Final Group Paper - Ph101

Final Group Paper

Group 5 PH101 QQ

Blanch, Austin

de Lima, John Aquilino

Garcia, Inna

Ong, Nicole

October 4, 2011

In relation to this, Foucault also speaks of four deployments of sexuality. Specifically, on the hysterization of women’s bodies, this is what we make of:

Most of us are under the impression that sexuality is something that has been repressed. Michel Foucault comes out and tells us that this isn’t true. All through the course of time, sexuality has actually been proliferating, especially with discourses on sexuality multiplying. Because of the technology of the Council of Trent, everything had to be confessed. A need for the help of experts emerged and the bourgeoisie class was born. A process of reverse psychology was used to lure in and know about peoples’ sexual activities by advising discretion and prohibition. This prompted the shift from Ars Erotica (truth from pleasure) to Scientia Sexualis (truth from discourse or confession), where we are encouraged to seek help from experts and thereby confess. Sexuality is used here as a form of machinery that identifies us and is utilized to control us by means of categorizing various subjects in question.

The Deployments of Sexuality are used supposedly to explain truths about us; but in the end, we find that they are really just a means of control operated by medical institutions under the bourgeoisie class who felt threatened with the emergence of sexual deviances which constituted power. Because of that, controls were placed on sex. Foucault mentions that there is a sense of power involved in the history of sexuality since we were made to believe that we were repressed. Deployments of Sexuality were employed by medical institutions to filter what needed to be known by the bourgeoisie or what had to be confessed. Foucault discusses the various Deployments of Sexuality namely, the Hysterization of Women’s bodies, the pedagogization of children’s sex, the socialization of procreative behavior, and the psychiatrization of perverse behavior.

The Hysterization of women’s bodies considers the female body as an object of knowledge. The Pedagogization of children’s sex sees potential in children to be sexual beings and sees this as something dangerous and so must be controlled. The Socialization of procreative behavior considers sex as a public concern. Believed to be for the betterment of the society, only procreative sex was permitted; thus, sex was controlled. The Psychiatrization of perverse pleasures suggests that abnormal sexual behavior is an illness an studies sex on the context of Medicine and Psychiatry.

What the groups would like to say about the Hysterization of women is that it, first and foremost, talks about women being the subjects of medical analyses. Discourses like Psychiatry were conducted among women; but in the end, it only left more women feeling nervous about themselves, making them feel inferior to men. According to Evelyn Reed, a women’s activist, women being inferior is a myth. Women were only seen as mothers. This was the only role that made them distinct from men which supposedly made them naturally inferior to men. Reed writes, “It is not nature, but class society, which robbed women of their right to participate in the higher functions of society and placed the primary emphasis upon their maternal functions only.” Women were studied intensely and it was said how motherhood was represented as a biological affliction arising from the maternal organs of the woman. The burden of child-bearing was left to the women. On the other hand, motherhood was also seen as something mystical; something beyond the comprehension of men. However, a patriarchal society soon emerges which drives a different class society where women are seen as inferior to men (Reed 1970, 26-29).
The problematization of sexuality emerged because of the bourgeoisie. They wanted to regulate the individual and the society. According to Helen Malson, there emerged a “necessity for medical intervention in the family” (Malson 1998, 64). She talks about a moral element of hysteria and implicates the family in attempts to control society through the family. Once the “hysterical subject” in the family is identified, one can say that the bourgeoisie has asserted a form of medical authority over the family. An idle woman had to appear as that of a family and assigned conjugal and parental obligations which constituted the “nervous woman”

A medical history of Hysteria, or Hysteria Anorexia as it was better known, shows that it was usually women afflicted with the condition. Hysteria Anorexia is characterized as the body being nervous, being prone to nervous disorders and mental perversions. There is the construction of a hysterical female patient. It was a known medical discourse in the nineteenth century that women’s nerves were more delicate than those of men’s. This meant that women were more prone to having hysterical tendencies driven by the cultural knowledge presenting women as more emotional. All this constitutes the justification of the bourgeoisie to assume “medical authority” over the family which really was just a tool to control the individual and therefore, the society.

