Matthew Colburn

5/5/15
History 2005W: Section 10
Evolution of Repression
In his text The History of Sexuality: An Introduction: Volume 1, Michel
Foucault deeply explores the societal repression of sexuality. In doing so, he
actively rebels against the teachings of Sigmund Freud. Dismissing his
psychoanalytic practices as normalizing and as a form of conformism,
Foucault believes that Freuds teachings are flawed. However, Foucaults
descriptions of societal repression ironically build on the foundations of
Freuds teachings of repression. Although Foucault actively dismisses the
teachings of Freud, he inadvertently reinforces Freuds theories concerning
repression in The History of Sexuality: An Introduction: Volume 1.
Actively, Foucault dismisses Freuds teachings and practices. He does
so blatantly, by saying that one denounces Freuds conformism and all the
effects of integration ensured by the science of sex and the barely
equivocal practices of sexology. He does so for a good reason, however.
This is because psychoanalysis is inherently normalizing; it can only fix
someones psyche insofar as societys psyche is fixed itself. If one were to
use normalizing practices to try to cure a persons repressed sexuality, for
instance, then they would only conform them insofar as society has
progressed with its own sexual repression. Therefore, psychoanalysis would

succeed only in conforming a persons sexual inhibitions to the same level of

sexual-repression that society has reachedchanging nothing for society as
a whole and reinforcing societys repressed sexuality. On a conscious level,
Foucault persistently and reasonably dismisses the teachings of Freud.
However, his descriptions of societal repression seem to reinforce them more
strongly than his denunciations dismiss them.
Throughout The History of Sexuality: An Introduction: Volume 1,
Foucault initially focuses on societys repression of human sexuality. Stating
that sexuality was carefully confined; it was moved into the home and that
it had characteristic features attributed to repression, Foucault believed
that society had actively repressed the common mans sexuality. He believed
that modern puritanism imposed its triple edict of taboo, nonexistence, and
silence on sexuality throughout the Victorian era, and that it continued to
persist for a substantial time. In speaking of repression, however, Foucault
appears to be taking Freuds accounts of individual repression and applying it
to societies as a whole. In doing so, he substantially builds on Freuds
theories of repression in a way that reinforces it in immense ways. For
instance, Freud claimed that one of the vicissitudes of instinctual impulse
may undergo is to meet with resistances which seek to make it inoperative
(569). This is reinforced by Fouacults discussion of the sexual taboo, and
why it is tantalizing to speak of sexuality when it has been repressed. In
saying that what sustains our eagerness to speak of sex in terms of
repression is doubtless this opportunity to speak against the powers that

be, Foucault directly reinforces Freuds aforementioned claim. After all, this
eagerness is an instinctual impulse and the opportunity to speak against the
powers that be is meeting with resistances which seek to make it inoperative
exactly as Freud said. Moreover, Freud claims that repression proliferates
in the dark, as it were, and takes on extreme forms of expression (570). This
is reinforced by Foucaults underlying assumption in his text that society is
ignorant of its repression of sexuality, and that he in turn is revealing it to
the masses lest they continue to go on repressing it. In writing his text, he is
taking an extreme form of expression: spelling out centuries of repression in
a controversial and blunt way, and preventing repression from continuing to
proliferate in the dark. Although Foucault may appear to dismiss Freuds
teachings, he inadvertently reinforces them in substantial and fascinating
ways.