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Year 2021, Volume: 7 Issue: 1, 27 - 42, 01.06.2021

Abstract

References

  • Benhabib, S. (1987). The Generalized and the Concrete Other: The Kohlberg-Gilligan Controversy and Moral Theory. In K. D.
  • Eva Feder (Ed.), Women and Moral Theory. New Jersey: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
  • Bernauer, J., & Michael, M. (1994). The ethics of Michel Foucault. In G. Gutting (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Foucault (pp. 141-156). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Biesta, G. J. (1999). Radical intersubjectivity: Reflections on the “different” foundation of education. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 4(18), 203-220.
  • Brodribb, S. (1992). Nothing Mat(t)ers: A Feminist Critique of Postmodernism. North Melbourne: Spinifex Press.
  • Butler, J. (1990). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge.
  • Davidson, A. (1994). Ethics as ascetics: Foucault, the history of ethics, and ancient thought. In G. Gutting (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Foucault (pp. 115-135). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Deveaux, M. (1996). Feminism and Empowerment: A Critical Reading of Foucault. (S. Hekman, Ed.) Feminist Epistemologies.
  • Foucault, M. (1977-78/2007). Security, territory, population: lectures at the Collège de France. Springer.
  • Foucault, M. (1978). The History of Sexuality vol 1, An Introduction, trans. Robert Hurley. New York: Pantheon.
  • Foucault, M. (1978/2012). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. Vintage.
  • Foucault, M. (1980). Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972-1977. (C. Gordon, Ed., C. Gordon, L. Marshall, & K. Soper, Trans.) New York: Pantheon Books.
  • Foucault, M. (1982). The Subject and Power. Critical Inquiry, 8(4), 777-795.
  • Foucault, M. (1986). The use of pleasure. In The history of sexuality (R. Hurley, Trans., Vol. 2). New York: Vintage Books .
  • Foucault, M. (1988). The Ethics of Care for the Self as a Practice of Freedom. In J. Bernauer, & D. Rasmussen (Eds.), The Final
  • Foucault (J. Gauthier, Trans.). Cambridge: MIT Press.
  • Hartmann, H. (1993). The Unhappy Marriage of Marxism and Feminism: Towards a More Progressive Union. (A. Jaggar, & P. Rothenberg, Eds.) Feminist Frameworks.
  • Hartsock, N. (1990). Foucault on Power: A Theory for Women? In L. Nicholson (Ed.), Feminism/Postmodernism. New York: Routledge.
  • McLaren, M. (2002). Feminism, Foucault, and Embodied Subjectivity. New York: State University of New York Press.
  • Nussbaum, M. C. (1999). The Professor of Parody: The Hip Defeatism of Judith Butler. New Republic, 37-45.
  • Olssen, M. (2004). Foucault and Marxism: Rewriting the Theory of Historical Materialism. Policy Futures in Education, 2(3), 454-482.
  • Piercy, M. (1976). Women on The Edge of Time. Random House.
  • Ramazanoglu, C. (Ed.). (1993/2003). Up Against Foucault: Explorations of some tensions between Foucault and feminism. New York: Routledge.
  • Sawicki, J. (1998). Feminism, Foucault, and “Subjects” of Power and Freedom. In J. Moss (Ed.), The Later Foucault: politics and philosophy. London: Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
  • Tong, R. (1989). Feminist Thought: A Comprehensive Introduction. Boulder: Westview Press.
  • Visker, R. (1995). Michel Foucault: Genealogy as Critique. (C. Turner, Trans.) Verso .

DOCILE BODIES, SUBJECTIVITY AND SELF-CONSTITUTION IN WOMEN ON THE EDGE OF TIME

Year 2021, Volume: 7 Issue: 1, 27 - 42, 01.06.2021

Abstract

Michel Foucault’s concept of docile bodies, in Discipline and Punish, draws on the theory that the docile body is a pliable object, in that, when disciplinary force is enforced through control and dependency, the subject becomes bound to the structure of such disciplinary practices. The docile body, then, according to Foucault “is something that can be made; out of a formless clay, an inapt body [from which] the machine required can be constructed” (Foucault, 1978/2012: 135). Foucault, therefore, suggests that the docile body is suited to be “manipulated, shaped, trained” willingly (Foucault, 1978/2012: 136). In this regard, he underlines the process of training, as it becomes a crucial facet of mechanics of power to impose its dominancy on the docile body. Upon analyzing the settings where individuals are trained to become docile and profitable as required- like schools, hospitals, prisons, and mental institutions- Foucault concludes that the purpose of such institutions is to create willingly obedient individuals, who respond to the designated task, which is given to maintain the statuesque, through normalizing and the internalization of surveillance. As a result, through the making of “docile, useful body”, as Foucault argues, “the body becomes a ‘political field,’ inscribed and constituted by power relations”. (Deveaux, 1996). On the subject of resistance, which is a rather controversial subject for the feminist agenda, Foucault argues “where there is power, there is resistance, and yet, or rather consequently, this resistance is never in a position of exteriority concerning power” (Foucault, 1978: 95). The selected novel, namely Women On The Edge of Time (1976) by Marge Piercy, presents intriguing perspectives on the concept of power and speculates on women’s agency regarding their bodies by implying the fact that socio-political agendas shape not only the technology but also the fields of medicine and science, leading to the ultimate manipulation of the female body. In this regard, one aim of this article is to explore feminist reactions to Foucault’s theories on body, power, and sexuality. Then, by utilizing these theories as analytical tools, this article also aims to examine the treatment and objectification of the protagonist in the narrative by medical facilities and the extent to which she is able to maintain the control of her subjectivity when faced with disciplinary forces as well as her individual integrity in society.

