5 Assignment 07

Question 1: Does Michel Foucault describe prostitution in a way that makes it look acceptable?
Question 2: How have women not liberated themselves from the social norms of sexuality in marriages ?
In chapter one of “The History of Sexuality” by Michel Foucault, Foucault focuses on the beginning of the establishment of the sexual norms that have developed into the late nineteenth century. He or she even implies it is currently still seen in our society.
Foucault explains or claims that before the Victorian regime which was around the late 16th century people did not care as much for public nudity or public discussion when it came to sex. That it was acceptable for children to even talk about it.
However when the victorian regime took over the social construction of marriage surrounded itself around secrecy and a sexual monarchy.
Sex outside of marriage and divorce was seen as taboo and looked upon in society. Foucault makes statements about prostitutes and so on. Stating they challenged the social norms in a victorian regime society, whatever that has to do with it. Honestly I think they personally needed money and manual labor was out of their physical and social boundaries so they resorted to selling their bodies. Which should not be praised as sexually revolutionizing as Foucault does. Foucault also implements capitalism into this chapter to show the transitioning of society into one that is more strict and male dominating in the sexual aspect. During a time when labor exploitation was vital marriages did not have the time to explore into sexual endeavors or exploration. That marriage and sex only clear reason and purpose was to reproduce. So played the role into demeaning women. Also giving insight into the transitioning of power in marriages and the abuse of sex in a relationship had caused the repression of women in marriages.

In Part one of the passage of History of Sexuality, Michel Foucault  talks about how the history of sexuality changed throughout the course of time. Foucault starts off part one by stating that society favors the Victorian regime and has been supporting it even up to today. He goes into chronological order in how sexuality was seen. In the beginning of the seventeenth century sex was not a taboo topic but seen more of a regular activity that wasn’t looked down upon. This wouldn’t be able to last that long because the subject of sex was considered to be a thing to be talked about in secret all thanks to the Victorian bourgeoisie. The talk of sex was now repressed, children could not hear of such things due to the fact that children had no sex. Foucault then talks about the only places where sexuality  was allowed was in the brothel and the mental hospital. The people in those places were considered those “other Victorians”. Now Foucault goes into more detail on sexual repression, Foucault states how sex was seen in a political stand point as well. Now talking about sex would be seen as an action of going against the law. Foucault then states how speaking about sex in terms of repression gives the people to go against the power. Sex as in today is an ancient form of preaching. Foucault then mentions the hypocrisy that has taken place for more than a century and asks the question about, why do we say that we are repressed? He also then asks the question of what led us to this point of being repressed. Since the beginning of time sex was always considered a sin. People today still hold that repression which shows that it is still an issue.                                               Question 1: What are some examples that led to Foucault believing that sex is repressed? Question 2: If sex was to never be repressed by the Victorians, would you think sex would have ever reached to such a taboo topic?

Alfie Corteza

Professor Bullock

Assignment #7

In Michel Foucault’s “The History of Sexuality,” he explains that throughout time there has been constant discourse within the subject of sex. He gives examples ranging from the discussion of how intercourse had developed over time for instance before the 17th century. The differentiating of the label of “homosexuals” from being based on acts to one’s identity. In addition to to the discussion of homosexual actions, rather than stopping it all together, Foucault says that they would be talked about instead. In chapters one to three talks about how over the course of time the discussion of sex differentiates.

In chapter one, Foucault explains that sex merely is between husband and wife and that it is a highly privatized matter and intercourse with others is frowned upon and heavily repressed. Foucault also asks why we talk about how we can’t speak about sex.

In section two an example of sex-related ideas, dreams, and desires was confessed in churches and was a highly private and sensitive matter. But then at the turn of the 18th-century states were asking for the births of women, if it was successful or not. Even children themselves talked about sex in a civil, and mature manner while even some of the adults acted more childlike than the children themselves. Then there was an incident with a rural farm-worker caught paying for sexual favors. It is significant because authorities in the 17th century would have overlooked at the situation, whereas it investigations in the 18th century is much more in depth.

