Promoting Admiration of Foucault Hiding his Defense of Rape and Pederasty

Abstract

Foucault has been quoted as a great intellectual contributor to feminism and education, despite his defense of decriminalizing rape and pederasty. Since the MeToo movement, there is an increasing criticism of Foucault’s persona and works. However, in order to avoid recognizing their mistake, some authors say that Foucault’s defense of sexual violence was unknown before. This article shows this is not backed by evidence. Data was collected via interviews with 19 subjects with diverse profiles, employing the communicative methodology. The results shed light on the fact that some professors who have included Foucault’s works in their classes hid Foucault’s position in favor of sexual violence to their students. Interviewees state that there are several reasons why they think those professors hid this fact: a) the most critical thinker; b) the transgressor; c) a relativist intellectual; d) “a shield to hide behind”; and e) the idea that the intellectual must be separated from the person. This study indicates that in transmitting those images and hiding or even justifying Foucault instead of critically analyzing the implication of his works and his defense of sexual violence, perpetuating its justification, such professors act as his “hooligans”.

When the Media Omits or Includes Scientific Evidence in Its Publications: Science and Battles on X about Child Sexual Abuse

“…In addition, in the field of sexual violence, the scarce acceptance of scientific evidence on the part of social sciences has already been highlighted by scientific literature [75]. Notably, in the case of CSA, even authors who have advocated for the decriminalization of pederasty (both in their scholarly work and/or personal lives) are often presented as references for child sexual education within the field of social sciences [76].…”

“…Supporting all victims is key to overcoming any form of violence and for victims to be able to become survivors [32,40]. Such social media interactions distance themselves from certain discourses that blame CSA when exercised by certain individuals or groups but hide it when exercised by "one of them", such as by authors they consider to be references [76]. These findings suggest that a discourse on the need for scientific evidence on gender and education is being expanded on social media.…”

Defying Predatory Capital: Embracing Beauty, Resisting Ugliness, and Striving for Freedom

“…: For all the little girls who have been attacked, in parks, in the underground, in all those experiences of everyday life, at eight, ten, or twelve: extremely traumatizing... In fact, almost all those who promote Foucault as a referent figure of feminism or education in their lectures hide his defense of rape and pederasty (Valls et al, 2022). This shows not only a lack of ethics, but also a lack of intellectual and scientific level.…”

Scientific Evidence of Social Impact to Eliminate Abuse: The PCCP Project of the Society of Jesus

“…Among the signatories was Simone de Beauvoir. Also, Michael Foucault defended pederasty and wrote about the decriminalization of rape (Valls et al, 2022a). Despite this, empirical research shows that these authors continue to be taught in university classrooms and high schools as models of feminism and critical theorists, hiding to the students those authors' defense of pederasty (Valls et al, 2022a(Valls et al, , 2022b.…”