Judith Butler, born 1956 in Ohio, is an American philosopher and gender studies scholar. She is a transformational American feminist thinker, and author of notable books such as "Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity," and "Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of Sex." Her books have challenged conventional, heteronormative notions of gender and develop theories of gender performativity. As a philosopher and human rights activist, Butler has researched and written about the backlashes that women, LGBTQ individuals, migrants and people of color face in terms of their rights. Today, Butler is a distinguished professor in the Graduate School Department of Comparative Literature at the University of California. She continues to speak out on many prevalent issues including Israeli politics and LGBTQ rights.