Foucault, Rape, and the Construction of the Feminine Body

Abstract

In 1977, Michel Foucault suggested that legal approaches to rape define it as merely an act of violence, not of sexuality, and therefore not distinct from other types of assaults. I argue that rape can not be considered merely an act of violence because it is instrumental in the construction of the distinctly feminine body. Insofar as the threat of rape is ineluctably, although not determinately, associated with the development of feminine bodily comportment, rape itself holds a host of bodily and sexually specific meanings.

Going Upstream: Policy as Sexual Violence Prevention and Response

“…However, how a problem is defined and constructed through policy language has implications for prevention and response. For instance, several scholars have identified the ways in which the problem of sexual violence is frequently described as something that a (often assumed to be cisgender, heterosexual woman) survivor experiences, rather than something a (often assumed to be cisgender, heterosexual man) perpetrator does (Cahill, ). This framework often represents women as “victims” of domestic violence and focuses on “securing the safety of women”; this consequently “renders silent men's predominant role as perpetrators of violence” (Bacchi & Goodwin, , p. 67).…”

“…something a (often assumed to be cisgender, heterosexual man) perpetrator does (Cahill, 2000). This framework often represents women as "victims" of domestic violence and focuses on "securing the safety of women"; this consequently "renders silent men' s predominant role as perpetrators of violence" (Bacchi & Goodwin, 2016, p. 67).…”

NASPA Journal Volume 43, Number 3

“…For institutions of higher education to address the problem of sexual violence, in reality as much as in perception, colleges and universities must consider how the problem of sexual violence is portrayed. Several scholars have examined the ways in which discourses operate to re/produce the problem of violence against women, a problem that is inclusive of sexual harassment, rape, domestic violence, stalking, and sexual exploitation (Alcoff & Gray, 1993;Bacchi, 1999;Cahill, 2000;Eyre, 2000;Ferraro, 1996;Heberle, 1996;Hengehold, 2000Hengehold, , 1994Pollack, 1990;Woodhull, 1988). Discourses-constellations of words and images circulating in broader society (Allan, 2003)-549 Brought to you by | HEC Bibliotheque Maryriam ET J. Authenticated Download Date | 6/23/15 5:56 AM provide "frameworks or ways of viewing issues" (Bacchi, 1999, p. 40).…”

“…Dominant constructions of sexual violence frame the problem more often as something that a woman experiences, rather than something a man does (Cahill, 2000). Interventions and prevention efforts tend to individualize the problem rather than treat sexual violence as a "group or social injury" (Bacchi, 1999) or consider sexual violence "as a structural symptom of gender inequality" (Hengehold, 1994).…”

Sexual Motives and Sentencing

“…Such arguments are part of a larger debate about the risks of viewing rape as a sexual crime. Cahill (2000) discusses the rationale behind influential feminist recommendations (e.g., Brownmiller, 1975), that rape be purged of its sexual content. The hope was that strategic desexualization of this crime would make moot any attempts on the part of the court to hold female victims responsible.…”