BOOK REVIEW: WHO’S AFRAID OF GENDER?

Abstract

This review of the book *Who’s Afraid of Gender?*—authored by researcher and writer Judith Butler and translated into Brazilian Portuguese by Heci Regina Candiani—presents a critical analysis of the meanings attributed to the concept of gender over the last three decades. Butler approaches the concept of freedom as something collective and inclusive, affirming the interdependence among human beings and with the environment; in doing so, she reaffirms the book as an act of unified resistance against the fascist and authoritarian passions that manifest in attacks on gender. Butler problematizes gender inequalities and the narratives that portray gender as a "phantasmatic" form (2024, p. 20)—endowed with destructive forces, designed to stoke moral panic, and disseminated by neoconservative movements, religious institutions, organizations, and governments to serve their own interests. Reading this book is essential for broadening discussions on social equality, respect for gender differences, and the development of acts of resistance.