The History of Sexuality

Christian Century, May 23, 2001 by Ellen Charry

The History of Sexuality, by Michel Foucault: The effect of this book is to enforce the notion that the regulation of sexuality is the work of power elites who are seeking to garner and protect their position of social dominance. Though the part about the power elites provides the requisite Marxist tag, most of the book takes the libertarian-libertine-anarchist line that to disapprove of any sexual pleasure (including necrophilia, pederasty, sadism, incest, rape, bestiality) is to disrupt the "harmless games" and "cassual pleasures" of simple people.

Opposing arguments are not even given the dignity of' being mentioned by Foucault, who also ignores the fact that sex is at the heart of much suffering and misery. The reader is left with the impression that the regulation of sex--say, in the form of marriage--is a purely arbitrary, and rude intrusion of the state into the lives of citizens.

--Ellen Charry, professor of theology at Princeton Theological Seminary.