For anyone who has ever felt that gender can be an uncomfortable or unfair prescription on our social, sexual identities, Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble may be the book for you. A study of Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, Butler argues that feminist politics cannot progress unless we can come up with a collective and coherent definition of what ‘female’ really means.

Considering biological bodies, gender and sexuality, Butler reveals to us the complexities of categories we often take for granted. She emphasises the significance of multiple perspectives – cultural, philosophical, psychoanalytical – all of which must be considered before jumping to any gender-based conclusions. A word of warning – Butler is notorious for her arduous and opaque style of writing. But if you persist (perhaps with a dictionary close by!) many fascinating and important points on gender, feminism, and the supposed naturalness of sexual identity may be discovered beneath the layers of difficult text.