18:16 | whose gender just feels right. |
| 18:21 | It's an interesting idea |
| 18:22 | and I think it gets to the heart |
| 18:23 | of an intuition a lot of us have to go, |
| 18:25 | Well look... |
| 18:28 | Physical differences are there, |
| 18:30 | we can see them! |
| 18:32 | Some human beings can get pregnant, |
| 18:33 | and others can't! |
| 18:35 | Is Butler really saying |
| 18:36 | that all of that isn't real? |
| 18:37 | But then, I read the book again, |
| 18:40 | and it turns out, |
| 18:41 | that's also a misunderstanding, |
| 18:44 | Butler's not saying |
| that the physical world |
| 18:46 | isn't there, or even that it's unknowable; |
| 18:49 | they're just saying that whatever facts |
| 18:50 | there might be about "biological sex" |
| 18:53 | we can only learn them, |
| 18:55 | and talk about them through gender. |
| 18:59 | To say the sentence, |
| 19:00 | "My brain expects my body to be female," |
| 19:03 | is to draw on a particular understanding |
| 19:05 | of the word 'female'. |
| 19:07 | (and while we're at it, |
| 19:07 | a particular understanding |
| 19:08 | of the meaning of the words 'my' |
| 19:09 | and 'body') that get their meaning |
| 19:12 | from a social world. |
| 19:14 | I've seen some more recent philosophers |
| 19:16 | use the term 'sex/gender', |
| 19:18 | and even 'sex/gender/race', |
| 19:21 | and now I understand why: |
| 19:23 | we can't really think about |
| 19:24 | those things separately! |
| 19:25 | It's not that there's sex, |
| 19:26 | the biological reality, |
| 19:28 | and then there's gender on top of it, |
| 19:30 | it's all gender. |
| 19:32 | - [Devon] It's all gender? |
| 19:34 | - [November Kelly] Always has been. |
| 19:35 | Physical features appear |
| 19:36 | to be in some sense of there, |
| 19:37 | on the far side of language, |
| 19:39 | unmarked by a social system. |
| 19:42 | It is unclear however, |
| 19:43 | that these features could be named |
| 19:44 | in a way that would not reproduce |
| 19:45 | the reductive operation |
| for categories of sex. |
| 19:48 | In other words, |
| 19:49 | 'sex' imposes an artificial unity |
| 19:52 | on an otherwise discontinuous |
| set of attributes, |
| 19:55 | as both discursive |
| 19:56 | and perceptual, |
| 19:57 | sex denotes a historically contingent |
| 20:00 | epistemic regime, |
| 20:01 | a language that forms perception, |
| 20:04 | by forcibly shaping the interrelationships |
| 20:06 | through which physical |
| bodies are perceived. |
| 20:08 | The existence |
| 20:09 | and facticity of the material |
| 20:11 | or natural dimensions of |
| the body are not denied, |
| 20:13 | but reconceived as |
| distinct from the process |
| 20:15 | by which the body comes |
| to bear cultural meanings. |
| 20:18 | If gender is the cultural significance |
| 20:20 | that the sexed body assumes, |
| 20:22 | and if that significance is co-determined |
| 20:24 | through various acts, |
| 20:25 | and their cultural perception, |
| 20:27 | then it would appear that from within |
| 20:28 | the terms of culture, |
| 20:29 | it is not possible to know sex |
| 20:32 | as distinct from gender." |
| 20:33 | - And then, I turned on the news. |
| 20:37 | [Rishi Sunak] Biological sex really matters. |
| 20:39 | [Piers Morgan] I'm glad you've said what a woman is, |
| 20:40 | because a lot of are people thinking, |
| 20:41 | "Why can't we say what it is anymore?" |
| 20:42 | [Kier Starmer] I start with biology. Biology, and obviously, |
| 20:47 | there's a distinction between sex and gender. |
| 20:49 | [Miriam Cates] You can't change sex, okay? That is a biological fact. |
| 20:52 | [Rishi Sunak] And we shouldn't get bullied |
| 20:53 | into believing that people can be |
| 20:55 | any sex they want to be, |
| 20:57 | they can't. |
| 20:57 | [Lady TikTok Robot Voice] A woman is a human being |
| 20:59 | who belongs to the sex class |
| 21:01 | that produces large gametes. |
| 21:05 | [Man TikTok Robot Voice] May I suggest also posting |
| 21:06 | interesting and positive content on other matters? |
| 21:09 | - I live in England |
| 21:11 | where a lot of people are talking |
| 21:12 | about sex at the moment. |
| 21:14 | Some say that sex is a fixed-point |
| 21:18 | that cannot be changed |
| 21:19 | or resignified |
| 21:21 | or questioned |
| 21:22 | whereas gender is just a nebulous feeling, |
| 21:25 | or a "contested belief." |
| 21:28 | I thought all that feminist philosophy |
| 21:30 | was pretty interesting, |
| 21:32 | but it seems some people |
| 21:34 | don't want to listen. |
| 21:40 | - Human bodies can't change that much! |
| 21:42 | - WHATDOYOUMEEEANHUMANBODIESCANTCHANGE |
| - EVEN IF YOU ARE, EVEN IF YOU ARE |
| 21:44 | Even if you are me, right? |
| 21:47 | Let's just say you are |
| 21:48 | for the sake of the argument, right? |
| 21:49 | You say you're happy, |
| 21:51 | but what about the version of us |
| 21:52 | from 20/30/40 years into the far future? |
| 21:55 | What if they walk in now |
| 21:56 | and say, "You made a mistake!" |
| 21:57 | - Then I made the mistake |
| you wanted to make! |
| 21:59 | - Better the devil you know than the devil you don't. |
| 22:01 | - The gates of hell are locked from the inside! |
| 22:03 | - What makes me suspicious, right? |
| 22:05 | Is you're coming in here going, |
| 22:06 | "Ooh, everything's wonderful!" Right? |
| 22:08 | Trying to convince me, |
| 22:09 | but you don't mention any downsides. |
| 22:11 | - Of course there's downsides! |
| 22:13 | - Well, go on then! |
| 22:15 | - Street harassment. |
| 22:19 | Men are gonna shout at you in the street. |
| 22:22 | Men push into you, |
| 22:23 | and interrupt you. |
| 22:25 | - And? |
| 22:26 | - And it's scary sometimes, |
| 22:29 | being a woman. |
| 22:34 | There's this girl called Sarah Everard, |
| 22:36 | she's gonna get murdered in 2021 |
| 22:39 | by a police officer, |
| 22:41 | it's a big thing, |
| 22:42 | it's on all the news. |
| 22:44 | And they have a vigil for her in London, |
| 22:45 | women come from all over the country, |
| 22:48 | and the police |
| 22:49 | beat and arrest the women at the vigil, |
| 22:53 | and you're gonna see that |
| 22:54 | and you're gonna feel scared |
| 22:55 | 'cause it's like, |
| 22:57 | wow, this is how they treat us. |
| 23:01 | - Were you there? |
| 23:05 | - No. |
| 23:08 | I didn't feel entitled to. |
| 23:12 | - Good. |
| 23:14 | The body we have is threatening, |
| 23:16 | it wouldn't be appropriate |
| 23:17 | for us to be at their event |
| 23:18 | about violence against women. |
| 23:20 | - We're not violent. |
| 23:22 | We're tall, but so are giraffes. |
| 23:28 | Bodies are just bodies. |
| 23:32 | I wish I had been there, |
| 23:35 | we need all the allies we can get. |
| 23:38 | I tell you this, |
| 23:39 | you're gonna have to go through |
| 23:40 | so much bulls__t |
| 23:41 | just to get healthcare |
| 23:43 | and all of that comes from this place |
| 23:45 | of being like, |
| 23:46 | "Oh, everybody needs to |
| fit the strict definition, |
| 23:48 | everyone has to be in a little box." |
| 23:49 | F__k that! |
| 23:51 | I'll do what I want |
| 23:52 | and I'll help who I can. |
| 23:55 | Let's talk about feminism. |
| 23:57 | If there is no natural category of sex |
| 24:00 | then how can we argue for women's rights? |
| 24:04 | That's a question some people are asking, |
| 24:05 | and I'll admit |
| 24:06 | I was curious. |
| 24:07 | I've seen some say that |
| Butler is "erasing women," |
| 24:10 | and that in order to protect us |
| 24:12 | from things like discrimination |
| 24:13 | and assault |
| 24:14 | the law needs a strict |
| definition of woman |
| 24:17 | grounded in facts about "biological sex." |
| 24:21 | Thing is, I happen to know |
| 24:22 | just off my own bat |
| 24:23 | that that's actually incorrect. |
| 24:25 | For example, suppose an employer |
| 24:27 | denies a job to a candidate named 'Hilary' |
| 24:30 | because they think, |
| 24:30 | "Oh, women - |
| 24:31 | women be shopping |
| 24:32 | women are unreliable employees |
| 24:34 | application denied." |
| 24:36 | Only it turns out Hilary |
| 24:37 | is Hilary with one 'L', |
| 24:38 | the candidate is a man. |