In section three, Foucault explains that sex was considered dangerous, but then describes that sex is a source of knowledge and truth. Also, he states that the understanding of sex in Western Europe is not new, as there are countries in the Middle-East, and Asia that have already studied it. But there is a differentiating between the two, als erotica focuses on the knowledge of sexual pleasure and how to increase and maximize it, and Scientia sexualis focuses on confessions from learning about it.

Questions:

#1: What caused the change in the discourse of sex from the 17th century to the 18th century?

#2: Why did Western Europe acknowledge sex intercourse earlier if it was present in other countries?

Foucault discusses the history of sex and sexuality in the 19th century. In this passage the author discusses how in different parts of the world, sex is kept private not because it was something bad but because they thought it should only be discussed privately. If it was to be discussed openly it would not be special anymore. So in these societies sex is not discussed as it is in the US. In the United States, people talk more openly about sex and discusses the truth about it. Here we do not keep it a secret, therefore breaking the rituals of confessions where people used to talk about it secretly. We do not give any power to the church which means we do not have any responsibilities to tell them everything we do. With us, we confess openly and not in an intimate way which explains why we are more open tot the ideas of sex. Sex has been turned into a discourse due to the fact that we look at it from an individual perspective. Western culture, allows for people to share their pleasures with each other but it also brings a negative side to it. Oppression on sex has served somehow to control the way we think. Older generations grew up having negative thoughts about sex. But I also think that we have a different mindset when it comes to sex, we are more open to it and we look at it with a more positive view. But even then, the media still tries to make it seem like a sin, keeping us away from our natural rights as human beings.

How do you think the discourse about sex has affected our society today?

How has some of the oppression on sex been able to control our society in some ways, if it has?

Good morning class, today we are going over passage 2 of Foucalt’s History of Sexuality. This section focuses on the repressive nature of sexual discourse from the 1700’s that Foucalt would argue, we still feel to this day. The idea of prudishness, as the paper discusses focuses on how sexuality was demonized by actively making talking about it a terrible thing. However, perhaps because of innate human nature to question things, this approach to sex had to be quickly redefined. That is, the “how” and “what” of sex had to be re-articulated using proper terminology that would be deemed acceptable, because it is difficult to censor large portions of society. This steady seceding of permissible conversation would lead to something more important later on, which was the open discussion of sexual acts. This largely had to do with the Catholic Church’s encouragement of people actively confessing more and confessing on a more personal level. This made sexual discussion permissible beyond the mind, which might not seem all that significant until you consider that for quite some time, sexual discussion was not had at all whatsoever. This steady transition from thought into spoken word is crucial as it provides a transition period where people feel more comfortable discussing these thoughts and ideas with someone that isn’t themselves.

However, there is an obvious downside. As this immediate need to confess consistently and constantly, meant that people would be discussing sexual acts on a nearly weekly basis. Even when discussing it, though, there was still a degree of censorship involved in “how” you were meant to confess things. You couldn’t just say that you had sex, there were ways which was perhaps a futile effort to keep the traditional values of prudishness around for a while longer. Our modern society is reflective of the failures of this approach. Yet the idea, was to approach the discussion of sex in an almost mechanical way to avoid the appeal of it. This was crucial as one of the powers of the church was in the control of relationships through marriage and if this “branding” of marriage were somehow tainted through promiscuity then it would collapse a large sector of the church’s values and approach. Which is why, in this particular situation, the Catholic Church faced a particular and most curious issue. They wanted to increase motivation for people attending church, which meant that people had to confess more, and in doing so the only thing left to confess that people did wrong was sex. Which is what led to this specific language for sex being developed, to describe it in such a way that made people feel as though they had done something wrong and needed to cleanse themselves of it. Did it do much in deterring premarital sex? That’s up for debate and another conversation. For now, however, it’s important to note the secession of authority when it comes to sex from the church to the people and its relationship that has slowly shifted in power.

