Revisiting the Concept of "Sex" as Fiction:

Abstract

The distinction between sex and gender was introduced to differentiate between biological facts and variable social institutions. However, this distinction has come to be criticized for regarding biological sex as immutable. Judith Butler's statement that "sex is also gender" is widely regarded as a groundbreaking contribution to the understanding of sex and gender. Butler drew inspiration from Simone de Beauvoir, which she further developed with Monique Wittig's idea of "sex as fiction." Butler's work, which began in the mid-1980s and culminated in Gender Trouble (1990), aimed to challenge the dominant understanding of sex as a fixed and natural category. However, a closer examination of Butler's work reveals that her reading of Wittig is problematic and based on several misunderstandings. This paper will explore the ways in which Butler's interpretation is erroneous and structurally self-contradictory. One major issue with Butler's reading is that her central idea is derived from misreadings of French materialist feminism. This theoretical group, which emerged in France in the late 1970s, included notable figures such as Christine Delphy, Colette Guillaumin, and Monique Wittig. Their approach emphasized the role of social relations in the construction of the category of sex itself. By separating Wittig from the context of French materialist feminism, Butler overlooks important insights that are crucial to fully understanding the relationship between sex and gender.