| 24:40 | In that case, |
| 24:41 | the employer can still be guilty |
| 24:42 | of sexual discrimination |
| 24:43 | even though their definition |
| 24:44 | of what a woman is |
| 24:45 | is false |
| 24:46 | and didn't even apply. |
| 24:48 | The same principle also goes |
| 24:49 | in crimes like assault: |
| 24:51 | if a straight person gets attacked |
| 24:53 | coming out of a gay club |
| 24:54 | that can still be a homophobic hate crime |
| 24:57 | if the suspect believes that they're gay |
| 24:59 | and attacks them for that reason. |
| 25:02 | What matters in law |
| 25:03 | is the suspect's actions |
| 25:04 | and motivations, |
| 25:05 | not whether the victim meets |
| 25:06 | a particular definition. |
| 25:07 | Even though this is a |
| matter of settled law, |
| 25:11 | some people still insist |
| 25:13 | that a strict definition is required, |
| 25:17 | almost like those people aren't listening. |
| 25:20 | [sound of creeping madness] |
| 25:23 | But anyway, wouldn't it still be useful |
| 25:26 | to have some definition of 'woman'? |
| 25:29 | Even if we all know it's kind of vague |
| 25:31 | and loose, |
| 25:32 | could it be useful as a political standard |
| 25:34 | to rally around? |
| 25:35 | I read Butler's 1991 paper, |
| 25:38 | 'Imitation and Gender Subordination', |
| 25:40 | which is partly about |
| this definition question. |
| 25:43 | They say that defining |
| womanhood has been |
| 25:47 | and still is a key strategy of patriarchy, |
| 25:50 | that's what de Beauvoir |
| 25:51 | was writing about in the '40s. |
| 25:53 | Trying to set an exact definition |
| 25:55 | is always going to be |
| an exclusionary project, |
| 25:59 | whereas a certain amount of gray area |
| 26:01 | would be more inclusive. |
| 26:03 | Indeed, they say that any category |
| 26:05 | like gay, lesbian, |
| 26:07 | trans (femboy?) |
| 26:09 | imposes limits |
| 26:11 | and trying to make everybody fit |
| 26:13 | one specific box |
| 26:14 | as if they must have some inner self |
| 26:17 | that corresponds to one of them |
| 26:19 | is just a bad idea. |
| 26:20 | And I understood |
| 26:21 | where Butler was coming from there: |
| 26:23 | in Britain, trans people |
| are often expected |
| 26:27 | to tell doctors a certain |
| story about our lives. |
| 26:30 | We're supposed to say, |
| 26:32 | "Oh, ever since I was a child, |
| 26:33 | I called myself 'Wendy', |
| 26:34 | and wore my mother's dresses." |
| 26:36 | And if your life doesn't |
| fit that narrative |
| 26:38 | it can be very hard to get medical care! |
| 26:41 | The concept of an authentic inner-self |
| 26:44 | that needs to be discovered |
| 26:46 | and verified |
| 26:47 | and checked |
| 26:48 | and meet somebody else's definition |
| 26:51 | is used against us. |
| 26:52 | - [Alexander Avila] "Identity categories |
| 26:54 | tend to be instruments |
| of regulatory regimes, |
| 26:57 | whether as the normalising categories |
| 26:59 | of oppressive structures |
| 27:01 | or as the rallying points |
| 27:03 | for a liberatory contestation |
| 27:04 | of that very oppression. |
| 27:06 | That is not to say that I will not appear |
| 27:08 | at political occasions |
| 27:10 | under the sign of 'lesbian', |
| 27:12 | but that I would like to have itign |
| 27:13 | permanently unclear |
| 27:15 | what precisely that sign signifies. |
| 27:18 | Which version of lesbian or gay |
| 27:20 | ought to be rendered visible? |
| 27:21 | And which internal exclusions |
| 27:23 | will that rendering visible institute? |
| 27:26 | Can the visibility of identity |
| 27:27 | suffice as a political strategy, |
| 27:30 | or can it only be the starting point |
| 27:32 | for a strategic intervention, |
| 27:34 | which calls for a |
| transformation of policy? |
| 27:37 | Is it not a sign of despair |
| 27:39 | over public politics |
| 27:40 | when identity becomes it's own policy? |
| 27:43 | Bringing with it |
| 27:44 | those who would police it |
| 27:45 | from various sides?" |
| 27:47 | - Don't know what else to tell you, man. |
| 27:49 | Change is difficult, |
| 27:51 | but it is possible. |
| 27:53 | - This is gonna f__k up our career. |
| 27:55 | - On the contrary. |
| 27:57 | - Well, it's gonna f__k up our love life. |
| 28:00 | - On the contrary! |
| 28:02 | - Well look, as far as |
| anyone knows right now, |
| 28:06 | I'm a cishet white guy, right? |
| 28:09 | I'm top of the pile! |
| 28:12 | Surely it would be easier to not change? |
| 28:14 | - Oh yeah. |
| 28:15 | Way easier. |
| 28:17 | If you wanna be depressed |
| 28:18 | every day of your life |
| 28:19 | and kill yourself at 35! |
| 28:20 | - You know what I mean. |
| 28:22 | Politically, things |
| aren't great in my time, |
| 28:26 | I assume in the future, |
| 28:27 | they do not vastly improve? |
| 28:29 | - Let's talk about 9/11 and dicks. |
| 28:32 | Oh, this is where things get silly, |
| 28:34 | and then they get very not-silly. |
| 28:35 | A penis is an organ of the human body, |
| 28:39 | it has nerves |
| 28:40 | and blood vessels |
| 28:41 | and skin |
| 28:41 | and so on. |
| 28:42 | It's primary function is to allow |
| 28:44 | women who have one |
| 28:45 | to pee standing up |
| 28:47 | if the toilet of the train |
| carriage that you're in |
| 28:49 | is really gross. |
| 28:52 | And it also does some other stuff. |
| 28:54 | Remember what we said earlier though, |
| 28:55 | it's not that there's the physical organ |
| 28:57 | and then a bunch of other |
| 28:59 | social-constructy stuff on top. |
| 29:01 | According to Butler |
| 29:02 | we can only know the body |
| 29:04 | through the social world |
| of symbolic meanings. |
| 29:07 | So, that particular organ |
| 29:09 | often means power, |
| 29:12 | strength, domination |
| 29:13 | (particularly when used for penetration), |
| 29:15 | and the threat of male violence. |
| 29:18 | That bundle of cultural |
| 29:20 | and symbolic meanings |
| 29:22 | is what philosophers call the 'phallus'. |
| 29:24 | Can a woman have a penis? |
| 29:26 | This question was a fad |
| 29:27 | in British media a year or two ago, |
| 29:29 | journalists kept ambushing |
| politicians with it |
| 29:31 | and watching them struggle, |
| 29:32 | but really the answer's quite simple. |
| 29:34 | In Britain, you can change your legal sex |
| 29:36 | without surgery |
| 29:38 | because international human rights law |
| 29:40 | recognises it's probably morally wrong |
| 29:42 | to make a certain group of people |
| 29:44 | undergo expensive, |
| 29:44 | difficult, potentially risky, |
| 29:46 | invasive medical procedures |
| 29:47 | that they may not want |
| 29:48 | in order to do things like get married. |
| 29:50 | So, if you are assigned male at birth |
| 29:53 | you can change your legal sex in Britain |
| 29:55 | and become a woman without surgery. |
| 29:58 | It's not an easy process! |
| 29:59 | But surgery isn't mandatory. |
| 30:03 | [Obama voice] |
| Uhhh if you like your dick, you can keep it. |
| 30:05 | Beyond the legal situation though, |
| 30:07 | if the person assigned male |
| 30:09 | takes feminising hormones |
| 30:10 | then their body will change, |
| 30:12 | and that includes their genitals, |
| 30:13 | which can change a lot |
| more than you might think. |
| 30:15 | In some cases |
| 30:16 | it essentially becomes a large clitoris |
| 30:18 | incapable of erection or penetration, |
| 30:21 | and whether you wanna call that |
| 30:21 | a 'female penis' or a 'feminine penis', |
| 30:24 | or whether you think |
| 30:25 | there's not much distinction there, |
| 30:26 | legally and medically |
| 30:28 | the facts are in. |
| 30:30 | Can a woman have a penis? Yeah. |
| 30:32 | And yet, people who haven't experienced |
| 30:36 | all that for themselves |
| 30:38 | often don't listen to those who have. |
| 30:43 | Maybe you were giggling |
| 30:44 | when I told you all of that stuff! |
| 30:45 | The idea of a female |
| penis is so unimaginable |
| 30:48 | that it's like a punchline, right? |
| 30:51 | Despite the fact that it |
| is just a normal thing |
| 30:53 | that some people have. |
| 30:55 | It appears funny |
| 30:56 | and unexpected; |
| 30:58 | the idea of resignifying that, |