In part one, Foucault says that at the beginning of the 17th century people were more liberal in the way they discussed and felt about sexuality. It wasn’t something that was as stigmatized and kept a secret as it later became because of the Victorian bourgeoisie. Sex was now seen as having a purpose which was to reproduce only. It became linked to the home and conjugal families. The beginning of capitalism happened around the same time the public opinion of sex shifted. A focus on sexuality went against the belief of focusing on work, and production. Labor capacity was said to have been exploited under capitalism. Everything became about production and not really pursuing pleasure. This connection could be tied into sexuality being repressed and people feeling like sex is only for married couples to make children. The repression of sexuality made talking about sex something that was somewhat revolutionary. It was going against what people were raised to do believe was the right thing to do. Foucault believes that the reason people speak of sex in a formal way today traces back to how it was repressed then and how it is still repressed now.People are very aware that by speaking on this topic is breaking an unwritten rule. It goes against what is socially acceptable and children are raised to see it as taboo. Sex also began to be linked to sin. Linking it to sin changed it from being a social issue to a moral issue. Foucault says that the process to free ourselves from the repression of sexuality will take a long time, and we will have to condemn it many times in order to see a change in how it is viewed and talked about. The prohibition of sexuality is a very complicated subject that involves censoring but isn’t limited to and shouldn’t be reduced to the surface level negativity.

Questions

1)Foucault mentions that we speak of sex in a solemn way nowadays. Do you agree or would you say that we are reverting back to the times of the early 17th century where people were more frank about sexuality?

2)Capitalism and the repression of sexuality happened around the same time. If we moved away from being a capitalist nation do you think it will impact how people view and talk about sex?

Michael Foucault discusses the concept of sex and sexuality throughout the ages. It is interesting how sex was used to control people and make them suspicious or frightened. Especially at the times when church and religion had a huge effect on people’s lives. Since sex was considered a sin, people were worried by the idea that they have sinned. Foucault also pointed out how society and the way of life made the topic of sex controversial. People don’t usually discuss sex and sexuality in depth, so most of the time this topic stays clandestine. Everybody knows about it but nobody speaks. Different regimes also change people’s opinions on certain aspects of sexuality. If we go back and compare how people discussed sex in early seventeenth century or any other century and how they discuss it now, we can clearly see that the societies’ understanding of this topic have changed. Nowadays people discuss sex and sexuality very openly because it is something that every individual should know. Especially, when it comes to sexual education. Although, the topic of sex was not so openly discussed in the past and it even became taboo in some parts of the world.

Most of the time sex and sexuality topics were suppressed. Sex was repressed and with it people’s right to have pleasure was also taken away. It was probably used as a power of control over people. Since they took away the pleasure then people would do anything to get it back. In addition to that more censorships and taboos appeared that could prohibit anything so people would end up only with something that their higher authority would want them to have. I believe that all this comes down to control of people. I might be wrong but many clues show that prohibition of sex and framing it as something unnatural, authorities gained their power.

Q1. Were there people at that time who thought that sex and sexuality was not a sin and It was normal to talk about it?

Q2. What was the moment when the modern understanding of sexuality emerged?

In part one of “History of Sexuality” by Michel Foucault, she basically states how and why sex had become repressed. At the beginning of seventeenth century, sexual frankness was was still common. The laws for the course or obscene was quite loose to the ones in nineteenth century. Once the Victorian Bourgeois showed up, the flexibility was completely removed. The subject of sex became the rule to be silent and when people make it too visible, they would have to pay the penalties. Children were allowed to talk about sex because they were thought not to have gender, but they surely were not allowed to have sex. People at that time were only allowed to expose sexuality at brothel or mental hospitals, and in other places, talking about sex was considered as taboo. She also mentions some people say that the free sexual expression was removed by capitalism because it would make the economic and reproduction system inefficient. This is because people sat that time thought that if sex was not rigorously repressed people would lost their motivation to do general work. The demand of sexual freedom became bigger and bigger. Even though it was strictly repressed to talk about the sex in the society, people were allowed to confess their sexuality to the church. Therefore, more and more people started confession at the church. That means people wee still seeking pleasure of sex in the era when exposing sexuality was strictly prohibited. She says that the repression might have not been obvious. This is also can be said to our current society too. How the sexuality should be can be blurred. Question 1: Why how sexuality was considered taboo, and why people were repressed t to talk about their sexuality? Question 2: Why people now have so much passion and resentment to the fact that we had once made sex a sin?