In The History of Sexuality, Michel Foucault discusses four great strategic unities that served as a catalyst for the formation of the mechanisms of knowledge and power with regards to sex. Though they were not yet fully developed, they already had a substantial influence on the aforementioned knowledge and power in their own right. The four deployments of sexuality are as follows: First, is “A hysterization of women’s bodies”. Here, the woman’s body was analyzed, qualified, and then disqualified. The people were made to believe that the feminine body was supposed to be subjected to medical attention for it was, in a sense, disordered. The image of the “nervous woman” who was irrational became the most observable manifestation of the said hysterization. The mother and her ability to bear children became a concern of society and thus, it had to be regulated by experts in the medical field. Second, is “A pedagogization of children’s sex”. Even in today’s context, one is not accustomed with associating sexual acts with children, but the truth of the matter is that children are human beings and may also have sexual urges. And because these sexual acts were uncalled for, they were seen as both natural and contrary to nature at the same time. Children were believed to be preliminary sexual beings or in other words, sexual beings in the making so to speak. Because this state of theirs was a potentially dangerous one, the adults (such as parents, families, doctors, educators, and eventually psychologists ) took it upon themselves to supervise and manage the sexual potential of the youth. Third, is “A socialization of procreative behavior”. Here, the act of procreation was no longer a mere matter concerning husband and wife, but instead, it was seen as something that affected society in various ways (politically, economically, socially, etc.) A couple had to be responsible for the number of children that they had and they had to be aware of the consequences of having the said number of children on the society as a whole. And finally, “A psychiatrization of perverse pleasure”. This placed sexual instincts under the proverbial microscope and analyzed every possible deviations that these instincts could have. Experts sought to find “cures” or corrective technology in order to remedy these deviations of sexual instincts from the so-called norm. Among the four deployments of sexuality mentioned above, the group shall be focusing on the first one, namely, “A hysterization of women’s bodies”.

According to Steinbrugge’s book, which is entitled “The Moral Sex: Woman’s Nature in the French Enlightenment”, the distribution of sensory and cognitive capacities between the sexes had a social character from the very beginning. Furthermore, it argued that a woman possessed more sensitivity and less rationality than a man due to her physical configuration. These differences (such as bodily functions) meant that there were corresponding social functions that were better suited for a certain sex than it was for the other. The book also mentions the ancient theory that the female body was derived from that of the male’s. “In relation to man, woman is regarded either as a lack, an excess or, in a more developed theory, as an inversion.” This leads one to assume that based on what was said, the male body is to be perceived as the norm and that the female body was a deviation from this norm. The lack of knowledge regarding the female reproductive organs only intensified the belief that the woman was a “deficient man” even further. Enlightenment physicians also described the female genitals as internalized and only partially developed forms of the male organs. Some even speculated that one finds so much resemblance between the aforementioned body parts that one might be led to believe that these parts—that appear to be so different from each other on the outside—are, in fact, the same organs. But Roussel, who developed the first systematic female physiology in 1779 disagreed with the previous statement, saying that biological differences do exist between men and women and these differences bring about the complimentary functions in reproduction. In his opinion, the woman’s membership in the female sex shapes her entire physical and psychic makeup, which is different from a man’s in all respects. A woman is naturally endowed with whatever she has to perform her role in society beyond mere childbearing. To him, femaleness was no longer an anatomical attribute, but a principle within the anthropological system as a whole.”It was probable, then, that the arrangement of those parts which compose a woman’s body is determined by nature itself, and that it serves as the foundation of the physical and moral character which distinguishes her from man (Steinbrugge 1995, 41-43).”