| 31:01 | using it differently |
| 31:02 | but not wrongly, |
| 31:03 | not powerful, |
| 31:04 | not for penetration, |
| 31:05 | not even male, |
| 31:07 | appears to be almost a contradiction |
| 31:10 | because that bundle of cultural |
| 31:13 | and symbolic meanings |
| has been naturalised, |
| 31:16 | made to seem natural. |
| 31:20 | And this is a very common mistake, |
| 31:23 | we might even call it a 'fallacy'. |
| 31:26 | [rimshot] |
| 31:27 | All of this is deeply funny, |
| 31:30 | until the second it |
| affects government policy. |
| 31:35 | In February of 2023 |
| 31:36 | British Justice Secretary Dominic Raab |
| 31:38 | announced that from now on |
| 31:39 | women who have "male genitalia" |
| 31:42 | who are arrested |
| 31:43 | will be sent to a men's prison |
| 31:44 | regardless of what we look like, |
| 31:46 | regardless of whether we have |
| 31:47 | legally changed sex, |
| 31:49 | and regardless of what |
| we are charged with. |
| 31:51 | If for example, |
| 31:53 | I was arrested at a protest, |
| 31:55 | if I was wrongfully |
| arrested for something, |
| 31:57 | I would be sent to a men's prison. |
| 32:00 | And I'm sure you can imagine, |
| 32:01 | although you may not want to, |
| 32:03 | how that might go. |
| 32:04 | There isn't really any |
| good kind of prison |
| 32:08 | but this policy makes prison worse |
| 32:11 | for a certain section of the population |
| 32:13 | because of the way that we are born, |
| 32:14 | and in that regard |
| 32:15 | it's ethically unusual. |
| 32:18 | It's normally a principle of justice |
| 32:20 | that similar crimes |
| 32:21 | should carry similar sentences |
| 32:22 | but in my home country |
| 32:24 | the same crime might carry |
| 32:26 | a much harsher prison sentence |
| 32:28 | if you're a trans woman. |
| 32:29 | This discrimination is |
| justified by politicians |
| 32:32 | by appealing to the supposed threat |
| 32:34 | that penises carry, |
| 32:36 | but remember |
| 32:38 | it's regardless of our crime |
| 32:40 | or what our particular |
| bodies are capable of, |
| 32:44 | and that's quite |
| philosophically interesting. |
| 32:46 | They say that we are a threat |
| 32:48 | but they are not listening |
| 32:51 | to any actual facts about us. |
| 32:53 | Since that 2023 announcement |
| 32:55 | I'd been trying to understand |
| 32:57 | and listen to the justice |
| secretary's perspective, |
| 33:00 | and work my way through the fear. |
| 33:02 | So, the next item on my reading list |
| 33:04 | was Butler's 2003 volume |
| 'Precarious Life'. |
| 33:08 | They write about 9/11 |
| 33:10 | and the war on terror, |
| 33:12 | in particular the |
| people who were detained |
| 33:14 | indefinitely in Guantanamo Bay |
| 33:16 | by the US government - |
| 33:18 | 'terror suspects' |
| 33:20 | and 'suspects' is a key-word there |
| 33:22 | because many of those imprisoned |
| 33:23 | were never given a trial, |
| 33:25 | some of them were never even charged. |
| 33:28 | The government said those people |
| 33:29 | had to be imprisoned |
| 33:30 | because they were dangerous, |
| 33:32 | but not the kind of danger |
| 33:34 | that they could prove in a trial? |
| 33:38 | [Devon] The danger |
| that these prisoners |
| 33:39 | are said to pose |
| 33:40 | is unlike dangers that |
| might be substantiated |
| 33:43 | in a court of law |
| 33:44 | and redressed through punishment. |
| 33:45 | Establishing dangerousness |
| 33:48 | is not the same as establishing guilt. |
| 33:50 | A certain level of dangerousness |
| 33:52 | takes a human being |
| outside the bounds of law, |
| 33:56 | and even outside the bounds |
| 33:57 | of the military tribunal itself, |
| 33:59 | makes that human into |
| the state's possession, |
| 34:02 | infinitely detainable. |
| 34:04 | What counts as dangerous, |
| 34:07 | is what is deemed dangerous by the state, |
| 34:10 | so that once again, |
| 34:12 | the state posits what is dangerous, |
| 34:14 | and in so doing, |
| 34:15 | establishes the conditions |
| 34:17 | for it's own preemption, |
| 34:18 | and usurpation of the law." |
| 34:20 | If a person is deemed dangerous, |
| 34:23 | then it is no longer a matter of deciding |
| 34:25 | where the criminal acts occurred. |
| 34:27 | Indeed, deeming someone dangerous |
| 34:30 | is an unsubstantiated judgment |
| 34:32 | that in these cases |
| 34:33 | works to preempt determinations |
| 34:35 | for which evidence is required." |
| 34:38 | - If you're very clever |
| 34:39 | you'll already have realised |
| 34:41 | that when governments call people |
| 34:42 | 'dangerous' in this way |
| 34:44 | they're using performative speech: |
| 34:48 | they say it |
| 34:49 | and they make it so. |
| 34:51 | But what's happening here |
| 34:52 | isn't subjectification, |
| 34:55 | it's 'abjectification', |
| 34:57 | creating non-subjects, |
| 34:59 | non-people, who exist outside the law |
| 35:02 | and who can therefore be treated |
| 35:04 | any way the government likes. |
| 35:05 | I mean, we don't need trials |
| 35:06 | and evidence for them |
| 35:08 | 'cause they're the bad guys! |
| 35:10 | If they have their rights violated |
| 35:11 | or they die |
| 35:12 | well, you shouldn't care about that |
| 35:14 | because they were never really alive |
| 35:16 | in a way that mattered. |
| 35:17 | In fact, if you do care |
| 35:19 | about what happens to them |
| 35:20 | then that's suspicious. |
| 35:23 | You're not gonna sympathise |
| 35:24 | with the bad guys, |
| 35:27 | are you? |
| 35:28 | If you've been watching the news lately |
| 35:30 | you might be wondering, |
| 35:32 | the people of Gaza keep being killed |
| 35:34 | but Western governments aren't listening, |
| 35:38 | is that maybe an example |
| of abjectification? |
| 35:41 | And according to Butler |
| 35:42 | the answer is yes, |
| 35:44 | they are a long-time supporter |
| 35:46 | of Palestinian rights |
| 35:47 | and have often used their position |
| 35:48 | as a public Jewish academic |
| 35:50 | to call on the Israeli government |
| 35:51 | to meet their obligations |
| 35:53 | under international human rights law. |
| 35:55 | Butler says abjectification |
| 35:57 | is a tool of government |
| in the 21st century |
| 36:00 | that we need to watch out for. |
| 36:02 | When the powers that be |
| 36:03 | say a certain group of people |
| 36:05 | are inherently dangerous, |
| 36:07 | whether they're Muslims, |
| 36:08 | or Palestinians, |
| 36:09 | or trans people, |
| 36:10 | that's them trying to |
| use performative speech |
| 36:14 | to make that group of people |
| 36:15 | impossible to listen to. |
| 36:18 | We become not subjects |
| 36:20 | but abjects, |
| 36:22 | a problem to be managed against our will |
| 36:25 | in the name of a public good |
| 36:28 | that does not recognise us |
| 36:29 | as part of the public. |
| 36:31 | And I'm not drawing a moral equivalence |
| 36:33 | between those three groups, |
| 36:34 | I'm just highlighting this |
| technique of government, |
| 36:36 | making you aware of it, |
| 36:38 | because you never know |
| when the powers that be |
| 36:40 | might decide to use it on you. |
| 36:43 | Yeah, you're right about that, |
| 36:47 | politics in the future gets weird. |
| 36:50 | - How do you mean 'weird'? |
| 36:55 | - Let's talk about JK Rowling. |
| 36:57 | [Electro music like OOOOHHH |
| NOW WE'RE PHILOSOPHY CHUBIN BAYBEE] |
| 37:07 | We come at last to Butler's new book, |
| 37:11 | 'Who's Afraid of Gender?' |
| 37:15 | In recent years |
| 37:16 | scholars have been studying |
| 37:17 | the rise of the global |
| anti-gender movement, |
| 37:22 | a network of people including |
| 37:23 | far-right political actors, |
| 37:25 | religious fundamentalists, |
| 37:28 | and a lot of people who are neither. |
| 37:30 | Sometimes it's a literal |
| network of politicians |
| 37:33 | and activists working |
| together behind the scenes, |
| 37:36 | but sometimes it's more |
| of a loose association. |
| 37:40 | They oppose women's rights, |
| 37:41 | especially abortion, |
| 37:43 | LGBTQ rights, |
| 37:44 | and they strongly oppose trans people. |
| 37:47 | There is a part of the movement |
