Essay Example on Biopower: Foucault's Concept of Power Over Populations

Section One

According to Foucault (1990: 140), biopower refers to the situation of having power over other bodies. Politically speaking, Foucault defined the concept of biopower as the technique in which power is used to control populations. Notably, it involves the evaluation of the mechanisms that consist of human life to explore their tenets that can be used in coining them into the subjects of authority (Foucault, 1990). Generally, this kind of power exerted in this context is mainly concerned with the positive influences on people's life.

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Foucault traced the birth of biopower in the 17th century when the perception of different types of power was beginning to evolve from the traditional perspective. The conventional notions asserted in the sovereignty charge like that was exercised by God. According to Foucault (1990), the sovereignty power was tasked with decisionism in matters if life and death; thus, it was beneficial to the people. People required the type of power that would look into the interest of their wellbeing lives.

Importantly, Foucault explained the idea of biopolitics using the terms "subjectification" and "objectification." Subjectification is simply the situation in which a person is turned into a "subject" of power, whereas objectification involves being turned into objects, as explained by Foucault (1990:139). In this process, the subjects are invited to express their desires for those in power to fulfill. Therefore, when one is made the subject of power, then the policies are purposively made to benefit him. An excellent example is the governmental systems that care for the subjects' development by promoting public health and education.

On the other hand, objectification entails making people be commodities to exercise power; thus, they do not get the benefits. Here, they get dehumanized since their interests, personalities, and dignities are not considered, and yet they are expected to obey those who are objectifying them (Foucault, 1999). A good example is the sexual objectification of women in a society, where they are regarded as the sex objects meant to satisfy men's sexual desire. Women's sexual objectification is used mostly in the advertising sector, where their explicit is used in selling ideas.

Notably, the concept of biopower is much related to that of sexuality. It is necessary to understand the aspect of sexual repression that Foucault disregarded to understand the connection between biopower and sexuality (Foucault, 1999: 20). This movement was as a result of the rise of Bourgeoisie in the 17th century, who are highly focused on material development (Foucault, 1999). The disregarded the topic of sex as a taboo by controlling how society viewed it then. Based on these events, Foucault argued that external forces than the internal, more influenced sexuality. Therefore, critical societal aspects like power, especially, biopower, control how people understand their sexuality.

Section Two

Question One

Science has played a significant role in the understanding of sexuality as a concept in society. It has provided dimensions that have helped people to acquire a vast range of angles in interpreting the idea to enhance its comprehension (Sheehan, 1981). Importantly, it paved the way for society to freely and adequately discuss the aspects that concern sexuality during a time when the topic was regarded as a taboo.

Foucault (1999) recounts the rise of the Bourgeoisie in the West during the 17th century, in which he bases to explain his hypothesis of repression. The Bourgeoisie were rich people and were majorly concerned with activities that were added to their wealth. Therefore, their lifestyle did not advocate for relaxation.

Notably, this societal group viewed sex as leisure; thus, a waste of time. Due to its status economically, it controlled how policy formation in the community, so they influenced the rest of the community to also "hate" the topic of sex. Thankfully, Science introduced new social views, such, biopolitics, that encouraged the open discussion about sex. For instance, in his arguments about biopower, Foucault was against the sexual repression and supported community organizations, together with the people to freely talk about sex.

Moreover, Science has contributed to the history of sexuality in the West by constructing stereotypical sex-related roles. For the longest time in the West, gender roles have actively been used in differentiating men from women. According to Martin (1991), the essential cultural stereotypes used in defining the traits of males and females attributes its references from the anatomy of the reproductive system of both sexes. For instance, women's biology of the ability to carry a pregnancy is used to pin hem down to the role of homemakers by producing children for their men. Another biological process that is used in discriminating women is menstrual flow. The Westerners consider it as a form of illness that marks women as weak and vulnerable. Therefore, they end up being discriminated against, given roles that are believed to be "easy," such as the domestic.

Last but not least, Science has helped in defining the sexuality differences between male and females sexes. Notably, this knowledge connects the biological and the cultural influences in explaining these differences that concern the physical traits of each sex. In his research, Wade (2013) explored the natural comparisons of men and women based on genes, hormones, and intellectuality. He observed that humans were sexual dimorphic through physicality differences. For instance, he noticed that male species were gigantic in structure, whereas the females were small (Wade, 2013:279). The criticality of this difference helps in providing factual details in understanding how society views the issue of gender and sex. For instance, Wade (2013) suggested the dimorphic differences regarding physical appearances are the primary reference which the community uses in the division of labor. For example, the massive physique of males makes society grant them hard jobs.

