Gayle Rubin

Gayle S. Rubin (born 1949) is an American cultural anthropologist and feminist best known for her work on sexuality and gender identity. Rubin is considered a key figure in the development of the field of queer studies and has made significant contributions to feminist theory, gay and lesbian studies, and sex-positive feminism.

Early Life and Education

Rubin was born in South Carolina in 1949. She attended the University of Michigan, where she received her Bachelor's degree in Anthropology and History. She later earned her Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Chicago.

Career

Rubin began her career as a professor at the University of Michigan, where she taught courses on gender studies and anthropology. She later moved to San Francisco, where she became a prominent figure in the city's LGBTQ+ community.

Rubin's work focuses on the ways in which society and culture shape our understandings of sexuality and gender. She is perhaps best known for her essay "The Traffic in Women: Notes on the 'Political Economy' of Sex", which was published in 1975 and has since become a seminal text in the field of feminist theory.

In this essay, Rubin argues that women have been historically treated as commodities in a system of exchange controlled by men. She also introduces the concept of the "sex/gender system", which she defines as the set of social arrangements that transform biological sexuality into products of human activity.

Legacy

Rubin's work has had a profound impact on the fields of gender studies, queer studies, and feminist theory. Her ideas have been influential in shaping contemporary understandings of sexuality, gender, and power relations.

See Also

• Feminist theory
• Queer studies
• Sex-positive feminism