The Construction Of Sexuality

Present Foucault’s ideas concerning the ‘construction’ of sexuality. In what way is power and desire intermingled in ‘sexuality’, according to Foucault? Discuss.

Sexuality can be argued as a concept which has adjusted over time in order to keep relevant with the current trends of society. In the 19th century sexuality was much more of a taboo subject and it was predominantly men who were allowed to express their sexual desires over women, while if a woman did this, she would be named a slut or a whore. While this remained prominent throughout the evolution of society, it has begun to change in recent times with the growth of acceptance when it comes to women asserting their power and expressing their sexual needs. According to Broude, sexuality

Power can be defined as ‘the ability of an individual or group to achieve their own goals or aims when others are trying to prevent them from realising them’ (Weber, 1977). Sexual power is something that can be translated into a social power. While it is obvious that both men and women are capable of exerting their sexuality to acquire power or dominance, in the media there tends to be a stronger focus on the female having the upper hand when it comes to sexual power. This sense of sexuality can be used to achieve power in many areas of life – like in the world of employment or politics. We have achieved this idea that sex is a means of power through the media. It is brought to our attention through the media that if an advert or a music video has some sort of sexual aspect, then it will be more popular and more likely to be successful. This would lead an impressionable mind to believe that in order to be successful you must express a certain amount of your sexuality even if you are not comfortable with doing so. As there has always been such a wide gap in the way in which women are treated in comparison to how men are treated throughout society, including pay comparisons etc., the idea that women would be able to assert their sexuality and gain a form of power against the opposite sex was enough for women to

Desire can be defined as ‘a strong feeling or wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen’ (Oxford Dictionaires, 2017). Foucault believed that desire is a concept which is capable of penetrating and controlling both our body and our everyday pleasures. He made a special effort to convert sexual desire into discourse. He believed that it was wrong for a woman or a man to be ashamed of their desire to be with someone. Many have argued that it is actually the oppressed state in which the society may be found in which can lead to a feeling or desire as the mind always wants what it thinks it cannot have. This oppressed state of course, comes from the role that power plays in our society, meaning that both power and desire are closely linked. In the 17th century, the church focused a lot of its energy on condemning sexual acts and confessing sexual ‘misconduct’ has always been a part of religion. However, during this time practising members of the church began not only confessing sexual acts but also any sexual desires or thoughts that they had. This meant that people were now increasingly aware of their sexuality and no longer afraid to express it. ‘Peculiar in most societies – sex is usually confined to a shadow existence, but they spoke of it again and again in the same way while they were exploiting it as a secret’ (Foucault,