| 37:49 | that emerged from radical feminism |
| 37:50 | and that part tends to |
| get a lot of attention, |
| 37:53 | especially here on YouTube. |
| 37:54 | Here's three great videos |
| if you're interested. |
| 37:57 | But the movement as a whole is mainly men |
| 37:59 | and supports policies that would harm |
| 38:01 | the vast majority of women. |
| 38:03 | Women play an important |
| role in selling it |
| 38:05 | and helping it appear benign, |
| 38:07 | because protecting |
| women is always good PR, |
| 38:11 | but they aren't the core. |
| 38:13 | The core is the fight |
| against gender ideology, |
| 38:18 | but there's not much agreement |
| 38:19 | on what that actually means. |
| 38:22 | In Eastern Europe |
| 38:23 | they say that gender ideology is spread |
| 38:25 | by the UN |
| 38:26 | and the EU, |
| 38:27 | but in Italy |
| 38:28 | they say it's spread by African migrants. |
| 38:31 | In Latin America |
| 38:32 | gender ideology means feminism |
| 38:34 | but in the UK |
| 38:35 | they say it's against feminism. |
| 38:36 | In Florida they say it's gay; |
| 38:38 | in the UK they say it's homophobic. |
| 38:40 | They say that gender ideology |
| 38:41 | is the new conversion therapy, |
| 38:43 | but some anti-gender organisations |
| 38:45 | are in favour of conversion therapy. |
| 38:47 | Gender ideology is spread |
| 38:49 | by woke students with blue hair |
| 38:51 | and safe spaces, |
| 38:52 | but it's also being pushed |
| 38:53 | on innocent students by wicked professors. |
| 38:55 | Children must not be indoctrinated |
| 38:57 | into gender ideology, |
| 38:58 | and so the government must make sure |
| 39:00 | children believe the things |
| it says about gender. |
| 39:03 | All of this is deeply confusing. |
| 39:07 | The Oxford English Dictionary |
| 39:08 | defines gender ideology as, |
| 39:11 | [Sounds of Hell] |
| 39:14 | Although gender ideology is a vague term |
| 39:17 | there are recurring themes |
| 39:19 | in how it is used. |
| 39:21 | One such theme is the idea |
| 39:23 | that gender is in some way unnatural |
| 39:27 | or artificial |
| 39:28 | or fake, a contested belief, |
| 39:32 | unlike biological sex |
| 39:34 | and family values, |
| 39:36 | which definitely are natural. |
| 39:40 | Another theme is that gender ideologues, |
| 39:43 | whoever they are, |
| 39:44 | are powerful, |
| 39:45 | commanding your obedience, |
| 39:48 | but also very sneaky, |
| 39:49 | capturing institutions behind the scenes. |
| 39:52 | And the sneakiness is important, |
| 39:54 | because it allows the movement |
| 39:55 | to claim gender ideologues are doing |
| 39:57 | all sorts of nefarious things |
| 39:59 | that they have no evidence for, |
| 40:01 | but the reason they have no evidence |
| 40:02 | is because they're so gosh darn sneaky! |
| 40:04 | Self-victimisation plays a huge role here. |
| 40:08 | Another reason there's no evidence |
| 40:09 | is because ordinary people |
| 40:11 | are being bullied into silence |
| 40:13 | by the woke genderists. |
| 40:15 | Sometimes this verges |
| 40:17 | into outright conspiracy theory. |
| 40:19 | There are people in my country, |
| 40:21 | people with serious political |
| 40:22 | and media careers, |
| 40:23 | who've claimed that our civil service |
| 40:25 | and healthcare are secretly being run |
| 40:28 | by the trans deep state! |
| 40:30 | Which frankly, |
| 40:32 | I wish that were true! |
| 40:34 | The final theme is the danger |
| 40:36 | that gender ideology apparently poses. |
| 40:40 | Whatever it is, |
| 40:41 | it's a threat to women who are "erased," |
| 40:44 | and to men who are made weak |
| 40:46 | and helpless. |
| 40:47 | To families |
| 40:48 | and to children in particular |
| 40:49 | who are confused or preyed upon. |
| 40:52 | It's a threat to the nation, |
| 40:53 | because you see |
| 40:54 | gender makes us weak to communism, |
| 40:56 | or capitalism, |
| 40:57 | or Vladimir Putin, |
| 40:58 | or Western influence, |
| 40:59 | or Islamic migrants. |
| 41:01 | It's a threat to the |
| existence of humanity, |
| 41:03 | and the authority of God Himself. |
| 41:07 | The Vatican has actually claimed that, |
| 41:09 | no exaggeration! |
| 41:10 | Pope Francis compared gender ideology |
| 41:13 | to nuclear weapons! |
| 41:15 | It kinda just means the opposite |
| 41:17 | of how things should be, |
| 41:20 | and the way they should be |
| 41:21 | is whatever you personally want, |
| 41:25 | and that's a very effective strategy, |
| 41:27 | because it allows people |
| 41:29 | who previously might not have associated |
| 41:30 | to stand together. |
| 41:32 | The movement features |
| conservative Catholics, |
| 41:34 | men's rights activists, |
| 41:35 | Neo-Nazis, new-age types, |
| 41:37 | centrists, liberals, |
| 41:38 | and even some feminists, |
| 41:40 | and it's good at radicalising them too. |
| 41:43 | Gender ideology seems |
| 41:45 | like such a big threat, |
| 41:46 | it can't be stopped by traditional means, |
| 41:49 | we have to get tough. |
| 41:51 | Much of the blame for starting |
| 41:53 | the anti-gender movement |
| 41:55 | belongs, I'm afraid, |
| 41:57 | to Catholics. |
| 41:58 | Since at least the 1980s |
| 42:00 | conservative Catholics both within |
| 42:02 | and without the church |
| 42:03 | have said that gender ideology |
| 42:05 | threatens the family |
| 42:06 | and God. |
| 42:07 | They use this claim as justification |
| 42:09 | for their extreme authoritarian positions |
| 42:11 | on abortion |
| 42:12 | and queerness, among other things. |
| 42:15 | It was Catholics who first started |
| 42:17 | the conspiracy theory that the UN |
| 42:19 | are secretly pushing |
| 42:20 | an anti-Christian gender agenda. |
| 42:23 | The Catholic Church has also claimed |
| 42:26 | several times in writing, |
| 42:28 | without evidence, |
| 42:29 | that gender ideology leads |
| 42:31 | to the abuse of children, |
| 42:35 | an IMAX level act of projection |
| 42:37 | that might honestly be funny, |
| 42:39 | if it weren't so insulting |
| 42:40 | to the intelligence of every human being |
| 42:43 | on planet Earth. |
| 42:44 | Religion still plays a big role |
| 42:46 | in driving anti-gender sentiment, |
| 42:48 | especially in the Americas |
| 42:49 | and Eastern Europe. |
| 42:51 | In Britain, our version |
| is a little more secular, |
| 42:53 | but that's not the case everywhere, |
| 42:55 | it's just we don't go in for Catholicism |
| 42:58 | as much as we used to. |
| 42:59 | [Gamer horns, Greensleeves] |
| 43:01 | But, it would be unfair to lay the blame |
| 43:03 | on all Catholics, |
| 43:05 | Evangelicals are getting involved too, |
| 43:07 | and indeed, some ordinary Catholics |
| 43:09 | might be getting scaaaaaa... |
| 43:14 | I have to be careful what I say here! |
| 43:16 | I can tell you that |
| religion also plays a role |
| 43:20 | in how the movement is funded. |
| 43:22 | The Piotr Skarga Association, |
| 43:25 | a Polish group who oppose abortion |
| 43:27 | and LGBTQ rights, |
| 43:29 | have raised millions of Euros |
| 43:31 | selling rosaries |
| 43:32 | and pictures of saints |
| 43:33 | to Catholics 'round the |
| world via mail-order. |
| 43:37 | And legally, I can't say that's a scam! |
| 43:42 | Maybe everyone who gives them money |
| 43:44 | knows what they use it for, |
| 43:46 | maybe when a little French grandma |
| 43:47 | in Toulouse buys a calendar |
| 43:49 | with the Virgin Mary on it, |
| 43:50 | she knows full well |
| 43:52 | that her money is going to |
| 43:53 | an extreme right-wing |
| organisation in Poland, |
| 43:55 | who are gonna send some of it |
| 43:56 | to anti-abortion groups in Brazil, |
| 43:57 | and spend the rest on luxury properties. |
| 44:00 | Grandma probably did her research, |
| 44:03 | and she'd have to |
| 44:05 | because their adverts don't mention it, |
| 44:07 | and Piotr Skarga's financial documents |
| 44:09 | were hidden from the public |
| 44:10 | until journalists broke |
| this story in 2020. |
| 44:12 | Speaking of Catholic crimes through, |
| 44:15 | the narrative is |
| 44:16 | that gender ideology is being pushed |
| 44:18 | on the good people of the world |