The 2008 movie entitled, “Changeling” presents a situation wherein the hysterization of women’s bodies was utilized in order to maintain power in a highly corrupt system. In a nutshell, the story was about Christine Collins, a single mother whose son, Walter had been kidnapped. In order to quell the public’s complaints with regards to the incompetence and corruption occurring in the Los Angeles Police Department, they found Christine’s son and returned him to her, only, the boy they had found was not Walter. Enraged by the deceit of the LAPD, Christine went on with her battle against them. The LAPD declared her to be sick with hysteria and brought her to the asylum to silence her. There, she found out that she was not alone and majority of the inmates were wrongfully diagnosed with insanity because they had gone against the system in one way or another. The film ends on a high note for womankind in a sense that the inmates were liberated and the anomalies in the LAPD were exposed, but Walter (and a number of other children) was not as fortunate. It turns out that he was brutally murdered by a serial child killer. The film not only touches on the image of the nervous and irrational woman that was mentioned by Foucault, it also includes the connection between incarceration and the medical field(how medical findings can be utilized as an instrument of control)and it depicts the role of a woman as a mother and as a dynamic member of society even in the year 1928 when gender equality wasn’t the norm so to speak.

According to Price, “Body image is an important concept that has a significant effect on a person’s self-esteem and self-confidence” (2010). Women adorn themselves with a lot of things that would make her noticed by society as a human being of beauty. This is what Kita Joe explains in the article “Body of Evidence” illustrating how women put so much stuff in their bodies like tattoos, belly rings, glitters and manicures. And all these suggest something to a woman’s being and sexuality. The belly ring, for example, could mean that a woman is secretly sexual (2003). The whole topic of body politics is also a theological matter, particularly feminism, which always begins with the basic tenet that in studying women, it always begins with the body (Isherwood 1997).

In the article “Feminine Sexual Subjectivities: Bodies, Agency and Life History,” women’s feminine sexuality are classified according to this dichotomies: that they could be good or bad women in terms of the practice of sex. In the former, the act is done in submission to the man and within marriage. The latter, on the other hand, is done when a woman becomes aggressive and commits sex outside the bounds of marriage. These are all based on the Christian teachings on sex (Bryant and Schofield 2007). It was in 1950 when the increasing degree to study woman’s nature also happened and from that period it will then appear in the 1960s when the extravagant featuring of a woman’s body would then be interpreted as a force central for the social production of gender. Further, “Anticipating both Foucault's description of "docile" bodies and later feminist arguments about the "performative" nature of gender, she described "the experience of being a woman" as a "construct" and a "caricature" created not by nature, but arising out of the habitual practices of femininity “ (cited in Bordo and Udvardy 2005). However, for Gordon, the concept of women’s liberation must be investigated furthermore whether or not it makes sense in the pre-class social forms (1978).

Greece. Socrates discusses that women are potentially just as efficient guardians and philosopher-rulers of the city like men. There is no reason women should not be included in the educational system and in becoming philosopher rulers. He established us with the principle of assignment stating that: different pursuits to different natures and the same to the same. And men and women have entirely different gender roles for our society. But he later said to Glaucon that is should be carefully assigned: apply the proper divisions and distinctions to the subject under considerations. Needless to say, even though they have different roles, they should treat each other-especially the hosts- with respect to a particular pursuit.

It is true, the feminist theory and their activity, have recognized that it is possible to celebrate being a woman without at the same time conceiving of a woman in terms of sexist imagery. From that time, women were seen as an object, an entity that men should own in order for them to gain social acceptance and pride over themselves. Women back then were objectified by men.

Women being facets of medical findings, becoming the slaves of medicine that men actually invented. Through time it led us to think of the female body first as highly sexual and second as an object of medical knowledge. They are also attributed to be the centre for reproduction. It has also come to be considered a matter of public interest and public control.