Question Two

History is essential in preserving the information of the past events that are essential in molding the happening in the present as well as those that may happen in the future. Notably, the subject of sexuality has been of interest, and the same time controversial since the time of memorial. Therefore, the inclusion of history in elaborating the concept of sexuality has steered the understanding of the different dimensions used in defining it (Sheehan, 1981).

First, history has played a vital role in comprehending the evolution of sex as a relevant topic to be given attention in society. During the 17th century, the West was a highly ethical-sensitive society where issues related to sex were considered as deviance of morality (Sheehan, 1981). This was the period when Christianity was beginning to "know" itself through the eruption of many dominions that were significantly conflicting. Examples of these dominions include Catholicism and Protestant. Each of the institutions was striving for supremacy regarding which was holier and influential. Therefore, they avoided the topic of sexuality as it was considered as sinful and dirty at the time, and it would cause a decline in their popularity.

Another historical event that influenced the topic of sexuality was based on an economic perspective. The industry was evolving, and society was witnessing changing concerning the social classes that were the dominant influence of power. Those in power were the rich and the made policies which they thought were necessary for enhancing the development. For instance, Foucault (1999) talked of the Bourgeoisie who viewed sex as a waste of time; thus, they restricted it to be given relevance in the community.

More so, history tracks down the ethical practices and perception of sexuality. For the longest time in the West, a healthy sexual relationship was considered to be mainly between individuals of the opposite sex, a male and a female. The homosexual sexual relations such as gayism and lesbianism were taken as a shun to societal dignity and were highly prohibited. Notably, the Westerners' history evolved the grounds of sexuality by inventing a new angle of sexuality, "homosexuality" in the late 19th century (Somerville, 1997). According to Somerville (1997), this invention contributed to the change of perception about gender roles that helped to reduce the discrimination of people, particularly women, based on gender.

Lastly, history has contributed to the ethical analysis regarding gender in America. First, it insisted on the normalization of sex as a topic of relevance in Western Culture after going through a series of denial (Warner, 1999). Sex would be discussed freely by experts in academics as well as the media without the fear of scrutiny. An excellent example of this acceptance was the publication of The New Republic, a gay essay in 1993 (Warner, 1999). As a result of normalization, people came to accept and appreciate the dignity perspective of each sexual practice that was evolving

Question Three

Ideas about sexual identity differ from person to person based on their understanding of sexuality. As a result, a final reflection of the matter has not been attained due to the rapid evolution of a society that influences the changes concerning sexuality perspectives. Ross and Rap (1981:71) argue that understanding sexuality requires critical attention to what sex is, and must not be regarded as an essence whose content is fixed. Notably, this argument provides an insight into viewing sexuality correctly without biasing any dimensions.

Indeed, sex is a broader subject that is usually pinned down to only the aspect of sexual orientation. According to LaMarre (2011: 253), sexual identity has nowadays been reduced to the perspective of being gay, straight, or bisexual. This claim affirms with Ross and Rap's (1981:71) argument that sexual identity should be used as essence whose context is fixed. This assertion is reflected by today's society's tendency to define sexuality base on people choose their partners. From a broader perspective, sexual identity can be defined using other different aspects such as genetic and sexual fantasies.

Again, sexuality is also defined using political grounds. LaMarre (2011: 254) explained that the politicization of sexuality has made its identity evolved from being considered as a behavior to its current institutionalized idea. Here, sexuality was mainly defined as a sur e of family. Notably, the politicization has also introduced new trends of sexuality and ended up normalizing them. The concept of sexuality by attention to politics entails evolving sexual practices, together with its perceptions, appreciate the changes by normalizing them.

Another meaning derived from Ross and Rap (1981: 71) argument is the critical incorporation of biocultural aspects in defining sexuality. Notably, culture and biology constitute a vital part of the concept of sexuality. They provide the dimensions which people use to distinguish the different angles of the subject. With the presence of biocultural knowledge in the topic of sexuality, fictional information is not used in differentiating the various groups in society (Watkins, 2009). Importantly, even though sexuality is an individual thing, it gathers its influences from the social aspects.

More so, roles and the symbols the individuals display concerning sexuality are more socially driven than biologically. Scientifically, sex is a conception of the mind; thus, people's definition of the sexual identity is psychological that result from the responding to both the biological and the social movement (Watkins, 2009: 130). This explains how people behave based on sexuality. For instance,...