| 44:20 | by shadowy elites who |
| are pulling the strings. |
| 44:23 | And at this point in my reading, |
| 44:24 | I was thinking, |
| 44:25 | "Well, that sounds a |
| lot like antisemitism." |
| 44:27 | And yes, there are some |
| parts of the movement |
| 44:30 | that are explicitly antisemitic, |
| 44:32 | for example, neo-Nazis have criticized |
| 44:35 | Judith Butler for being a Jewish lesbian |
| 44:38 | who invented gender to weaken the West. |
| 44:41 | But then I read this, |
| 44:43 | 'Anti-Gender Politics |
| in The Populist Moment' |
| 44:46 | by Polish scholars Agnieszka Graff |
| 44:47 | and Elzbieta Korolczuk. |
| 44:49 | They say |
| 44:50 | not all anti-genderists |
| are secretly antisemitic; |
| 44:53 | the reason they can look similar |
| 44:56 | is because they do similar things - |
| 44:59 | abjectify - make a certain group of people |
| 45:03 | impossible to listen to. |
| 45:06 | [Mattie Lubchansky] "Though Jews |
| are almost never mentioned |
| 45:07 | in attacks on gender ideology, |
| 45:09 | genderists, and especially |
| sexual minorities |
| 45:12 | are consistently Judaised |
| 45:14 | in anti-gendered discourse, |
| 45:15 | that is, described in a language |
| 45:17 | strongly reminiscent |
| 45:18 | of conspiratorial antisemitism. |
| 45:21 | The link becomes most obvious when Soros |
| 45:23 | and Butler are mentioned, |
| 45:24 | or when the term 'Cultural Marxism', |
| 45:27 | notorious for it's antisemitic |
| subtext is employed, |
| 45:30 | like Jews |
| 45:31 | in antisemitic attacks, |
| 45:32 | sexual minorities are presented |
| 45:34 | as engaged in a secretive plot, |
| 45:36 | they are scheming, |
| 45:38 | devious, and powerful. |
| 45:40 | To this end, |
| 45:41 | the term 'homosexual lobby' |
| 45:42 | is often used, |
| 45:43 | and the link between homosexuality |
| 45:45 | and cosmopolitanism, |
| 45:47 | or rootlessness is persistently made. |
| 45:50 | Furthermore, LGBT activists are routinely |
| 45:53 | accused of sacrilege, |
| 45:55 | their very presence is said |
| 45:56 | to contaminate sacred events |
| 45:58 | and spaces, |
| 45:59 | while the rainbow flag |
| is seen as offensive |
| 46:01 | to religious sensibilities, |
| 46:02 | and patriarch feelings. |
| 46:04 | Finally, like Jews |
| 46:05 | and pre-World War II Eastern Europe, |
| 46:08 | gays are blamed for |
| provoking violent attacks |
| 46:10 | by making themselves too conspicuous." |
| 46:13 | - We're in the eye of the storm a lot, |
| 46:16 | I mean queer people generally, |
| 46:18 | but sometimes us specifically. |
| 46:23 | Sometimes it feels like |
| 46:24 | being under a big microscope. |
| 46:29 | - Do you remember when we were studying |
| 46:31 | theology at university? |
| 46:33 | - Yeah, just about. |
| 46:35 | - We had this one lecturer |
| 46:38 | who taught us about Genesis. |
| 46:40 | Remember, he said, |
| 46:43 | "You are created. |
| 46:46 | You are a creature." |
| 46:47 | - Yeah, I do remember that. |
| 46:49 | - I didn't like that word 'creature'. |
| 46:51 | - No. We belong to us. |
| 46:56 | We decide what we do. |
| 47:00 | - Well, if God does exist, |
| 47:02 | it seems you've got notes! |
| 47:04 | [lighthearted chuckling] |
| 47:07 | - That's all very interesting, |
| 47:09 | but it doesn't explain why |
| 47:11 | the anti-gender movement |
| just doesn't listen. |
| 47:15 | Remember back at the start |
| 47:17 | when we learned about the school board |
| 47:18 | who turned down $10,000 of free money? |
| 47:21 | Remember how the same misunderstandings |
| 47:23 | of Butler's work have |
| circulated for decades? |
| 47:26 | Remember the insistence that the law |
| 47:27 | must have a strict definition of women? |
| 47:29 | Even though we know that's not true. |
| 47:31 | Remember all those |
| unevidenced conspiracies |
| 47:33 | about the trans deep state, |
| 47:34 | and secret UN plots? |
| 47:36 | There's something else too |
| 47:38 | that's very interesting, |
| 47:41 | the language that the |
| anti-gender movement uses, |
| 47:44 | is very actiony? |
| 47:48 | Threat. Infiltration. |
| 47:50 | Danger. Bullying. |
| 47:51 | Silencing. Censorship. |
| 47:52 | A comparison to nuclear weapons. |
| 47:55 | It's not just that they're not listening, |
| 47:57 | when they're invited to listen, |
| 47:59 | it seems like that makes them feel |
| 48:01 | as if they're under attack, |
| 48:03 | and Butler has an explanation for this, |
| 48:05 | they say that these people are caught |
| 48:08 | in a phantasm. |
| 48:11 | 'Phantasm' is a technical philosophy term |
| 48:14 | for a particular way of |
| misinterpreting the world, |
| 48:17 | by projecting your feelings onto it. |
| 48:21 | Philosopher Michael Naas said that |
| 48:23 | it's a prism that refracts, |
| 48:24 | an as if |
| 48:26 | into an as so. |
| 48:28 | For example, the presence |
| of a trans person |
| 48:32 | with a penis in a public bathroom, |
| 48:33 | makes me feel as if I |
| am under attack becomes, |
| 48:39 | [BWWRRRRMMM] |
| 48:41 | I am under attack. |
| 48:44 | People use phantasms to avoid |
| 48:47 | cognitive dissonance |
| in the face of anxiety. |
| 48:50 | For example, |
| 48:51 | literature professor Darren Tenav |
| 48:53 | says we use them to |
| help us confront death! |
| 48:57 | Normally, we don't wanna think |
| 48:58 | about our own deaths, |
| 48:58 | it makes us anxious. |
| 49:00 | So, when we picture our own funerals, |
| 49:02 | and what we would want |
| to happen to our remains, |
| 49:05 | we imagine ourselves as being gone, |
| 49:08 | but also kind of still around, |
| 49:10 | like, "Oh, I'd love to be buried somewhere |
| 49:12 | that has a nice view." |
| 49:15 | Well, why? |
| 49:16 | You're not gonna be there to enjoy it, |
| 49:17 | by definition, |
| 49:18 | that's a contradictory dream, |
| 49:20 | but the phantasm contains |
| that contradiction, |
| 49:24 | and soothes our anxiety, |
| 49:27 | it is as if I will still be there... |
| 49:30 | [BBWWWRRMMMMMM] |
| 49:32 | I will still be there! |
| 49:35 | [Alexander Avila] "What is |
| characteristic of phantasms, |
| 49:37 | is that they are placed, |
| 49:38 | and place what could be |
| the subject of phantasm, |
| 49:42 | on both sides of a border, |
| 49:44 | a boundary, a limit, |
| 49:46 | a frontier. |
| 49:47 | When there is a border, |
| 49:48 | a limitation, the phantasm let's one |
| 49:51 | on the other side, |
| 49:53 | and not only provides a contraband access |
| 49:55 | through the border, |
| 49:56 | but also keeps one on both sides |
| 49:58 | at the same time. |
| 49:59 | There is no logic of the phantasm, |
| 50:02 | the phantasm is phantasm, |
| 50:04 | because it allows one to stand |
| 50:06 | on both sides of a border, |
| 50:08 | for example, |
| 50:09 | allowing one to imagine one's own corpse, |
| 50:12 | while still being alive." |
| 50:14 | - Like he says, |
| 50:15 | there's no logic to this, |
| 50:17 | it's an exercise in |
| trying to not make sense |
| 50:21 | because you can't handle the conclusions |
| 50:22 | that you would reach if you did, |
| 50:24 | that's why people caught in a phantasm |
| 50:27 | will throw out all kinds of claims |
| 50:28 | that it doesn't really seem like |
| 50:29 | they thought through |
| 50:30 | or have any evidence for |
| 50:32 | and when questioned on it |
| 50:33 | they'll say, |
| 50:34 | "You're attacking me!" |
| 50:35 | Because they're trying really hard |
| 50:38 | to not think something. |
| 50:41 | But what, exactly? |
| 50:43 | What is the thing |
| 50:44 | that the anti-gender movement |
| 50:46 | doesn't want to think? |
| 50:48 | Well, it'll probably be different |
| 50:51 | for different individuals. |
| 50:54 | JK Rowling has been massively radicalised |
| 50:57 | into the movement in the last few years: |
| 50:58 | she's made a lot of very weird |
| 51:00 | and false claims about trans people, |
| 51:02 | and gotten very aggressive |
| when challenged. |
| 51:05 | People have speculated about her trauma |
| 51:07 | maybe causing that, |
| 51:08 | but as a woman who's also survived |
| 51:11 | an abusive relationship, |
| 51:12 | that kind of public speculation |