One key point to talk about the hyterization of women is that they are placed in an organic communication system such as a social body. There are so many expectations that the society wants them to be. Such as, their fecundity to produce. Fecundity is the potential reproductive capacity of an individual or population. They are demanded to give birth for individuals that will be vital and essential for the city. Blaming the woman for not being able to produce a healthy child was only normal. There are cases that women who produce children that cause burden to society are condemn from the city.

According to the book 2 of the Second Sex: One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman. It clearly states a differentiation between sex and gender. It is one thing that being born physically female and quite another to be shaped by one’s culture into what an ideal woman is—a female with feminine qualities. This is an individual that does things men can not do, and expresses herself totally as one’s feminine nature. It should be established that being a female is a biological matter, and becoming a woman is one other thing.

The time of the 19th century represented an era of instability in attitudes towards motherhood, as understandings of maternity gradually shifted from a religious to a scientific and naturalistic one. These decades, revealed significant struggles in this shift, causing a number of possibilities of what mothering could mean in both social and political terms and fostering a climate favorable for both radical reinterpretations of motherhood

Mother- does not refer to a simple biological act uniting women across history and geography. Rather, it represents a shifting identity and a way of designating various social relations. Looking at late-18th and early-19th century medical, educational, political and fictional texts, the ways in which maternal bodies were differentiated and integrated into medical expertise, tied to family space and children through practices of breastfeeding and education and made to appear natural in domestic fiction, creating a domestic mother whose work and energy invisibly upheld the liberal political state delineated by authors like Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

“Working towards several over-arching goals:

-recovering the fraught and complex formations of the term "mother";

-revealing the significant impact that debates over midwifery and female education had on redefining motherhood;

-challenging the dominant view relegating motherhood to a private sphere distinct and separate from the public sphere of politics;

-clarifying the political differences inherent in motherhood as articulated by radicals, liberals and conservatives;

-suggesting that modern liberal politics in the West depend upon the definition of the domestic, reproductive mother put forth at the turn of the 19th century.”

Works Cited:

"Book Review: Woman's Body, Woman's Right: Woman's Body, Woman's Right: A Social History of Birth Control in America. By Linda Gordon. New York: Grossman/Viking, 1976, $12.50 hardcover." Critical Sociology 8, no. 1 (n.d.): 71-72. Sage Journals Online, EBSCOhost (accessed September 30, 2011).

Bryant, Joanne, and Toni Schofield. "Feminine Sexual Subjectivities: Bodies, Agency and Life History." Sexualities 10, no. 3 (July 2007): 321-340. Communication & Mass Media Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed September 30, 2011).

"Former Research." Danielle Conger. http://danielleconger.organiclearning.org/formerresearch.html (accessed September 30, 2011).

Inessential woman problems of exclusion in feminist thought. 5. [Dr.] ed. Boston: Beacon Press, 1994.

Isherwood, Lisa. "Body Politics: A Theological Issue?." Feminist Theology: The Journal of the Britain & Ireland School of Feminist Theology no. 15 (May 1997): 73. Academic Source Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed September 30, 2011).

Kita, Joe. "Body of Evidence." Men's Health (10544836) 18, no. 3 (April 2003): 140. Academic Source Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed September 30, 2011).

Malson, Helen. The Thin Woman: feminism, post-structuralism,and the social psychology of anorexia nervosa. New York: Routledge, 1998.

Price, Bob. "The older woman's body image. (Cover story)." Nursing Older People 22, no. 1 (February 2010): 31-37. Academic Source Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed September 30, 2011).

Reed, Evelyn. Problem's of Women's Liberation. New York: Pathfinder press, 1970.

Steinbrugge, Lieselotte. The Moral Sex: Woman’s Nature in the French Enlightenment. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.

Susan Bordo; Monica, Udvardy. "Body, The." New Dictionary of the History of Ideas. Ed. Maryanne Cline Horowitz 1, (n.d.): 230-238. Gale: Gale Virtual Reference Library (PowerSearch), EBSCOhost (accessed September 30, 2011).