The History Of Sexuality By Michel Foucault - 1729 Words

The ‘We â€Å"Other Victorians†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ chapter of the book entitled â€Å"The History of Sexuality† by Michel Foucault seeks to explain the traditional and modern issues regarding sexuality. Michel argues out that during the 17th century, sexuality was not a big deal, and various sexual acts were pursued more or less deliberately. Primarily, there was no taboo concerning sex and people of all age groups including children were well aware of sexual behaviours. Michel then points out that sexuality was now shifted to the homes where it was meant to become a personal matter between two exclusive partners (Foucault, 1980). As such, the society manipulated and controlled the issue of sexuality such that it became a reproductive and productive national power. For this reason, the repression of sexuality resulted in the concentration of supremacy as power became concurrently linked to leisure. Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, sexuality was a socially non-existent matter, a taboo, as well as, the dissertation of sexuality fell completely silent as populations continued to grow rapidly. Therefore, this paper entails a critical reflection of Michel Foucault’s main arguments in this chapter. Michel argues that during the seventeenth century, people were frank about themselves more so regarding the issue of sexual practices. That is, words were expressed openly without any concealment and secrecy was something did not exist at all. As such, anybody had the right to know anythingShow MoreRelatedThe History Of Sexuality, By Michel Foucault1346 Words   |  6 PagesIn the History of Sexuality Vol. 1, Michel Foucault writes the body as a constructed and manipulated agent, the locus of sociopolitical discourse and power. To Foucault, the body cannot exist before the law (that which holds and ascribes its meaning). Similarly, sexuality cannot free itself from relations of power (Butler 1989:603). Indeed, the body is culturally contested; it is incapable of independence from any particular structuralized narrative. The ubiquitous yet uncertain subject of sex,Read MoreThe History Of Sexuality, Volume 1, By Michel Foucault1822 Words   |  8 Pages In Part V of The History of Sexuality, Volume 1, Michel Foucault documents the historical shift from a sovereign power concentrated in death to a normalized, institutionalized regulation of life focused in part on the control of sexuality. He argues that this movement marks not only a reconceptualization of the living subject as a valuable source of both labor and production but also a new political interest in sex as a site of surveillance, classification, and management. Individuals in the contemporaryRead MoreAnalysis Of Michel Foucault s The History Of Sexuality Sheds Light On The Victorian Era 1258 Words   |  6 PagesMichel Foucault’s The History of Sexuality sheds light on the Victorian era and how the regulation of discourses on sex reveals that Victorian society is more perverse than contemporary society thinks of it. A similar approach can be applied to contemporary society and political discourse. During the 2016 presidential election, The Washington Post relea sed a video of current President-elect Donald Trump bragging about what many consider to be sexually assaulting women. Recorded saying comments suchRead MoreAnalysis Of Foucault And Queer Theory 1211 Words   |  5 PagesIn Foucault and Queer Theory Spargo defines queer theory as a nebulous group of cultural criticism and analysis of social power structures relating to sexuality . It is these power structures and aspects of culture that are responsible for the discourse that creates and informs ones understanding of gender, race, and sexuality. However these aspects of identity do not exist separately from one another, but are constructed in tandem throughout history. These layers of identity inform each otherRead More Repression and Fear of Gay, Lesbian, Bi-sexual, and Transgender Americans1610 Words   |  7 PagesSan Francisco boast attendance in the hundreds of thousands. The legislative act of prohibition has provided strength to the prohibited acts in the case of sexual behavior and identity. Michel Foucault best explains how homosexuality became an identity and a category. In The History of Sexuality, Foucault explores the validity of the repressive hypothesis which claims that sex has been repressed in Europe since the Renaissance. For three centuries, the bourgeoisie, characterized by modernRead MoreBiographical Paper Of Michel Foucault1272 Words   |  6 Pages Biographical Paper of Michel Foucault. Michel Foucault Kenya Coleman Principles of Sociology Professor Preston September 12, 2016 French historian and philosopher Michel Foucault, was born in Poitiers, France October 15, 1926. He was the professor of the History of Systems of Thought and also was the founder of Groupe d’informationRead More Eve Kosofsky Sedgwicks Tendencies: Queerness and Oppression1208 Words   |  5 PagesTendencies: Queerness and Oppression Over the last two decades or so, the idea of queerness is one that has been utilized and considered by individuals and communities of marginalized sexualities and genders. The concept is one that has attempted to broaden and deconstruct traditional notions of gender and sexuality in order to include all of their incarnations as valid experiences and identities. Queerness endeavors to include all of those who feel they are a part of it yet, seemingly, not everyoneRead MoreRelationship Between Sex And Power955 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction Michel Foucault was a French philosopher, historian, social theorist, philologist and literary critic whose work had a tremendous impact on several disciplines. He was not a sociologist by training, but he worked diligently on sociological issues and otherwise had significant influence on the work of other sociologists. One of his most famous works is the The History of Sexuality, in which he examines the emergence of sexuality as a discursive object and separate sphere of lifeRead MoreHistory of Sexuality3607 Words   |  15 Pagesconcepts of Michel Foucault From 1989 to 1999, the time period of the Clinton Administration, a homosexual force entered the American consciousness. Court cases and rhetoric of the 80s incited a discourse in which homosexuality was re-articulated, re-negotiated, and unmistakably re-repressed (Davis 3). Supreme Court judgment and actions taken by Congress with the Dont Ask, Dont Tell policy exemplify theories of sexuality and power expressed in the philosophies of Michel Foucault. FoucaultRead MoreMichel Foucault s Philosophy Of Law1346 Words   |  6 PagesMichel Foucault was an unconventional philosopher in relation to the ideas and reasonings of law and why they are just. He takes a different approach than many of the most prominent philosophers in the study of the philosophy of law. If someone were to compare his ideals with the ideals of some of the most prominent law philosophers an interesting total theory of the philosophy behind law could be created. The intentions of this writing are to relate and compare Michel Foucault with many of his predecessors