This reading note details foucault's notion of rape and the feminine body. Cahill is a name that comes up often in criminology, so this reading is important especially for any topics related to sexual deviance or offences.
Cahill, A.J. (2000) ‘Foucault, rape, and the construction of the feminine body’, Hypatia, 15 (1)
pp.43-63.
The Body for Foucault
- Analysis of power: the structures and dynamics of power create the possibilities of
various social discourses by constituting the subjects who will undertake them – “it
was on the basis of power over the body that a physiological, organic knowledge of it
became possible” p46
- The body is the location of inscription
- The body is socially constructed by the play of power, it does not necessitate its own
powerlessness
- Butler takes Foucalt to task – his analysis seems to imply that the body exists
precisely as a blank surface – power must have something to write on – the body is
what construction occurs on, the body is itself prior to construction
- Foucalt: power involves not only oppression, but also production.
- Foucalt: the body only and always exists as a social and cultural entity: prior to the
construction as Butler puts it, there is literally no body at all – the stage of the blank
slate does not exist
- Foucalt: individual bodies are produced with certain identifiable characteristics which
relate directly to power dynamics
The Feminine Body
- White femininity has a dominant but not solitary place in the construction of gender
- Women excluded from this dominant class are defined or measured over and against
this standard
- For example: African-American women may not be perceived as real women
- Feminine body is treated by the woman as an object, a thing which exists separate
from the aims of the woman as subject
- The woman experiences her body as an alien, weak object which depending on the
goal needs massive transformation or kid-glove treatment
- The woman attempts to protect her vulnerable body by restricting its spatial scope
and limiting its physical endeavors.
- Bartky 1988 – her analysis of social practices of dieting, exercising and makeup –
systematic and simultaneous disempowering of the female body – the impetus to
transform the body into something beautiful by cosmetic force transforms the body
into a hostile entity – constantly threatening to revert to its natural, hence unbeautiful
state
- The war against unwanted weight is an even more confrontational phenomena; the
body demands constant surveillance – appetite and desires must be carefully
guarded against – the body is constituted again as that which the woman needs to
struggle against, to control, to whip into shape
- Young and Bartsky speak to defining and confining aspects of the feminine body in a
patriarchal context, whilst theories such as Braidotti’s and Grosz’s 1994 emphasize
the degree to which a feminine body always exceeds, and therefore undermines the
universalist tendencies of modern, masculinist though.
- Sexual difference as fundamental to personhood – Braidotti and Grosz 1994
Rape and feminine body comportment
- Women are encouraged or mandated to restrict their movement for safety’s sake –
the danger described is not to the body in general. That danger is almost always
specifically sexualized. – men can travel where women ought not to is because
women can be and are raped, not women can be mugged or beaten up the way men
would be
- Women’s individual restriction of their bodily movements reflect an attempt to deny
unwanted sexual access, yet this denial serves to highlight their inherent accessibility
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller fatimaahmed1458. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for £6.69. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
