5 Assignment 08

Kiersten Ahle

Assignment #8

In part four, chapter four of “History of Sexuality” written by Foucault, he emphasizes “technology of sex” (1978:123) Back then, sex was a topic people would only discuss in the privacy of their own homes. It was not a topic to be talked about in public, as most people considered it to be a sin. During the end of the eighteenth century, a completely new technology of sex had emerged. Through pedagogy, medicine, and economics, it made sex a concert of the state. Sex had become a matter that required the social body as a whole, and to be placed under surveillance. Due to medicine being a concern regarding sex, its objective was the sexual physiology peculiar to women and the regulation of births. Foucault technology of sex was a repressive theory. Since the topic of sex so repressed, it became a topic that people wanted to talk about since it was not allowed. Sex was an important topic of confession within the church because they would confess the sinful act of sex or anything related to sex, since they know it was wrong. The discussion of sex is still repressed today, and I believe it always will be. Many people learn about sex education today in school during health class. I do not think sex should be repressed, instead I think it is something people should be able to talk about so they know knowledge about it and know all the facts and risk that comes along with it. When Foucault talks about sex and medicine, he tries to correlate how medicine can control sex, especially within the lower economic class. The upper class had many theories that they were trying to force upon the lower class in terms of repression and sex. The technology of sex was trying to make the topic of sex not the social norm.

Foucault discusses three different technologies of sex in Part 4, Chapter 4: Periodization which how the discourse of sex changed in the 19th century. Moving away from the repressive cycle Foucault attempts to find the origin of sexuality through genealogy and saw two major breaks of its line. First was that sexuality was limited to marriage, and not letting sexuality be exposed by the body, the second break was in the 19th century as these limitations began to loosen up and sexuality was being explored. He argues that there were three technologies that changed the relationships or ideals people had about sex. The sexuality of children, medicine and economics where changed ideals repressed by the church, which Foucault argues were no longer of self interest but were social interest that were exposed and surveilled by the state and society. The technological application of medicine was used to separate sex from the body as a way of being controlled with political intention. The idea that medicine of sex could create a perfect society, free of disease, and with a pure bloodline, was used by the bourgeois as a model to design their society and by the government to regulate marriages, childbirth and population. Also sexuality in psychiatry was used by way of surveillance agencies, like child protective services, to socially control perverse and dangerous children, which ultimately led to racism. Foucault makes another argument that though sexuality is a social construct that was used to censor and repress the lower class and enforced by the elite, it was the elite themselves that practiced the same idealization for a different reason. The bourgeois wanted to maximize their lives by allowing sexuality to empower their social class. These thoughts on sexuality became the hegemonic infrastructure for the bourgeois.

In Part 4 of Chapter 4 of “The History of Sexuality”, Foucault emphasizes what he calls, “a technology of sex” (1978:123). To explain the “technology of sex”, I will need to first explain the significance of the theory of “degenerescence”. This theory implied that sexual perversions resulted in the corruption of one’s bloodline. This implication became the base of new technologies of sex. The concept of degeneracy to sex lead people to think that sexual perversions were hereditary. The widespread of concerns resulted in the creation on “technology of sex” as a preventive and controlling measure, for example medicine. In addition, this concern created a change for their society in term of sex – sex would not only harm a person but it could harm their family as well.

I will discuss how medicine was used as a technology of sex and how its application helped us understand sexuality. Medicine or the medical institutions were created to prevent sexual perversions and the “diseases” (they might entail on the family), and ensure “normality” within the family (1978:123). Eugenics was one of the results of this technology, thus the concern became about life and illness rather than punishment.

In my opinion, through using medicine as an example of the technology of sex, I think that Foucault is explaining to us how sex can be controlled, specifically towards the lower class. In this chapter he emphasizes the interest of the bourgeoisie (upper-class), and how these theories and ideals placed on the lower class are used to cater them, especially in terms of repression. The repression in the nineteenth century was meant to increase the dominance of the bourgeoisie, thus the deployment of sexuality on the lower class. In abusing their power, the bourgeoisie managed to exaggerate the importance of sex rather than repress it. In conclusion, sexuality varies depending on one’s class, for the bourgeoisie/upper class it was used in means of self-affirmation and for the lower class it was used as means of control. Proving that because sexuality became a means of exercising power and control, repression did not actually exist.

