5 Assignment 08

In chapter 4, Foucault discusses the effects of ‘Technology of sex’. He explains how the three branches of pedagogy, medicine and demography were created from the technology of sex. All the knowledge that was being acquired, allowed for all these fields to be strongly stablished. With the use of these three branches, the general public would be more informed about the topic of sex. Before this new technology sex was a taboo topic that no one knew much about but at the same time depended deeply on it. Everyone was afraid of discussing sex topics but at the same time everyone depended on knowing more about it. Through sex, many diseases could be passed on and also reproduction happens thanks to sex. So after the 19th century people acquired new information about sex and certain fields started to unfold.

With time the field of medicine got deeper into human structure and with it came the discussion about heredity. People now had a way to explain and get informed about diseases that could affect generations and the population. With it also came the study of eugenics, which could help to improve the population by controlling reproductive factors. But this new technology also gave the population a new tool with which to discriminate against others. Racism had a new tool, where the ‘unfavorable’ traits were pointed out, in which of course the minorities came out low. But this practice was ended when in the 40’s when the perversion-heredity-degenerescence system was fought against. The beginning of this technology is said to be due to the aristocratic families that placed surveillance on their kids and women in order to keep it under ‘control’. They might thought that this would be the source of sex pathology, and the introduction of medicalized sex was brought in to society with women.

In Chapter 4 of “The History of Sexuality”, Faucault indicates that sexuality has been a taboo topic and that repression caused the necessary development of “technology of sex” through medical, Christianity and the social class.
In 19th century, technology of sex took a position in medical term. Appearance of sex related medicine was affected by the idea of eugenic. Community took a value for well-being of future generation because they believed it is one’s responsibility to receive a specific treatment for sexual related symptoms such as perversions or homosexuality. As Faucault mentions “it appeared to be the source of an entire capital for the species to draw from.”[1978:118], I believed that hope or anxiousness for the next generation improved the sex of medical technology and which applied deeply into the community and became a part of method to rationalize sexuality. Faucault also emphasizes about the contradiction between two different social classes. While the proletariat, the working class, tried to minimalize the contact with sex though their attention is more on health, the bourgeois, the ruling class, established the deployment of sexuality by focusing on the political reason. Faucault explained that the bourgeois created their own idea of sexuality which was based on the protection for their own health and royalty. The bourgeois claimed that concern for sex is preserving their noble bloodline and delineate a line between them and commoners.
Despite of the fact that sex is one of the essential and principle factor of human nature, it has been always repressed and prohibited in the history. However, the society manages the way to release their struggle of controlling the sexuality by adjusting their life. “Technology of sex” was the small hole of the balloon. The hole helps to release some air to avoid the rupture. From my perspective, Faucault characterized sexuality as an instinctive power for human kinds.

In chapter 4 of Foucault’s novel History of Sexuality, he discusses the two different time periods of situations that involved sexuality. The first being the prohibition time period, where it was required of the people to conceal all or most of their body and they also had a lack of freedom of speech. The second being a less repressive time period, where the government were less strict on certain laws.

Additionally, the usage of medicine to treat sexual disorders during this time period was widely prevalent, and was used for adverse things other than control, such as creating a flourishing economy.

Foucault also explains that the repression of poorer class through sexual exploitation ultimately led to a greater power in government and allowed them to explore new methods of repression. This occurred by first imposing the idea that differences in sexuality of children and females were all apart of a certain genealogy. This evoked fear in those who did not want to have a change in sexuality and led to preventative measures.

Foucault also describes the usage of the term blood as a metaphor for how the caste system evolved. He compared it to the concept of sex, to prove biological relations and it’s genesis.  One of the major goals of the Bourgeoisie at this time were to provide themselves with a body and a sexuality. The usage of sexuality was to empower the body.

Foucault states that repression has manifested sexuality into becoming a taboo like culture.

Dating back to the Victorian Era, the idea of having to confess everything that one has done, and analyze all of his or her actions, further pushed the idea of a different culture in sexuality.

Moreover, Foucault explains that there were so many things that could have been changed during this time period without exclusively changing the political ideologies of their government.

