Power has been recognized as a significant variable in the study of sex and sexual behavior. These behaviors include social, relational, and individual variables. Power is considered a substantial variable in aspects of social relationships and romantic relationships. Women tend to have a more negative attitude towards premarital sex, unlike men, and in some relationships, there may be conflicts to which extent sexual behavior may occur. Men may be more interested in sexual conduct as a desire to gather control and dominance. Power is often defined as the ability to influence another individual’s behavior and attitude. Sometimes power between individuals may be associated with engagement in unusual sexual behavior such as spanking, anal sex, and bondage. Men may be attached to unusual sexual behavior at higher rates, unlike women, which gives them a sense of power.
Concepts of power have been identified in sexuality in Jee Yuen Lee’s article, “Why Suzie Wong Is not a Lesbian.” Lee expresses how Asian people who identify as bisexual and femme women are undermined and are seen as invisible in the queer community (Lee 116). Stereotypes exist where Asian females have been seen as sexually submissive human beings. Being a femme or portraying more femininity has been viewed as passive, weak, and silent. Lee shows in her article that more feminine women tend to be harassed more in the streets. Being feminine seems to gather more vulnerability to harassment from men. Asian women are characters as submissive, docile, erotized, demoralized, and with long hair. This image of Asian women has made them an easy target for men. Men may tend to approach Asian women who are homosexual due to their appearance and how they present themselves.
The archetypal figure of a lesbian as a person who appears masculine affects perceptions of Asian bisexuals and lesbians. Lee states that masculinity among women is viewed as the physical identification of a lesbian (Lee 122). Women who do not appear more masculine like the butches tend to be discriminated against in the homosexual community. In Lee’s article, some femmes describe how they have faced devaluation and exclusion from homosexuals at one point or another. Stereotypes have sometimes considered femme-looking women as lesbians who are inauthentic and willing to make people view them as straight. They are trying to gain heterosexual privileges of not being discriminated against due to sexual orientation. Therefore, the stereotypes have termed femme-looking women and bisexuals as traitorous, weak, apolitical, and duped. On the other hand, the butch-looking women are viewed as authentic lesbians due to their physical representation of their sexual deviance. The masculine lesbians are viewed as individuals who are dedicated to their course and imply confusion and ambiguity among the femme presenting lesbians.
Stereotypes in sexual orientation cross the racial boundaries in instances where women may face differentiation and not be recognized as lesbians because they are not white or do not identify ad masculine. As Asian women, people of color may be invisible in the homosexual community. Culture has been another factor that has caused discrimination where women are invisible as lesbians due to behaving in a particular cultural way. Playing feminine roles such as cooking may result in some people being viewed as heterosexual. Butch women are considered supposed to perform roles of men in the relationship, and if they do not, they may face discrimination. Some masculine females may face discrimination due to their appearance, characterized by large breasts, hips, and long hair (Lee 125). Some people tend to accept butches who have short hair, smaller breasts, and no hips. Other qualities or behavior such as affectionate behavior or nurturing behavior may tend to be associated with femme traits.
In Steven Maynard’s article, men who were presented to the court of law due to homosexuality faced a mental examination testing their sanity to diagnose them with perversions. Other men who engaged in homosexual acts did not want to be taking the identity and remained bound to what was identified as normal manhood. During those examinations, doctors would construct identities and illnesses for the individuals. Some men termed sissies, pansies, and fairies would be labeled by doctors and perverts as insane and homosexual. Maynard says that during the early twenties, discourse and medical professionals had little influence on gay men, especially those who were working class (Maynard 153). The medical discourse generated a sense of power, and the case history developed a power that influenced the judges’ knowledge of sexual relations and a man’s trial outcomes.
In his book, Maynard confirms speculations by Foucault on how medicine and law transform men and their sexual orientation. Stephen states that Foucault remarked that homosexuality became known more in the case histories (Maynard 155). Stephen further notes that other doctors saw homosexual acts as a sign of civilization degeneration in Ontario. The doctors saw sexual perversions as manifests of decline in physical processes as species continued to evolve. Steven says homosexuality was seen more among immigrants. It was an inherited trait, among other behaviors like criminality, immorality, and insanity.
Michel Foucault examines power in his book “The History of Sexuality” and concludes that sexuality is a concept invented through the use of language. To fully grasp Foucault’s argument, we must first understand why he thought the widely accepted theory of sexuality was incorrect. The repressive hypothesis is a well-known theory that attempts to explain how we came to hold the views we do today about sexuality. According to this hypothesis, attitudes toward sexuality were more permissive during the renaissance and Middle Ages (Foucault 9). It was the aristocracy who controlled sexuality in the eighteenth century. Based on this hypothesis, the bourgeoisie was concerned with economic efficiency and did not want to waste their time on sexual pleasures. Sexual activity for reasons other than reproduction was therefore forbidden in China.
The rise of the bourgeoisie brought a desire to control sexuality and the discourse surrounding it. Still, Foucault noted that since the seventeenth century, the volume of sexuality discourse had increased dramatically. People’s views on sexuality were beginning to shift significantly. Instead of being vulgar or geared toward pleasure, the conversation became one focused on science (Foucault 11). Foucault’s investigation into knowledge and power directly resulted from this epiphany. Foucault argues that knowledge has an inherent power dynamic, and those manipulating it do so with significant influence. Foucault describes power dynamics as juridical-discursive in the repressive hypothesis.
As a result, power does not only exist as an authoritative figure enforcing a set of rules through legislation. Psychiatrists believe that we feel a strong desire for it when deprived of what we desire and that power in the form of repression and subordination (Foucault 10). All interactions, not just those involving those in positions of authority, are marked by the presence of power. According to Foucault, even the oppressed have power, and this power shapes concepts. Power, according to Foucault, does not always manifest itself in a hostile or repressive manner. In reality, power is often a source of inspiration. According to Foucault, relationship knowledge and power dynamics have significantly impacted sexuality. When it comes to sexuality, he concluded that power, rather than inhibiting it, is ultimately responsible for its development. To diagnose sexual illness, doctors use perverse psychiatric pleasure as an authoritative source of information and authority. This psychiatric treatment was intended to reduce sexual perversions, but Foucault found that the power and pleasure dynamic increased the desire for and frequency of sexual perversion.
Another sphere of power and knowledge is inextricably linked to this topic of life-controlling authority. Ensuring societal and political success is guaranteed when the control over life philosophy is abolished. There are strict regulations to promote the goal of reducing energy consumption. The idea of healthy sexuality is deeply ingrained in our culture, and as a result, many people believe that their sexuality is integral to who they are. People’s sexual preferences were previously inconsequential; however, it is now widely accepted that sexual choices impact their behavior. In the view of Foucault, those who believe in this ideology are more easily manipulated. According to Foucault, sexuality is a bourgeois invention that ensures one’s dominance. Hegemonic powers pressure people to engage in heterosexual behavior in society.
Works Cited
Foucault, Michel. “The history of sexuality: An introduction, volume I.” Trans. Robert Hurley. New York: Vintage, vol. 95, 1990, pp. 1-17.
Lee, Jee Yeun. “Why Suzie Wong is not a lesbian: Asian and Asian American lesbian and bisexual women and femme/butch/gender identities.” Queer studies, 1996, pp. 115-32.
Maynard, Steven. “On the case of the case: the emergence of the homosexual as a case history in early twentieth century Ontario.” Queerly Canadian: an introductory reader in sexuality studies, 2012, pp. 153-170.