Foucault: Husband or Laver? Some Tensions between Foucault and Feminism

Abstract

This paper explores some aspects of Foucault’s work that have been influential for feminist theory and politics. After a brief review of some of Foucault's contributions to the analysis of gender subordination, it identifies an area of convergence between the French thinker and his fellow feminist theorists: the deconstruction of subjectivity and the critique of the historical forms of identity construction. The author argues that the relevance of Foucault's - and his followers' - thought lies in that it shows how domination also pervades liberation movements such as the feminist movement. Nevertheless, Foucault's work does not stay there. While denouncing domination, he makes normative claims aimed at the exploration of emancipated ways of life. The problem, the author argues, is that the normative assumptions he employs to unmask power and to reflect on new possible life forms are kept out of the limits of his own work. The result is that the (invisible) risks of domination remain hidden in Foucault's own work.