The History of Sexuality: Volume 1

In historical writing, “bourgeois” is used to describe attributes connected to the class of merchants, businesspeople, and professionals. This group is sometimes referred to as the middle class—situated between the proletariat (working class) and the aristocracy. However, in the Communist Manifesto (1848), Karl Marx argues that the rise of industrial capitalism has allowed the bourgeoisie to replace the aristocracy at the top of the social order. The History of Sexuality challenges the idea that this singular ruling class—the bourgeoisie—is responsible for setting the terms of sex and sexuality in the Victorian era.

Canonical law refers to the ordinances set forth by a religious judicial system, particularly regarding the Catholic Church. Canonical law reveals the connection between religious belief and governmental law.

The Counter Reformation, also called the Catholic Reformation, describes the period of Catholic resurgence and overtaking of power between the 16th and 17th centuries. Foucault begins his historical study just after the Counter Reformation, addressing the argument that a repressive expression of power by bourgeois Victorians placed limitations sex and sexuality.

This model of power, defined and rejected by Foucault, operates on three principles. First, power is held by a person or entity; power is always possessed. Second, power is always enacted from the top down; a ruling class or monarch has total power and exerts it on those beneath. Third, power functions through repression and limitation. Foucault argues that this model of power is false and fails to address the complex and pervasive nature of power.

This 18th-century French novel was first published anonymously and later attributed to the writer Denis Diderot. The title translates to “The Indiscreet Jewels” or “The Talking Jewels.” The novel tells the story of Mangogul, a Sultan of Congo, designed to represent King Louis XV. In the tale, Mangogul acquires a magic ring that makes women’s vaginas talk. Mangogul uses the ring to learn the sexual histories of the women around him.

In art, the term “pastoral” is used to describe agrarian landscapes in which man’s dominion over the natural world is celebrated. In religious terms, it stands metaphorically for the position of a religious leader with respect to the congregation: as a shepherd watching over the flock. Foucault spoke about pastoral power, which is centered on the salvation of the individual and thus requires an intimate knowledge of the individual’s thoughts and actions. The Catholic confession can be seen as a form of pastoral power.

The Political Cause refers to the political agenda outlined for the future regarding sex and sexuality. This can become intertwined with the sexual cause, which emphasizes sexual liberation.

This late 20th-century movement is a reaction to the modernist movement. Postmodernism centers on the rejection of grand narratives and concrete meaning. Foucault is considered a postmodernist and poststructuralist philosopher, though he rejected these labels himself.

Poststructuralism is a literary and philosophical critique of structuralism. With its origins in the early 20th century, structuralism examines cultural phenomena in terms of their interrelatedness with other phenomena. Poststructuralism later draws on the ideas of structuralism but rejects the fixed categories and causal relationships that formed the “structure.”

This term, introduced by Foucault, suggests an intrinsic connection between the two concepts. Foucault argues that both power and knowledge work together to uphold one another. Power makes use of knowledge and creates a framework for increasing it.

The History of Sexuality functions as a refutation of the repressive hypothesis. This hypothesis proposes that power since the 18th century has primarily taken the form of repression been expressed as a form of repression, with powerful institutions and individuals restricting the choices of others.

For Foucault, this is the primary mode in which modern, Western societies seek knowledge about sexuality. In contrast with the Ars erotica practiced in other times and places—which respected the fundamental privacy and mystery of sex—Foucault argues that these societies extract truth from the power-knowledge relationship. These societies use confessions to elicit individual truths about sex.