The fourth chapter of “History of Sexuality”, Foucault introduces the concept of the ‘technology of sex.” He places a significant importance on the fact that it had affected the whole state and not only the church. The society norms of the period had forced individuals to abstain from sex and it give the impression as if there was a keen interest on those who had an input in these “illegal” sexual activities. The technology of sex was used to control sex while also measuring the impact it has on society. Medicine was seen as a cure to sexual “diseases.” The current Knowledge of medicine for the period had helped developed the eugenics movement, with the popular practices of control breeding and controlling the genetic quality of the population. The technology of sex began taking the involvement of church and religious aspect out of sex. They had begun implanting more facts and scientific based approach on sex and reproduction. The idea of controlling the genetic quality of the population had started with the control of certain hereditary characteristics of society made people more interested in sex. The Studies of hereditary made people more familiar to a certain biological responsibility with regards to future generations. The possibility of transferring diseases and un-normal hereditary traits made people more aware of the consequences of sexual activity. Medicine was being used to have sex more about life and people. The science behind medicine had taken the shame and punishment out of sex. This had allowed sex to become a more plausible topic of interest. Foucault remarks that there were certain hereditary traits such as homosexuality that were able to be passed down and that it was not able to be controlled. Homosexuality was viewed as a disability that hampers the views that society holds. Foucault attempts to explain how the society had characterizes sexuality that had decidedly changed the way people view sex. When discussing the characteristics of sex, we see how society held the lower class to a little to none standard when it came to sex. The lower class were viewed as people that did not have sex and had no knowledge of it. The lower class was seen to have no worth and the bourgeois had controlled the sexual aspects of women and children in order to eliminate any hereditary traits that would harm the future children of society. The technology had embodied an improvement over past belief on sex, though the use of eugenics to control the population still considered a faulty idea.

Michel Foucault often discusses about the term “a technology of sex” in chapter 4, periodization. During the end of the eighteenth century, sex had more meaning than a secular one but had more depth through pedagogy, medicine, and economics. This would play out throughout history in which sex actually had a role in. Foucault provides examples where sex had a contribution in all three categories in not just the past but even in the nineteenth century as well. By showing this, it showed the “application” it had on sexuality. Especially during the eighteenth century, sex impacted on the sexuality on children, sexual physiology pertaining to women, and the demography.

Sometimes there can be disorders or birth defects that can occur in children at birth. Because of this, people would refer back to methods of Christianity to justify this. One incident this occurred was in the nineteenth century, where Heinrich Kaan explains in his book called Psychopathia Sexualis, about certain diseases were hereditary (1978:117-118). This was the reason why life expectancies were not very high because the diseases or disorders possessed at birth prevented them from it. He mentions specifically that it was a biological responsibility (1978:118). This further developed his ideology of the new coming of medicine in orthopedics relating to sex. If the sexual relations were not controlled then the future generation may be at risk and might become deformed.

I believe Foucault is trying to say that the technology of sex became an essential part of life to regulate and built discourse in order to save the disasters that were happening. Hoping that by spreading these words and building new “medicine” would make a difference and contribute to “a technology of sex”. This controlled who were allowed to have sex through their genetics if there was a fatal disease then it could not happen.

In chapter four, part four of Foucault book, the History of Sex, he goes into an idea he calls, “a technology of sex”. During the 19th century, sex was considered a taboo and was only spoken about in private. Sex was also somewhat connected to the church as those that committed sexual acts had to tell their sins (sexual acts) in explicit detail to a priest to be cleanse of their sins. The study of medicine began increasing as more and more people were interested in one’s sexuality and the activities they’ve engaged in. This increased study  of medicine lead to the development of the idea that sex was hereditary. Many believed the one’s sexual drive was passed down from one generation to another and this idea further the separation between bourgeoisie and the commoners. Being very sexual or having a sex drive was considered somewhat unhealthy and it was best to eradicate these traits and bloodlines. The bourgeoisie wanted to solidified they’re power and place in society by making their people seem like the superior race or group. The higher ups ensure they stayed in power generations forward by making offspring that consisted of other bourgeoisie. Those in the higher class with certain traits that were considered favorable were placed with others like them to produced offspring’s that had all of the traits, this method ensured that the bloodline was going to be preserved and pure, not mixing with others (commoners). They viewed those below them as inferior and without class and needed to clearly show the difference between them and the others. By making sure these babies that were produced were pure they’re able to extended their rule generations forward. Foucault makes the point of how sexuality is used to divided the masses and make a few selective ones on top; it is used as a method to control the people.

In part four chapter four of Foucault’s text he brings up the “technology of sex” which he explains to be the transformation of the treatment of sex through the centuries. By the “technology of sex” Foucault means that the discussion of sex has stepped out into the spotlight. People are asking more questions, being more open about it and to the extent that the state is even involved in it. Through pedagogy, medicine, and economics sex had stopped being a private manner and become something that should be discussed. Foucault also states that sex had stop being mostly about religion in which it was almost treated as a sin. No one was to talk about it, it was supposed to stay in the dark and was only to be known by the two people in the relationship. In the chapter he says that it had been put under surveillance and that new questions and research of the topic expanded in three areas. It opened questions of of child sexuality, in medicine how it functioned particularly in women and its relation to birth. For centuries sex had been repressed and no one was to talk about it since it was viewed as a sin. Foucault calls it the technology of sex since during this time from the 18th century to the 19th century it was really being explored and made better by better understanding it. I believe that since technology is always something that it explored to help our world Foucault relates it to sex in this way. I believe that it is important to bring this subject into the light and that it should not be avoided by the people. To help us understand it he writes about the different ways it was explored and how the state went about handling it.

