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Assignment 8: Miguel Montana

When Foucault talks about, “A Technology of Sex” it’s clear that he’s referring to tangible objects as he makes an effort to mention the tracking of said “devices” that partake in the mechanized approach to sex. These objects were socially constructed as a means to scrutinize and inspect how people were having sex and to make the act of sex not just a secular issue, but a state one as well. In doing so, this intense regulation of sex wasn’t enforced through practical means like a police force, but rather through meticulous self-inspection and the observance of vows from the church and laws from the state. This, in turn, helps us to understand the application that went into applying these mechanical devices into the livelihood of people ranging from the 1700’s to the 1900’s. Through this specific mechanization of sex, the act itself went from something private that didn’t need discussion to something that became thoroughly dissected through active discussion, in perhaps monotonous detail to avoid the prudish act of deriving pleasure from discussing it. Which seem to be the intended desire of mechanizing sex and all of its facets; was the careful removal and regulation of pleasure and how people sought pleasure privately. This, I think, had a lot to do with how the church in particular viewed bodily aspects of pleasure and enjoyment as sin and something that should be rectified. By being able to mechanize and control sex through specific tools, it made having a firm grasp on its (the churches) followers all that much easier to do. Which in turn, popularized these devices and their intended use for a very long time as their effectiveness was well documented by none other than the church itself through confessions. Ultimately, when talking about the application of these devices, I think Foucault stresses the idea that these devices were intended to be efficient tools to control prudish acts so both the state and church could benefit appropriately.