Foucault’s Work for the Analysis of Gender Relations: Theoretical Reviews
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Abstract
Michel Foucault’s focus on power relationships has drawn political scientists, political philosophers,
and feminists to his texts. His argument which analyses power and discourse takes political analysts beyond
state as the locus of power. In general, his work is important for feminist analyses, especially the threevolume
of historical account of sexuality, because it shares with feminists and intense and critical gaze at
sexuality, ‘power and knowledge.’ However, Foucault’s politics of Western sexuality leaves female sexuality
invisible. To complete this historical account of sexuality requires feminist critiques which extend and alter
the analysis to include female sexuality. Thus, the question is not if, but how Foucault should be situated into
contemporary feminist theory. This paper examines four major criticisms that traditional feminists have
argued against Foucault’s understanding of theory-justification, power relations, collective politics, and gender
neutrality. We argue that the first three criticisms are undiscovered, but offer an important set of political tool
to feminism. For the gender neutrality criticism, we argue that Foucault’s neglect of gender difference in his
history of sexuality falls short of feminist goals. Finally, feminists should approbate only the aspects of
Foucauldian philosophy that are conductive to gender analysis and move beyond Foucault’s androcentrism to
create alternative histories of sexuality and opportunities for resistance.
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