In Part 4, Ch. 4: Periodization of his book, Foucault introduces the “medical technologies of sex” (1978:119). This is a technique that is considered new in the time-period of the 19^th century, contrary to the technique used during the 17^th century, which consisted majorly of many prohibitions and restrictions. There is less focus on repression, and more focus on the analysis of sexuality in terms of the organism and how it fails to conform to its normalcy. Foucault brings to focus the great shift in the general attitude of society concerning sexuality from death and punishment to life and illness. This explains how the power of Christianity in controlling the sexuality of its people through fear of being punished has now lost its vast influence. Instead, there exists a rise of the medical theory that claims sex is hereditary, further suggesting that sex that does not conform to society’s expectation is unhealthy, not just in the physical sense, but as a concern for the whole state and its individuals. This technique of comparing sexuality as a disease that can be possibly transmitted to other people, especially within families, though it is hard to prove scientifically, is a central “technology of sex” that is used to deter people from unproductive pleasure-seeking behaviors during the 19^th century. When there is a certain disease or defects experienced by relatives, there is a deficit in that family’s strength and health, and the lack thereof is considered as a vulnerability that can prevent the continuation of generations. There is a treat to the “biological responsibility” because the end result not only effects the current generation, but goes on to the future generation as well. There is an aspect of utilitarianism, in that there is a strive to benefit the whole bourgeoisie; for the better good of the people, everyone should be “healthy.”

Sexuality was defined by all of our senses, by what people said in their confessions, by what they heard and by what they saw in the physical body of others. The discourses developed from the knowledge people gained from all those observations impacted their behavior. Foucault uses class to help us understand what he calls “a technology of sex”. He argues that people were the utensils or machines to develop the knowledge of sex. As the production of new discourses was processed and modified people started to applied them in their families and children. He wants to prove that humans are the creators of all the concerns about sex. Foucault explains that a group of people during the mid-eighteen hundreds were occupied “with creating its own sexuality and forming a specific body based on it, a “class” body with its health, hygiene, descent, and race: the autosexualization of its body, the incarnation of sex in its body, the endogamy of sex and the body”(1978:123). The bourgeois dedicate themselves to apply key principle to secure their power and self-affirmation to pass on to future generations. Its was important to for them to maintain their sexual principles clear because they wouldn’t want their wealth to be distributed to other classes. By the bourgeoisie willing to keep a health and clean physical appearance the outcome will be beneficial for them but it will exclude other people. People are mostly driven by the superficial appearance and foucault uses this example to prove his point of how sexuality is a cluster of economical, political and physical factors that molds the sexuality of people. Also, we can see the limitation sexuality keeps having from having norms to prevent people to talk about sex to having divisions within a group of people were sex is highly manipulated and restrained from the poorer class.

In Part Four of Chapter Four: Periodization of “History of Sexuality” by Michel Foucault, Foucault makes claims regarding the repressive thoughts, actions, and origins of sexuality (28). Foucault describes this as a “technology of sex”. At first, sex was more privatized; it was something that was not discussed among public ears. However, this increased privatization led to a greater number of discourses regarding the topic of sexuality, such as the ones that occurred throughout the nineteenth century that Foucault examines.
The structure of sexuality was devised by the bourgeoisie, who were the ruling class at the time. They had recognized the importance of sexuality, considering it a means of continuing and protecting their lineage as opposed to being a means to repress members of other walks of life. To them, sex was closely associated with health and an individuals’ overall wellbeing. It was due to this belief that discourses regarding sex and sexuality were more promoted than before. In addition to the bourgeoisie, other areas within society were also responsible for attitudes and beliefs that were commonly held towards sexuality. This includes the pedagogy, medicinal groups, and economic associations. These groups were mainly focused on examining the sexuality of children and women, and how this function can be used to regulate the births of future generations.

Foucault’s writing reflects his belief that the church was the primary origin of sexual repression. It was when the Catholic and Christian church implemented the practice of confession that we begin to see the characterization of sexuality. Contrary to popular belief, it was the institutions and practices that were devoted to sexual cognition that were responsible for forming these types of repressions. Technologies of sex were produces in the wake of these functions.

What I am confused bout is Foucault’s reinstatement of the repressive hypothesis. It is stated that it was economically motivated, but it also regarded as a power balance.