FEMINISM, FOUCAULT, AND EMBODIED SUBJECTIVITY SUNY series in Contemporary Continental Philosophy Dennis J.Schmidt,editor FEMINISM, FOUCAULT, AND EMBODIED SUBJECTIVITY Margaret A. McLaren State University of New York Press Published by State University of New York Press,Albany © 2002 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission.No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic,magnetic tape,mechanical,photocopying,recording,or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information,address State University of New York Press, 90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany,NY 12207 Production by Judith Block Marketing by Anne Valentine Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data McLaren,Margaret A.,1960– Feminism,Foucault,and embodied subjectivity / Margaret A.McLaren. p.cm.—(SUNY series in contemporary continental philosophy) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7914-5513-0 (alk.paper)—ISBN 0-7914-5514-9 (pbk.:alk.paper) 1. Foucault,Michel. 2. Feminist theory. 3. Subjectivity. I. Title. II. Series. HQ1190 .M387 2002 305.42—dc21 2002021087 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 CONTENTS Acknowledgments vii Chapter 1. The Feminism and Foucault Debate: Stakes, Issues, Positions 1 Chapter 2. Foucault, Feminism, and Norms 19 Postmodernism and Politics 20 Feminist Critics 23 Genealogy As Critique 30 Problems With Power 36 Foucault’s Skepticism 41 Conclusion:Foucault and Feminist Resistance 48 Chapter 3. Foucault and the Subject of Feminism 53 Feminist Critics 54 Foucault’s Challenge to Subjectivity 56 Foucault’s Refusal 60 Foucault’s Genealogy of the Subject 64 Aesthetics of Existence: Life as a Work of Art 68 The Relational Feminist Subject 74 Conclusion 79 Chapter 4. Foucault and the Body:A Feminist Reappraisal 81 Foucault’s Body 83 Feminist Extenders: Disciplinary Practices and the Feminine Body 91 A Foucauldian Feminist Criticism of Foucault’s Body 99 v vi CONTENTS Feminist Resistance to the Deployment of Sexuality 110 Conclusion 114 Chapter 5. Identity Politics:Sex, Gender, and Sexuality 117 Identity Politics 118 Foucault on Identity 122 Postmodern Criticisms of Identity Politics 124 Herculine Barbin and the Sexed Body 127 Bisexuality: Identity and Politics 135 Conclusion 142 Chapter 6. Practices of the Self:From Self-transformation to Social Transformation 145 Foucault’s Technologies of the Self 146 Self-Writing 148 Parrhesia (Truth telling) 152 Consciousness-Raising 155 Conclusion 162 Conclusion 165 Notes 175 Bibliography 209 Index 225 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project has been informed,sustained and supported by a number of individ- uals,institutions and communities,and I am happy to have a chance to acknowl- edge some of them here. Amy Allen, Allison Leigh Brown and Kathryn Norsworthy read drafts of the entire manuscript.I appreciate the time and energy they spent reading my work and their criticisms and comments undoubtedly im- proved the final product.Sandra Lee Bartky,Ladelle McWhorter,Jana Sawicki, and Ed Royce read drafts of some of the chapters and provided much needed feedback,criticism and support.I also wish to thank Jane Bunker at State Univer- sity of New York Press for her early interest in and support of this project,and Ju- dith Block for her role in completing the process.Thanks also to Dennis Schmidt for including Feminism,Foucault and Embodied Subjectivityin his series on Con- temporary Continental Philosophy. Much of the research for this book was done in the Foucault archives in Paris during the summers of 1997,1998,and 2000.This research was supported by Jack B.Critchfield faculty research grants awarded by Rollins College.Research for chapter six,also supported by a Critchfield grant,was done in Northwestern Uni- versity’s special collection on women,“Femina.”I acknowledge with thanks the cu- rator of Special Collections at Northwestern University Library, R. Russell Maylone,for allowing me access to the Femina collection.My research in Paris de- pended on the expertise and generosity of a number of individuals.I am very grate- ful to Madame Isabelle Seruzier,Bibliothécaire,and Father Michel Albaric,op., Directeur,of the Bibliothèque du Saulchoir for allowing me access to the Foucault archives under special circumstances in the summer of 1997.The Foucault archives have since moved to the Institut Mémoires de l’Édition Contemporaine,and I thank Madame Martine Ollion and the staff of the institute for their friendly and professional help.I also want to thank the French journalist,Frederic Joignot,for vii viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS sharing stories of his personal acquaintance with Foucault through their work on the journal Libérationand their involvement in political activism. I had the opportunity to present several chapters of the book,in earlier and shorter versions,as conference papers.An earlier and shorter draft of chapter two was presented at the “History,Technology and Identity:After Foucault”conference. An earlier version of chapter four was presented at the Pacific APA,and I wish to thank my respondent,Eduardo Mendieta,for his comments and feedback on my paper.Parts of chapter five were presented at the Eastern Society for Women in Philosophy,the Pacific APA,the Central APA,SOFPHIA,the Philosophy,Inter- pretation and Culture conference,and the Truth,Translation and Interpretation conference in Perugia,Italy,and I thank the participants of those conferences for their comments and questions.I had the opportunity to present a much earlier ver- sion of chapter three at the Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy, the Central APA,the Midwest Society for Women in Philosophy,the Eastern So- ciety for Women in Philosophy,and the Mid-south Philosophy conference.I appre- ciate the encouragement and suggestions on this paper provided by:Ellen Armour, Sandra Lee Bartky,Harland Bloland,Susan Bordo,Ellen Feder,Marilyn Frye,Tam- sin Lorraine,Ladelle McWhorter and Jana Sawicki.Chapter three is in part based on my article,“Foucault and the Subject of Feminism”in Social Theory and Practice 23,no.1 (Spring 1997) and I would like to thank the editors of Social Theory and Practicefor allowing me to reprint some of this material here.During the initial stages ofthis project I participated in a summer seminar on Foucault led by Thomas Flynn at the National Humanities Center (supported by a Jessie Ball du Pont grant). I learned a great deal,and I deeply appreciate Tom Flynn’s encouragement and in- tellectual generosity.I also wish to thank the other seminar participants for the in- tellectual camaraderie and helpful discussions. I have been fortunate over the years to belong to a number of feminist com- munities,both academic and non-academic.The Midwest Society for Women in Philosophy provided intellectual stimulation and support during my years as a grad- uate student at Northwestern University from the mid-1980s until the early 1990s. More recently,the community of SOFPHIA (Socialist Feminist Philosophers in Action) feeds my intellectual appetite and supports my political inclinations;it is a privilege to be a part of a group of philosophers who recognize the connection be- tween theory and practice and are committed to social justice.I owe a huge debt to my feminist foremothers for the inspiration of their work and for their encourage- ment and support.Sandra Bartky,Nancy Fraser,Ann Ferguson,Marilyn Frye,Ali- son Jaggar,Maria Lugones,Sarah Hoagland,Marilyn Friedman,Claudia Card, Susan Bordo,Linda Alcoff,Jana Sawicki,Jane Mansbridge,Ladelle McWhorter, Diana Meyers,Iris Young and Linda Singer have all influenced and encouraged me Acknowledgments ix in significant ways.I especially want to thank Sandra Bartky;her encouragement, support and friendship over the years have meant more to me than I can say. I gratefully acknowledge the support of the administration of Rollins Col- lege and my departmental colleagues who allowed me to extend my sabbatical to complete this project.I have had the opportunity to present some of the ideas in this book at our departmental discussion group,and I thank my colleagues,Tom Cook, Hoyt Edge, Scott Rubarth, Yudit Greenberg, Clarence Hardy, Arnold Wettstein,and Karl Peters for their willingness to engage in conversation.Our de- partmental administrative assistant,Doris Lynn,expertly prepared the bibliography for me.I am grateful for her willingness to do so and for her unfailing good humor. Thanks also to Ann Steinecke for her expert preparation of the index. I thank my friend Tanja Softic´ for generously allowing her artwork to be re- produced for the cover of this book.Kathryn Norsworthy,Chuck Weise,Susan Alterman,Stephen Kellert and Annette Fair reminded me to laugh and offered crucial emotional and moral support during the writing process.Marlene,Nutmeg and Mustafa provided unconditional love and constant companionship.Finally,I am enormously grateful to my partner,Chuck Weise,for his continual faith in my ability to complete this project and for his understanding,patience and support while I did so. I dedicate this book to Julie Rolston (1960–1996) for the gift of her friend- ship and the inspiration of her life.