Sex has always been a topic few people feel comfortable discussing. Female teachers often teach sex education conservatively in schools. Parents are afraid to educate their children about sex; they believe that with this knowledge, they would want to experiment.
Foucault’s history of sexuality part 1 takes us through the 1800 century theory of sex or the “repressive hypothesis”. During this era, sex became more of a means of reproduction rather than pleasure. The bourgeois design this system where people worked so hard that they often relied on the reproduction of children to help with labor as a means of income to the growing families. The new system takes away women’s freedom to engage in other relationships.
Sex was strictly between a husband and a wife. This gave the men dominance over the women who faced abuse and rape and couldn’t share it openly. Religion forbade adultery and getting a divorce was considered sinful in the eyes of the society. These women were considered to be wicked and therefore should never be married again.
Foucault spoke about women who openly rejected the norms of marriage and fornication. Prostitutes were deviant in regards to following norms. They believed that sex should be in the open and should be pleasurable. Sex should not just be limited to having children so that they can inherit the father’s names and continue their legacy, but more than that. Prostitutes were fighting against political power. They wanted to put an end to the norms of how a woman should behave. Society set up rules that are beneficial to men and not women. Men didn’t want their woman to have outside affairs yet they would have affairs with prostitutes. Prostitution was bad yet it wasn’t banished throughout society. Prostitutes revolted against bourgeois by not working a “9 to 5 job” but being self-employed.
Capitalization wanted to control sex because it threatened couples work ethic. For instance, if everyone were to engage in sex during their jobs, work wouldn’t be done and too many women would be home due to pregnancy. With couples working all day, it is hard for them to return home to have sex. Instead prostitutes saw what society or capitalization brought and deviated from that. They wanted to build their own sub culture. Foucault shows us how sex has changed from the Egyptian period (prostitution) to a society that follows the strict sex moral conduct. With less play and more work the rich will always be power

Q: why was sex enjoyed during Egyptian period but in present day it’s seen as taboo?

In Foucault’s History of Sex he talks about how sex was related to pleasure and how it was suppressed throughout history. Foucault makes us look at this from different angles and aspects. He starts off with discussing the Victorian era where sex was considered a taboo, if one wanted to talk said subject it was best to do so away from the public ear. The young were forbidden to come anywhere near anything that was considered sexual both physically and mentally. Sex was contained and in a sense the people’s right to pleasure was also taken away. The only placed where one could truly let out his/her sexual desires or talk about sex was in the slums. The idea of sex wasn’t considered to be the norm despite the fact of it being completely normal (in a biological sense), such ideas weren’t  present in the slums making it the only place where an individual could let out his/her sexual desires.

Foucault then shifts to talking about experiencing pleasure through controlling others and/or exerting your power over another. He talks about the relationship in which both the oppressed and oppressor seek to gain pleasure through their actions. The church promoted the idea of confessing your sins to god, the act of confessing the sexual encounters that had occurred. At the beginning, one would simply state the actions her or she did without going into detail, however as time passed people started to confess providing much details in what had happened. In a sense people were giving a recollection of the event even adding in the thoughts what were form during the time. It was interesting how it was against the law to talk about sex but confessing all your sexual  thoughts and actions was alright. This lead to more and more people committing sexual acts and later confess them to god.

I feel like all the information provide was just for the reader to process it and for us to make our own ideas/prospective on the topic.

Q: Do you think the oppression or containment of sex in history was used was a way to control the people?

Q: When you think about sex throughout history, are we stilling following the ideas of the pass or have we really moved on and forward.