Table Of ContentFEMINISM, 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.