References

  • Benhabib, S. (1987). The Generalized and the Concrete Other: The Kohlberg-Gilligan Controversy and Moral Theory. In K. D.
  • Eva Feder (Ed.), Women and Moral Theory. New Jersey: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
  • Bernauer, J., & Michael, M. (1994). The ethics of Michel Foucault. In G. Gutting (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Foucault (pp. 141-156). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Biesta, G. J. (1999). Radical intersubjectivity: Reflections on the “different” foundation of education. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 4(18), 203-220.
  • Brodribb, S. (1992). Nothing Mat(t)ers: A Feminist Critique of Postmodernism. North Melbourne: Spinifex Press.
  • Butler, J. (1990). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge.
  • Davidson, A. (1994). Ethics as ascetics: Foucault, the history of ethics, and ancient thought. In G. Gutting (Ed.), The Cambridge Companion to Foucault (pp. 115-135). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Deveaux, M. (1996). Feminism and Empowerment: A Critical Reading of Foucault. (S. Hekman, Ed.) Feminist Epistemologies.
  • Foucault, M. (1977-78/2007). Security, territory, population: lectures at the Collège de France. Springer.
  • Foucault, M. (1978). The History of Sexuality vol 1, An Introduction, trans. Robert Hurley. New York: Pantheon.
  • Foucault, M. (1978/2012). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. Vintage.
  • Foucault, M. (1980). Selected Interviews and Other Writings 1972-1977. (C. Gordon, Ed., C. Gordon, L. Marshall, & K. Soper, Trans.) New York: Pantheon Books.
  • Foucault, M. (1982). The Subject and Power. Critical Inquiry, 8(4), 777-795.
  • Foucault, M. (1986). The use of pleasure. In The history of sexuality (R. Hurley, Trans., Vol. 2). New York: Vintage Books .
  • Foucault, M. (1988). The Ethics of Care for the Self as a Practice of Freedom. In J. Bernauer, & D. Rasmussen (Eds.), The Final
  • Foucault (J. Gauthier, Trans.). Cambridge: MIT Press.
  • Hartmann, H. (1993). The Unhappy Marriage of Marxism and Feminism: Towards a More Progressive Union. (A. Jaggar, & P. Rothenberg, Eds.) Feminist Frameworks.
  • Hartsock, N. (1990). Foucault on Power: A Theory for Women? In L. Nicholson (Ed.), Feminism/Postmodernism. New York: Routledge.
  • McLaren, M. (2002). Feminism, Foucault, and Embodied Subjectivity. New York: State University of New York Press.
  • Nussbaum, M. C. (1999). The Professor of Parody: The Hip Defeatism of Judith Butler. New Republic, 37-45.
  • Olssen, M. (2004). Foucault and Marxism: Rewriting the Theory of Historical Materialism. Policy Futures in Education, 2(3), 454-482.
  • Piercy, M. (1976). Women on The Edge of Time. Random House.
  • Ramazanoglu, C. (Ed.). (1993/2003). Up Against Foucault: Explorations of some tensions between Foucault and feminism. New York: Routledge.
  • Sawicki, J. (1998). Feminism, Foucault, and “Subjects” of Power and Freedom. In J. Moss (Ed.), The Later Foucault: politics and philosophy. London: Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
  • Tong, R. (1989). Feminist Thought: A Comprehensive Introduction. Boulder: Westview Press.
  • Visker, R. (1995). Michel Foucault: Genealogy as Critique. (C. Turner, Trans.) Verso .
There are 26 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Creative Arts and Writing
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Müge Karayaylalı Bayraktar 0000-0003-2849-6768

Publication Date June 1, 2021
Acceptance Date January 27, 2021
Published in Issue Year 2021 Volume: 7 Issue: 1

Cite

APA Karayaylalı Bayraktar, M. (2021). DOCILE BODIES, SUBJECTIVITY AND SELF-CONSTITUTION IN WOMEN ON THE EDGE OF TIME. International Journal of Media Culture and Literature, 7(1), 27-42.


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