Catalonia International Prize goes to American philosopher Judith Butler

The American philosopher Judith Butler has been awarded the Catalonia International Prize for their work, that has had great influenced on several disciplines such as political philosophy and ethics.

The jury considered their “activism and thinking as inspiring,” showing “that life counts”, Catalan president Pere Aragonès said during a press conference on Monday afternoon. Aragonès also highlighted Butler’s activism on lesbian and gay rights, and their support for the queer movement. The Catalan president drew comparisons between the prizewinner and Catalonia, saying they both share the same values on equality, fraternity, non-violence and freedom.

Butler is one of the most important figures in gender studies internationally and well known for the feminist philosophy they have been working on for years, in particular their theory of gender performativity. In their essay “Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity” Butler explains the improvised performance gender has. They believe that gender roles are social constructions, not natural concepts. Judith Butler considers themselves a non-binary person, meaning that they do not identify as male or female.

During last years, the American philosopher has also taken intellectual and political action in conflicts such as the one between Israel and Palestine, the war in Iraq and the Occupy Wall Street movement, a peaceful anti-capitalist protest that began on September 17, 2011 with a sit-in in New York’s financial district.

[Butler is the author of “Undoing Gender” and declares themself as non-binary, which is the reason why we refer to them with gender-neutral pronouns].