Foucault Taboo Analysis
An important part of the representation of a society is the different social norms and taboos that govern its behaviour. The term “Taboo" is borrowed from the Tongan language and appears in many Polynesian cultures. In those cultures, a taboo often has specific religious associations. The word was brought back by Captain James Cook in 1777 after a long sea voyage to the South Seas and introduced into the English Language. "The word means simply to ‘forbid’ and can be applied to any sort of prohibition. Such prohibitions are present virtually in all societies” (Allan et al. 2). According to Freud, the word taboo has two different meanings. On one hand, it refers to something sacred, holy and on the other hand it means strange, dangerous, forbidden and unclethe truth behind the construction of the sexual identities in the society. Also he states that anyone who violates a taboo himself becomes a taboo as it is feared that he can prompt …show more content…
According to Foucault, sexuality is just a social construct and has been turned into a discourse which in turn is used to exercise control and maintain the power structure. We have to follow these rules laid down by the governing power or else we are considered to be deviants. Tracing back the history of sexuality, Foucault argues that homosexuality was born in 1870's. With this he means that in earlier times homosexuality was taken to be normal and not considered to be a crime. It was considered to be the behaviour of an individual instead of his identity. He further claims that individuals are not stable entities but they are formed through different discursive processes. Foucault further says that bisexuality is present in society from the very early period. It even existed in Greek period where it was not considered to be an offence. In chapter "A Problematic Relationship" of History of Sexuality Foucault brings out this tendency of bisexuality
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Historical Context Of The Social Perception Of Sexual Behavior
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Foucault Incitement To Discours
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Examples Of Taboo In Fahrenheit 451
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Foucault's Discourse
269 Words | 2 PagesDiscourse involves truth, and power relations play a functional role in the production of discourse. Foucault attempts to “materially historicize” truth both in discourse as well as in practices as “regimes of truth” and as “games of truth.” The practice of parresia which has a linkage to truth telling helps us to understand in operating the ethics of our subjectivity and also in understanding the exercise of power in the modern context. According to Foucault, parrhesiastes practices parresia by performing his own discourse.
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