| 51:14 | has always felt a little bit gross to me, |
| 51:17 | I don't wanna do armchair |
| psychology on anyone, |
| 51:19 | even though |
| 51:20 | I'm sure plenty of people would love |
| 51:22 | to do some on me! |
| 51:23 | It's just not the Philosophy Tube way. |
| 51:26 | So, maybe we can ask |
| a more general version |
| 51:29 | of this same question: |
| 51:31 | "Why are phantasms catching on?" |
| 51:34 | And not just about this topic |
| 51:35 | but all sorts of things. |
| 51:37 | On the previous episode, |
| 51:38 | we talked about 15-minute |
| 51:39 | city conspiracy theories. |
| 51:41 | And there's QAnon, |
| 51:42 | and conspiracies about the royal family. |
| 51:44 | Sometimes the way that Zionists |
| 51:46 | talk about Palestinians |
| 51:47 | has a touch of the phantasm about it, |
| 51:48 | as some Jewish scholars have noted. |
| 51:51 | This is a really big issue, |
| 51:53 | and it would be great |
| 51:54 | if we could sort the |
| whole gender thing out, |
| 51:56 | because we've got a lot of real problems |
| 51:58 | to do deal with, |
| 51:59 | we don't have time to be |
| fighting imaginary ones- |
| 52:02 | [bell dinging] |
| 52:04 | Ohhh... |
| 52:07 | Graff and Korolczuk say |
| 52:09 | there really are a lot of problems |
| 52:11 | in the world, |
| 52:12 | and a lot of them are systemic. |
| 52:15 | A lot of women really are devalued, |
| 52:16 | a lot of children really are living |
| 52:18 | in an increasingly dangerous |
| 52:19 | and warming world, |
| 52:21 | a lot of people really |
| do rely on their families |
| 52:23 | to protect them from big institutions |
| 52:25 | and economic forces that really will |
| 52:27 | trample every tradition |
| 52:28 | and really do dissolve |
| everything into money. |
| 52:31 | According to them |
| 52:33 | the anti-gender phantasm |
| 52:34 | is an attempt to criticise |
| 52:36 | the effects of capitalism |
| 52:39 | without naming capitalism as the problem. |
| 52:43 | People see the bad results |
| 52:44 | of the system that we have |
| 52:46 | but they're invested |
| in those same systems |
| 52:48 | and so the solutions become unthinkable; |
| 52:52 | their criticisms have to be expressed |
| 52:53 | as a kind of moral criticism. |
| 52:58 | Anti-genderism is the socialism of fools, |
| 53:02 | and the feminism of fools, |
| 53:04 | and the anti-colonialism of fools. |
| 53:07 | [Caelan Conrad]] The anti-gender movement |
| 53:08 | is so effective in |
| attracting mass support |
| 53:10 | because it is structured |
| 53:11 | and legitimised as a conservative response |
| 53:13 | to the excesses of neoliberalism. |
| 53:16 | A crucial source of anxiety |
| 53:18 | is the rampant individualism |
| 53:19 | of contemporary culture |
| 53:21 | the erosion of community |
| 53:22 | and growing instability of everyday life. |
| 53:25 | Opponents of gender ideology |
| attribute these trends |
| 53:28 | to the influence of feminism |
| 53:29 | and the sexual revolution. |
| 53:31 | Anti-genderism conflates gender |
| 53:33 | with those aspects of capitalism |
| 53:35 | that are most frustrating |
| to members of the working |
| 53:37 | and lower-middle class, |
| 53:38 | especially to parents |
| 53:39 | and would-be parents: |
| 53:41 | precarity and the crisis of care |
| 53:43 | resulting from uneven care |
| distribution of wealth. |
| 53:46 | Instead of naming the |
| problem in economic terms |
| 53:48 | as injustice |
| 53:49 | and exploitation |
| 53:51 | anti-genderism represents the world |
| 53:53 | of capitalisms winners as degenerate |
| 53:55 | and morally corrupt. |
| 53:57 | - And here's where we tie it all together |
| 54:00 | and bring it back to Judith Butler. |
| 54:06 | When the anti-gender movement |
| 54:07 | said that gender is an ideology |
| 54:09 | and sex is a fixed point |
| 54:11 | we now understand |
| 54:12 | they aren't making an observation; |
| they're making a demand! |
| 54:17 | When they say that you can't change sex |
| 54:20 | they mean you shouldn't be allowed to! |
| 54:23 | Because that would be dangerous, |
| 54:25 | not the kind of danger that |
| is proven with evidence |
| 54:28 | but the kind they want the state to posit |
| 54:32 | and punish. |
| 54:33 | What they want is morally |
| righteous violence |
| 54:36 | that restores an imaginary order, |
| 54:38 | because they are anxious |
| about real problems |
| 54:41 | that they cannot |
| 54:42 | or will not think about, |
| 54:44 | and so they can only |
| glimpse at those problems, |
| 54:47 | through the prism of unreality. |
| 54:52 | [Lily Alexandre] "The contradictory character |
| 54:54 | of the phantasm |
| 54:55 | allows it contain whatever anxiety or fear |
| 54:58 | that they ant-gender ideology wishes |
| 55:00 | to stoke for it's own purposes |
| 55:02 | without having to make any of it cohere. |
| 55:04 | Depending on the anxieties circulating |
| 55:06 | in a particular region |
| 55:07 | gender can be figured as |
| Marxist or capitalist, |
| 55:10 | tyranny or libertarianism, |
| 55:12 | fascism or totalitarianism, |
| 55:14 | a totalising force |
| 55:15 | or an unwanted migrant. |
| 55:17 | It is not that people are unmindful |
| 55:19 | of the contradiction |
| 55:20 | and need to be enlightened, no. |
| 55:23 | The contradiction itself is what works, |
| 55:25 | in effect emancipating people |
| 55:26 | from the task of developing |
| a rational position." |
| 55:33 | - Maybe it's 'cause I'm older, |
| 55:35 | but part of the reason I came back |
| 55:37 | is to tell you |
| 55:39 | life is too short to |
| spend it being miserable. |
| 55:44 | - Actually, that's a point: |
| 55:46 | how come you look younger than me? |
| 55:49 | - 'Cause I'm happier. |
| 55:51 | Joy is youthful. |
| 55:54 | Also, we get a really |
| good skincare routine. |
| 55:56 | - Ah, I don't wanna think |
| about getting older. |
| 55:59 | - You know mum's fish pie recipe? |
| 56:03 | - Yeah? |
| 56:04 | - There's this really amazing moment |
| 56:05 | that's gonna happen when you're 30: |
| 56:07 | you make that fish pie for a friend |
| 56:09 | who's like 23, |
| 56:09 | and you bring it out, |
| 56:10 | and she says, |
| 56:11 | "You are literally my mother." |
| 56:14 | And that is gonna be |
| one of the first times |
| 56:15 | you realise that we're getting older, |
| 56:18 | but it's actually nice, |
| 56:20 | 'cause it's like, |
| 56:21 | we have knowledge that |
| younger people don't, |
| 56:26 | and that's not like a superiority thing; |
| 56:28 | we get to be helpful. |
| 56:31 | We become an aunty! |
| 56:34 | We have little nieces |
| 56:36 | and a nephew, |
| 56:37 | and we help them put on their shoes |
| 56:41 | and they ask us to tell |
| them about Shakespeare. |
| 56:48 | I wish I could tell you |
| 56:49 | that it's all gonna be moments like that, |
| 56:52 | but you're right, |
| 56:54 | your future has ups and downs. |
| 56:57 | It's mainly ups, |
| 56:59 | but the politics is a big down. |
| 57:02 | Does it get better? |
| 57:09 | Let's talk about Brainwyrms. |
| 57:12 | Brainwyrms is a 2024 |
| novel by Alison Rumfitt |
| 57:15 | about a woman who discovers |
| 57:16 | that several high-ranking |
| British politicians |
| 57:18 | and journalists are |
| being secretly controlled |
| 57:20 | by a contagious parasite |
| 57:21 | that makes them bigoted. |
| 57:23 | She has to uncover the conspiracy |
| 57:25 | but nobody will believe her |
| 57:26 | because she's working-class |
| 57:27 | and trans |
| 57:29 | and maybe imagining it. |
| 57:31 | I like that the worms |
| 57:32 | are never confirmed to be real. |
| 57:35 | We could read them as hallucinations. |
| 57:38 | That ambiguity forces us to engage |
| 57:41 | only with the metaphor. |
| 57:42 | Brainworms might not be real |
| 57:44 | but hate is infectious, |
| 57:48 | disgusting, and perverse. |
| 57:51 | One character is a famous author |
| 57:54 | who writes books about teenage witches. |
| 57:59 | There's a scene where |
| she infects someone else, |
| 58:02 | coming close to her victim, |
| 58:03 | worms dripping from her open mouth. |
| 58:05 | And she says a line, |
| 58:07 | and in the movie version |
