Although Butler would most likely still dispute the reconcilability of this act, I believe Lorde would posit it more as a bridge between this current language and the new linguistic possibility that the erotic can provide. Butler's essay derives its question and ethics from the singular complexities of the John/Joan case study in which a child born with XY chromosomes suffered such an act of accidental genital mutilation that he was professionally advised to "complete" gender reassignment and raising the child as a girl, even though, much later, the same child wished to be reassigned as a “man.” This case study alone is full of complexity and nuance in relation to the effectiveness of labels and the formation of a personal gender identity. In his analysis, Butler starts “from a question of power” and defines this notion of power as something that itself derives from “a certain normative regime” and which at the same time “informs” and “exceeds” the law (Butler 621) . She positions this topic from this orientation to signal that the development of such identities does not occur in a vacuum and is in direct confrontation and relationship with systems of power. Furthermore, it recognizes that being identified by someone outside of oneself is inherent