“a knowledge of pleasure, a pleasure that comes of knowing pleasure, a knowledge-pleasure.”

-from foucault's "the history of sexuality," vol. 1

(just some philosophical musings okay?)

I. the discursive power of sex

western man is a “confessing animal.” in the church, in the asylum, in the court of law, and in the microcosm of the household. we claim the Victorians were sexually repressed. counter-argument – they talked about sex ALL THE FREAKING TIME. it was THE secret to exploit.

II. scientia sexualis – the science of sex

why did the Victorians talk about sex so much anyway?

because there was some TRUTH to be told. Truth = the search for knowledge = the fluid structure of power = circulated through discourse. you are what you talk about. and if you talk about sex, you are your sex.

and as long as we’re on the subject of categories: good-healthy-normal-sane-socially-acceptable-sex VERSUS bad-unhealthy-abnormal-insane-socially-taboo-sex.

the Victorian stethoscope was trained ever so attentively on the sexual impulses of children, mad men and women, criminals, homosexuals, perverts, freaks, you name it! pillow talk became science talk.

III. the deployment of sexuality, a.k.a. power over life

if there is a discourse of sex, then there is a reverse discourse of THE OTHER sex.

but first, let’s talk obsessively about sex within the Victorian household in order to NAME that which is forbidden to be named and give the bourgeoisie a SEXUALIZED BODY! and not just any body, but the right kind of body that will then go out into the world and set the standard for all you OTHER BODIES.

before, there was the king and his sword: disobey the king and OFF WITH YOUR HEAD! power came from the command over one’s death sentence.

then things started to shift. the king slept around a bit. he no longer looked at you from above, but all around you and in you. you became a walking security camera trained at your mother, your father, your siblings, your cousins, your next door neighbor, your teachers, your friends, that kind of creepy uncle you always avoided at family reunions, your own body!

this is called “bio-power” where they implant that little interpellation chip in the back of your brain that tells you – HEY, I’m THIS body and not THAT body and WHAT body are you anyway?

we went from OFF WITH HIS HEAD to INTO HIS HEAD; from death sentence to life on parole.

IV. so why are we so obsessed with being UN-repressed now?

because we think it has something to do with our freedom. sexually LIBERATED, right? mm not-so-much. when we realize that the Victorians already did it – talk about sex incessantly, that is – we also find out that the subject just isn’t that black and white.

it’s not so much about emerging from an era of sexual repression, but understanding how we came about to believe that we were ever once “repressed.”