| 58:08 | this would be the line that reveals |
| 58:10 | a glimpse of her evil plan, right? |
| 58:13 | But instead she says, |
| 58:15 | "I've seen the future of this country, |
| 58:19 | and it's going to get so much worse." |
| 58:26 | The worms don't make her happy, |
| 58:27 | in fact, they're a kind |
| of contagious misery. |
| 58:31 | Nobody who is infected |
| 58:33 | ever gets better. |
| 58:34 | So, what can we do about all of the things |
| 58:38 | that we have learned today? |
| 58:39 | Well, there's actually two questions |
| 58:41 | rolled into one there: |
| 58:42 | the first is |
| 58:43 | what can we practically do |
| 58:45 | about the political situation |
| 58:46 | that we're all living in? |
| 58:47 | And secondly, |
| 58:48 | can we convince people who are stuck |
| 58:50 | inside phantasms? |
| 58:53 | So, first things first, |
| 58:54 | practically speaking, |
| 58:55 | what can we do? |
| 58:56 | Well, if you've been watching the show |
| 58:58 | for any amount of time |
| 58:59 | you know that I hate |
| telling people what to do |
| 59:00 | or think, but here's |
| some suggestions maybe? |
| 59:06 | If you're Catholic |
| 59:07 | and you like buying little medals, |
| 59:09 | or rosaries or tchotchkes, |
| 59:11 | if you have relatives who do, |
| 59:12 | maybe older relatives who do, |
| 59:15 | you might like to double-check |
| 59:16 | where that money is going! |
| 59:18 | If you happen to work in media |
| 59:19 | then all of this theory could have |
| 59:21 | some practical applications for you. |
| 59:23 | We might like to talk |
| about anti-genderists |
| 59:25 | the same way we talk about anti-vaxxers |
| 59:28 | or climate deniers. |
| 59:29 | For example, "Mrs X says this, |
| 59:32 | which is false." |
| 59:33 | "Organisation 'Y' claims this, |
| 59:35 | which is pseudoscience." |
| 59:36 | Another thing that you might like to try |
| 59:38 | is using the word 'cisgender', |
| 59:41 | it was coined in the early '90s, |
| 59:43 | it means 'not transgender', |
| 59:45 | and the English language |
| 59:46 | anti-gender movement hate it |
| 59:48 | because it implies that trans people, |
| 59:50 | and cis people are both |
| worth listening to. |
| 59:55 | It resists abjectification |
| 59:57 | by putting us on an even playing field, |
| 59:59 | kind of like using the word 'straight' |
| 1:00:01 | or 'heterosexual' instead |
| of saying 'normal'. |
| 1:00:04 | Beyond that, Graff |
| 1:00:05 | and Korolczuk say |
| 1:00:06 | we need to appreciate the fact |
| 1:00:08 | that right-wing populism |
| is criticising capitalism, |
| 1:00:12 | albeit in phantasmic terms. |
| 1:00:14 | They say |
| 1:00:15 | we should move beyond the old idea, |
| 1:00:16 | that the left are anti-capitalist, |
| 1:00:18 | and the right are always pro-market. |
| 1:00:20 | Now some of them are, |
| 1:00:21 | to be sure, |
| 1:00:22 | but not all. |
| 1:00:23 | They say that these days |
| 1:00:24 | a lot of people on the right |
| 1:00:25 | are actually criticising capitalism, |
| 1:00:27 | even if they don't use |
| that kind of language. |
| 1:00:30 | And so sticking to the same old |
| 1:00:32 | economic policies we've had |
| 1:00:33 | for the last 40 years |
| 1:00:34 | is leaving yourself wide open |
| 1:00:36 | to those far-right extremists. |
| 1:00:39 | They also say that LGBTQ stuff |
| 1:00:41 | and gender stuff can't really be separated |
| 1:00:43 | from "normal politics" anymore, |
| 1:00:46 | 'cause that's how a lot of people |
| 1:00:47 | are engaging with normal |
| politics these days. |
| 1:00:51 | The anti-gender phantasm |
| 1:00:52 | isn't the only thing powering |
| 1:00:53 | the global right to be sure, |
| 1:00:55 | but it's big enough that |
| it can't be ignored. |
| 1:00:58 | Important lessons there |
| for centrists perhaps. |
| 1:01:01 | They recommend a strategy |
| 1:01:03 | called 'Populist Feminism', |
| 1:01:05 | which involves tapping into |
| 1:01:06 | people's emotions in the moment. |
| 1:01:08 | An example from the UK |
| 1:01:09 | might be the group 'Sisters Uncut', |
| 1:01:12 | who've been very successful |
| 1:01:13 | mobilising a broad coalition |
| 1:01:15 | against austerity, |
| 1:01:17 | domestic violence cuts, |
| 1:01:19 | police violence, |
| 1:01:20 | prisons, healthcare segregation, |
| 1:01:21 | arms sales to the Israeli government, |
| 1:01:23 | and many other things |
| 1:01:24 | because they recognise |
| that all those forces |
| 1:01:27 | disproportionately hurt women |
| 1:01:29 | and therefore women |
| can be brought together |
| 1:01:32 | to protest against them, |
| 1:01:34 | if given the chance to express |
| 1:01:36 | our feelings of hurt |
| 1:01:38 | and righteous anger. |
| 1:01:40 | There's many ways to be involved |
| 1:01:41 | in a group like that, |
| 1:01:42 | from actually taking |
| part in demonstrations |
| 1:01:44 | to donating money, |
| 1:01:45 | which again |
| 1:01:46 | empowers a broad coalition. |
| 1:01:48 | A broad coalition, |
| 1:01:49 | a coalition of broads! |
| 1:01:51 | Dames, dime pieces, |
| 1:01:52 | chicks, dolls, |
| 1:01:53 | all standing together! |
| 1:01:55 | Will it work? |
| 1:01:58 | Well, join me at the |
| end of the 21st century |
| 1:02:00 | to see humanity's final scores! |
| 1:02:02 | And now, our second question: |
| 1:02:05 | can we reach people stuck in phantasms? |
| 1:02:08 | Is there a cure for brainworms? |
| 1:02:18 | Well, to be honest, |
| 1:02:18 | as somebody who does a |
| lot of public education, |
| 1:02:21 | I really hate to admit this, |
| 1:02:22 | but I'm not optimistic |
| that education will work. |
| 1:02:27 | Butler says that this movement |
| 1:02:29 | is not only irrational |
| 1:02:30 | but anti-rational: |
| 1:02:32 | many of the most prominent people in it |
| 1:02:33 | proudly do not engage |
| 1:02:36 | with any of the academic |
| material on gender. |
| 1:02:40 | At the end of my research |
| journey I realised |
| 1:02:43 | the reason they don't listen |
| 1:02:45 | is because they feel that listening |
| 1:02:46 | is an act of submission. |
| 1:02:51 | And I... |
| 1:02:54 | I can't help it, |
| 1:02:55 | I think that's really sad. |
| 1:02:57 | I really don't wanna come across |
| 1:02:58 | as patronising or giving people mercy |
| 1:03:03 | that they wouldn't give me, |
| 1:03:04 | but I think it is really sad when people |
| 1:03:08 | refuse their own complexity, |
| 1:03:10 | when they refuse to become |
| 1:03:12 | the person that they might become |
| 1:03:14 | if they just listened. |
| 1:03:17 | Indeed, there could be no greater enemy |
| 1:03:20 | for Philosophy Tube |
| 1:03:22 | than the anti-gender phantasm: |
| 1:03:23 | this show is about compassion |
| 1:03:26 | and reason |
| 1:03:27 | and sharing knowledge between equals. |
| 1:03:31 | It's born out of my belief that thinking |
| 1:03:35 | and research |
| 1:03:38 | and words |
| 1:03:39 | and writing, |
| 1:03:43 | that they matter! |
| 1:03:46 | And I'm f*****g trans! |
| 1:03:51 | This is my final boss-fight. |
| 1:03:55 | [Stef Sanjati] "Informed public debate |
| 1:03:57 | becomes impossible when some parties |
| 1:03:59 | refuse to read the material under dispute, |
| 1:04:02 | it is nearly impossible |
| 1:04:03 | to breach this epistemic divide |
| 1:04:05 | with good arguments |
| 1:04:06 | because of the fear that reading |
| 1:04:08 | will introduce confusion |
| 1:04:10 | into the reader's mind |
| 1:04:11 | or bring her into direct |
| contact with the devil. |
| 1:04:15 | They're skeptical of the academy |
| 1:04:17 | for fear that intellectual debates |
| 1:04:19 | may well confuse them |
| about the values they hold. |
| 1:04:23 | Their refusal to care |
| much about consistency, |
| 1:04:26 | to base their criticisms |
| on a reading of the text, |
| 1:04:29 | their way of snatching phrases |
| 1:04:30 | and making them into lightning rods, |
| 1:04:32 | however, are all finally a refusal |
| 1:04:36 | to think critically." |
| 1:04:40 | - Some individual people do get better. |
| 1:04:47 | When we first come out, |
| 1:04:48 | there's gonna be people |
| who do not take it well, |
| 1:04:53 | but in time |
| 1:04:54 | they see that we are happier |
