‘—

Assignment 7

In part one of “We Other Victorians” by Michael Foucault, he describes how sexuality was an openly discussed topic in the seventeenth century. However as we moved into the Victorian Era, it soon became an abomination to a wide variety of things in this topic. Foucault describes the Victorian Era as monotonous, tyrannical and constituted a lack of freedom of speech.  During this repressive time period, a great deal of revolt would be required to reinstate their freedom. Foucault makes a distinct connection between the incompatibility of labor and sex.

Foucault explains the freedom one has to speak on matters regarding sex stems from the feeling evoked from violating the law during the Victorian Era and the attitude of transgression as a result of prohibition from sex. One of the results that come from the freedom to speak on topics of sex during this time was enlightenment and liberation.

Foucault also seeks to analyze why discussing sex is considered a sin, why one must feel guilt towards this matter, and he also seeks to investigate what led biblical references to believe that sex should be repressed. This is considered one of the beliefs that the monarchs during the Victorian Era strongly believed. Moreover, it seemed to Foucault that prohibition, censorship and denial were ultimately the ways in which the monarchs of the Victorian Era governed their people.

One question I had based on part one was why the Victorian’s believed they should govern their people based on religious books/studies and if they felt that this government would fit all of the citizens in the United Kingdom. If they believed this form of government did not fit all people, what was done to those who didn’t believe in it, as opposed to those who protested their government?

Another question I had based on part one was how did this system of utilitarianism manifest after the seventeenth century? How did the Victorians rise to power? Was there a sharp change of thought amongst all or most of it’s citizens,  were there any socio-political groups that rose to oppress those in favor of liberation?