Alfie Corteza

Professor Bullock

Assignment #8

In part four, chapter four of Foucault’s “History of Sexuality,” he explains that there is a “technology of sex” (1978:123) and reproductive technology applies to numerous applications in society in the nineteenth century. An example of this would be when the people of the community had thought perversions was carried down generations and would spread throughout the classes and as a result, it had caused fear and pandemonium. The concern had then prompted people to create the technologies to solve such perversion, and eugenics was even involved to weed out the unfavorable. An example would be the young men and the poor classes being under utmost scrutiny. However, those that would not be affected or be the least affected would be the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie would want to contain their status by promoting their own well being and have their superior class beings. Foucault states, “with creating its own sexuality and forming a specific body based on it, a “class” body with its health, hygiene, descent, and race…” [1978,124]. The quote states that the elitists of society would preserve their class by creating the best possible selves they can produce. As a result, they can continue their generations of their elite status with their wealth, physical presence, and sexuality shown to those beneath them. Foucault also states that the bourgeoisie maintains this image as a way to preserve their lineage in bloodline and create an image of health and vitality. When compared to the proletariat of the same society, the bourgeoisie is considerably more desirable considering they place harsh restrictions upon themselves to display an air of responsibility and self-restraint. Thus the application of sexuality Foucault explains are the restrictions regarding sexuality the elitists put upon themselves to demonstrate superiority in regards to their sexual mental-states compared to their proletariate counterparts. In conclusion, I believe Foucault explains that the application of sexuality is a social construct the elitists placed upon themselves, that they created to demonstrate eminence over the proletariats.

What Foucault means when he writes about the technology of sex is that sex was starting to drift away from being so strongly connected to the church yet it still maintained a connection to sin. It became a topic of interest in relation to medicine, economics, and educating the youth. Knowledge in medicine was applied to the sexual lives of people with the purpose of progressing the eugenics movement. There was more of an interest sexual physiology in women particularly. An example of the technology of sex being applied to sexuality is the broadening of the medico-psychological field of study in order to replace everyone’s moral beliefs with a more scientific or fact based belief. Studies relating to heredity became more prominent causing people feel they had a biological responsibility to future generations. There were studies on how homosexuality is linked to mental or physical disability from someone’s line of descent, implying that it was a type of disease or illness that was hereditary. There was no scientific evidence yet it was pushed as fact. Genealogy helped to make homophobia more acceptable. I think that what Foucault is trying to say through his characterization of sexuality is that it is very highly influenced by public belief. If the public seems to be drifting from being under religious control a better way to control them is through logic or medical theories. I think that Foucault wanted to show how strategic people were in order to gain power from popular public views. Educating children on sex in the way they did was the perfect example of abusing the power that came with distorting information for mass consumption. The technology of sex was used to sustain the idea of the norm when the fear of an eternity of punishment in the afterlife wasn’t enough, we had to introduce the idea of a life of mental and physical sicknesses for you or your decendents.

Foucault’s reference to a “technology of sex” seems to suggest a transformation from the “Repressive Theory”. A transformation from the 17th century history of sexuality that includes sex being contained in the home to the 20th century when methods of repression were beginning to get lifted. The “technology of sex” is a new way to analyze sexuality, and according to Foucault this occurred in the 19th century. He also states that the transformation opened more opportunities for other changes and techniques to be developed.

Foucault’s argument seems to characterize sexuality as a way to show that the history of sexuality began with the bourgeois preoccupation of ensuring and extending their noble family lineages. It was not a rejection of pleasure as previously suggested by the “repressive theory”. Nobles wanted to ensure the strength of their lineage and did not acknowledge the lower or working classes as humans or as ones who had sex. The lower classes had no worth. Foucault suggests that the bourgeois used the innovation of psychoanalysis to share their personal desires. However, psychoanalysis could be experienced more by the bourgeois than to the lower classes. The bourgeois used their perception of sexuality as a way to control and dominate society. The bourgeois not only wanted to control society but to correct the sexuality of children, women, and wanted to be alerted of any potential health problems that could effect hereditary traits of future offspring. An innovation that helped with this came during the 19th century when, the medicine of sex and the body was separated. Programs were developed to improve the human population and studies regarding hereditary traits.

“Technology of Sex” represented innovative methods and techniques to analyze sexuality. Innovations like the “technology of power” were limited only to the upper and dominant classes. Foucault’s reference of the “technology of sex” presents an argument to oppose the “Repressive Theory” that has been circulating for centuries.

Due Sunday, October 29th, by midnight. Word count, at least 300 words. You may include a brief quotation, but be sure this is followed by your interpretation of the text and include the proper citation (either MLA or APA). Late assignments will be accepted for partial credit if they are submitted no later than one week after the original deadline.

In Part 4, Chapter 4: Periodization, Foucault emphasizes what he calls, “a technology of sex” (1978:123). What evidence does he include to help us understand this “application” of sexuality? Reference a specific example from the text. Then, try to underline what you think Foucault means by characterizing sexuality in these terms.