| 1:04:56 | and for most of them |
| 1:04:58 | that's enough. |
| 1:05:01 | - I'm scared of changing. |
| 1:05:06 | No offense! |
| 1:05:09 | - Yeah, well you will change, |
| 1:05:13 | but you keep the good bits. |
| 1:05:18 | - Are you still making |
| 1:05:20 | Philosophy Tube in the future? |
| 1:05:22 | What did the audience say? |
| 1:05:25 | - I brought them with me! |
| 1:05:31 | - Oh, hi! |
| 1:05:35 | It's nice to see you all! |
| 1:05:39 | There's more of them. |
| 1:05:41 | - A lot more! |
| 1:05:43 | [soft crying] |
| 1:05:51 | [thoughtful electronic music by Nina Richards] |
| 1:05:58 | - I love you. |
| 1:05:59 | - I love you too. |
| 1:06:03 | [Nina Richards music intensifies] |
| 1:06:22 | - I'd like to end by telling you |
| 1:06:24 | my hopes for the future. |
| 1:06:28 | I hope that I will grow old. |
| 1:06:31 | I hope that when I am old, |
| 1:06:33 | I will still be cooking |
| 1:06:34 | the way that my mum taught me, |
| 1:06:36 | and that I will have the wisdom of my dad. |
| 1:06:40 | I hope that my nieces |
| 1:06:41 | and my nephew grow up into good |
| 1:06:43 | and happy people. |
| 1:06:45 | I hope that I will see younger people |
| 1:06:47 | have opportunities that I didn't. |
| 1:06:50 | And I hope that I won't be too jealous! |
| 1:06:55 | I hope that I will be acting |
| 1:06:57 | and making art for the rest of my life. |
| 1:07:03 | I hope that this is not the cleverest |
| 1:07:06 | or the most compassionate |
| that I will ever be, |
| 1:07:09 | but that I will continue to change |
| 1:07:12 | because the only people who don't change |
| 1:07:17 | are the dead. |
| 1:07:24 | Speaking of changes! |
| 1:07:27 | I've been doing Philosophy Tube |
| 1:07:29 | for 11 years now. |
| 1:07:31 | Some of you have been |
| here that whole time |
| 1:07:34 | and I don't know if you realise it, |
| 1:07:36 | but you have changed my life. |
| 1:07:40 | Off YouTube |
| 1:07:41 | I'm a professional actor. |
| 1:07:43 | YouTube kinda blew up first |
| 1:07:45 | but it's always been separate |
| 1:07:46 | from my acting career, |
| 1:07:48 | until I wrote a play called 'The Prince', |
| 1:07:51 | which a lot of you came to see |
| 1:07:53 | so it did really well. |
| 1:07:55 | And then I got cast in Baldur's Gate 3. |
| 1:07:58 | And then I got cast in Star Wars. |
| 1:08:01 | And then I got cast in something |
| 1:08:03 | that's even bigger than Star Wars |
| 1:08:04 | that I'm not allowed |
| to tell you about yet! |
| 1:08:07 | And the engine of all |
| of this has been you. |
| 1:08:11 | I used to think that I would |
| 1:08:12 | probably have to leave |
| YouTube behind someday |
| 1:08:14 | to focus on acting, |
| 1:08:16 | but now I realise that because of you, |
| 1:08:18 | and your lovely enthusiasm |
| 1:08:20 | for all of the things that I make |
| 1:08:22 | and that I'm in, I now realise we can combine YouTube |
| 1:08:27 | and acting |
| 1:08:28 | into something more powerful |
| 1:08:30 | than either one can be alone. |
| 1:08:33 | So, then I was like, |
| 1:08:34 | "Okay, I wanna write a short film." |
| 1:08:37 | And I did, |
| 1:08:38 | it's called 'Dracula's Ex-Girlfriend', |
| 1:08:40 | it's about two vampire chicks in LA |
| 1:08:42 | being horrible to each other. |
| 1:08:44 | I pitched it |
| 1:08:44 | to a streaming service called 'Nebula', |
| 1:08:47 | I said, |
| 1:08:47 | "Hey, I've got this big audience, |
| 1:08:49 | and we've already had |
| success with my play. |
| 1:08:51 | Do you maybe wanna do a movie." |
| 1:08:53 | And they said, "Yes." |
| 1:08:55 | Once again, you have changed my life! |
| 1:08:58 | Do you know how many actors would kill |
| 1:09:00 | to have a streaming service |
| 1:09:01 | pick up their debut film? |
| 1:09:03 | I'm gonna be in it too. |
| 1:09:04 | My co-stars are Morgana Ignis |
| 1:09:06 | and Brandon Rogers from 'Helluva Boss', |
| 1:09:09 | one of the biggest shows in the world. |
| 1:09:11 | And you will be able to see the film |
| 1:09:14 | when it comes out at 'go.nebula.tv/dex'. |
| 1:09:19 | And it gets better, |
| 1:09:21 | 'cause Nebula isn't just |
| another streaming service. |
| 1:09:24 | Imagine you had a role |
| in a show on Disney+, |
| 1:09:26 | say... I don't know? 'Star Wars: The Acolyte'? |
| 1:09:29 | Well, you'd do the job |
| 1:09:31 | and you'd have a great time, |
| 1:09:32 | and at the end of the day |
| 1:09:33 | you go home: |
| 1:09:34 | Star Wars belongs to Disney. |
| 1:09:37 | But on Nebula |
| 1:09:38 | the people who create the thing |
| 1:09:40 | own the thing. |
| 1:09:42 | I wrote 'Dracula's Ex-Girlfriend', |
| 1:09:44 | so I keep the rights. |
| 1:09:45 | They're giving the creators more power. |
| 1:09:48 | And even better |
| 1:09:50 | if you all go |
| 1:09:51 | and get Disney+ to watch Star Wars, |
| 1:09:52 | then that's really cool |
| 1:09:53 | but the creators of the show |
| 1:09:54 | don't get like a bonus or anything. |
| 1:09:56 | However, if you get Nebula |
| 1:09:58 | using that link specifically |
| 1:10:00 | then I get a cut, |
| 1:10:02 | and you get a discount: |
| 1:10:04 | $2.50 a month with an annual subscription. |
| 1:10:08 | So I help you, |
| 1:10:09 | you're helping me, |
| 1:10:10 | we are helping each other. |
| 1:10:13 | And there's even more! |
| 1:10:14 | If you wanna see the full scene |
| 1:10:16 | that we shot for this episode, |
| 1:10:17 | without all the video essay bits in between? |
| 1:10:19 | That's on Nebula too. |
| 1:10:21 | Every episode of Philosophy Tube |
| 1:10:22 | goes up there early |
| 1:10:23 | and uncensored. |
| 1:10:25 | Lindsay Ellis is on there, |
| 1:10:26 | LegalEagle's on there, |
| 1:10:28 | Hbomberguy's on there, |
| 1:10:29 | they're making a whole |
| bunch of documentaries now. |
| 1:10:31 | They're making a sci-fi movie |
| 1:10:32 | directed by Jessie Gender |
| 1:10:34 | that I'm gonna be in, |
| 1:10:35 | it's called 'Identiteaze', |
| 1:10:36 | it comes out in June. |
| 1:10:37 | If you get Nebula |
| 1:10:38 | you can see all of that: |
| 1:10:40 | we are combining YouTube |
| 1:10:43 | and acting |
| 1:10:43 | and we are unlocking the power. |
| 1:10:46 | You and I have had a lot of fun |
| 1:10:48 | over these last 11 years, |
| 1:10:50 | the next step is |
| 'Dracula's Ex-Girlfriend', |
| 1:10:53 | and after that? |
| 1:10:57 | Wait and see! |
| 1:10:59 | [Cool as hell synth music] |
| 1:11:15 | [So proud of this one, it came together really well] |
| 1:11:30 | [My original plan for this one was to interview Butler, |
| and I was chatting to their publicist about it, |
| but it didn't work out in the end] |
| 1:11:50 | [So I decided to take a creative risk, push the boat out a little. |
| Don't wanna get complacent with YouTube, y'know?] |
| 1:12:06 | [How good was Rhys though? Love working with him, such a lovely guy] |
| 1:12:23 | [Speaking of acting - StarWars! Finally I can talk about it! |
| I'll talk about it more on livestream when the show comes out of course] |
| 1:12:41 | [I mean, I have a very small role in it. I can't wait |
| to announce the bigger thing though haha] |
| 1:12:59 | [I'm glad we've got DEX too: the acting industry is in a really bad place |
| right now, I'm lucky to have something to be working on] |
| 1:13:15 | [The editing for this one was fun too: editing drama is a different |
| skill set, so that was a cool challenge] |
| 1:13:33 | [ANYWAY now that this episode is finally done I can go |
| and enjoy my birthday party tonight lol] |
| 1:13:51 | [It's convenient that I held it on the same night as Eurovision, |
| so all the people joining in the boycott have something else to do lol] |
| 1:14:07 | [By the way, if you are so inclined do sign up to the Patreon. It's been |
| lagging a bit, just cause of the recession generally. So y'know, if you have |
| the spare cash. But not if you don't; I'll be okay] |
| 1:14:25 | [Oh by the way, the full scene with Rhys and the blooper reel are both on Nebula!] |
| 1:14:50 | [Brian Conway] You can moonwalk, another talent? |
| 1:14:53 | [Abi] Apparently! |
| 1:14:56 | [Mr. X] Pretty good! That's it, that's the end of the video. |
| 1:14:59 | [Mr. X laughing] |
| 1:15:06 | I'm just kidding, all right. |