The Concept Of Sexuality And Foucault's Theory Of Identity

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Who am I? What defines who I am? Identity, and how this comes together, is one of the most frequent questions asked, both as in everyday life as in philosophy. Identity concerns who you are in essence and what this explains about you as an individual. A rather significant part of our identity is our sexuality. However, the idea that our sexuality is a part of our identity and also is one of the factors that determines our identity is a rather new concept. For Foucault, the concept of identity in terms of sexuality is the product of a social construction determined by your social and cultural surroundings. This is associated with Foucault’s idea of the “repressive hypothesis”: The general belief that openly discussing sexuality was repressed, …show more content…

They were seen as a violation of marriage bonds, the law and with these a violation of what was naturally determined. (Foucault, 1990, p. 38) The modern concept of homosexuality comes from a desire to see sexuality as a fundamental aspect of who we are. But is this desire correct? And more importantly: Is sexuality a part of identity within the terms of Foucault’s theory? To be able to answer this question it is first noted to make clear what is meant with the terms of “sexuality” and “identity”. With “sexuality” is meant the feelings and activities that are connected with a person’s sexual desires. And with “identity” is meant as being able to recognize someone or something and make answer further explanations of what and who they …show more content…

In the name of a biological and historical ur­gency, it justified the racisms of the state, which at the time were on the horizon. It grounded them in “truth." (Foucault, 1990, p. 54)
Sexuality gained a connection to the truth. This results into the idea that sexuality is a part of identity and a key aspect in understating who we are individual. And all of this is only possible due to the discourse of sexuality, which is determined by social culture and time. However, the idea that sexuality objectively defines who you are is false, because the idea where this is based on, the “repressive hypothesis” also is

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