In chapter four, “Periodization”, Foucault discusses the “technology” of sex. These “technologies” can be defined as medicine, education and demography which restricted sex and transformed it into a public matter. In past, the sixteenth and seventeenth century, sex was seen as a private matter that should be confined to the home and never mentioned in public. The topic of sexuality was then altered, it was then discussed in confusion as a Catholic church belief. During the nineteenth century sex was converted into a public matter. Many believed sex  to be of “biological responsibility” (1978:118) meaning homosexuality must be due to one’s genetics, designating as hereditary and declaring it an illness. This reasoning caused the public, more importantly the bourgeois, to fear for the future generations that could harm their standing in society. This encouraged the practice of eugenics, which enforced sterilization. Although this theory placed reforms it was never scientifically proven. This ideology turned sex from a spiritual and religious matter to a physical health concern that could effect the public, more specifically the bourgeoise. Foucault does not believe in the repressive theory. He argues that this theory could not possibly be true because if its intentions were economic, there would be strict restrictions placed upon young men who were the leading force in the working class. The restrictions were most stringent upon the bourgeoise as it was implemented to preserve their status and “eliteness”. Foucault exclaims, “The bourgeoisie’s “blood” was its sex” (1978:124). This reinforces the notion that the elite class believed sex to be heavily influential to their overall health. Although their intentions were to place restrictions on themselves to keep a healthy sexuality, their beliefs extended to the working class. This expansion lead the bourgeoisie to assert their dominance over the proletariats. The “technologies” are just methods or tools that were used to control sex.

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