The critiques of the Victoria repression, orientalism and commodity racism done by Foucault has played a major role in supporting the gender equality within particular settings in a society. This is by creating arguments on how the current discourse justifies equality in sexes, and rights for every gender to participate in the society development of upright morals so that acts like prostitution could be abolished. This analysis as well promoted openness in expression more so in matters pertaining to sex since all the society members are well knowledgeable about it. This open talk in matters pertaining to sex was against Victorians repression since she was an imperial prude. The analysis upholds the very manner in which equality was justified in the olden days by institutional discourse. This is only achievable by decentralizing the bio power. According to the critiques, Foucault brings out the male gender to dominate over the female gender in the analysis and this is very evident in both the past days when women were perceived as a subject to their husbands. This analysis as well depicts how the society is denied the opportunity to talk about sex matters freely and publicly, yet it is a subject that everyone is well conversant with. Women and girls are denied the opportunity and rights to freedom of expression and to make independent decisions.
For instance, the myth created by a group of thinkers about the queen of England in the 19th century. The government of the British being a monarch, she ascended to throne at a tender age of eighteen and saw her country through, a series of developmental series. The queen was an imperial prude. The repressive attitude to which she considered sex with, led to the regimes majorly concerning gender in the Great Britain, she spread this impacts to countries like India and to some of the western powers. During her reign the country ended up to be in the lead for industrialization together with the power of imperialism. All this advances led to the development of capitalism that gave rise to the middle class. There was child labor and the emergence of the proletariats. With the quick levels of development, the queen ensured that their cultural continuity was maintained by bringing back to life the Gothic styles of building and ensuring that the styles embraced ornamentation. The ornamental styles were spread across India and America, the queen is brought up from a middle class family that oversees her actions across her teenage .This is by the help of her mothers and fathers watchful eyes. This is because she is still innocent and naïve on issues pertaining sex. Despite bringing the country into such massive developments, she silence all the talks concerning sex considering it immoral yet it was central to her organization.In1888, during the queens reign a killer viciously murdered five or perhaps more prostitutes, in London the murders have not been solved yet. She was fed up with the prostitution act and referred to it as the` great social evil`. The repression expected individuals not to talk about sex openly meaning that there is no way to which even this cases of murder of prostitutes can be sorted out. She made sure that the society doesn’t talk openly about sex and therefore it was only left for two married partners. Adults were not expected to talk about sex openly or even in the presence of kids, yet the kids learnt and saw matters pertaining to sex in their learning institutions, so the society expect them to behave and pretend like they know nothing yet they are very knowledgeable about it, so the repression should let loose the society to talk about sex openly.
On the other hand the bluebeard shadow play (the shadow play within the film, the piano.) is all about a man the Bluebeards who meets his new bride Judith and then proceeds to take her to his castle. The Bluebeard is a widower who meets Judith after losing his wives though no one knows where the disappeared wives goes. This depicts sexual repression since sexual matters were issues left for couples so no one dared to inquire. Even Judith gets concerned at the point she sees blood stains on the wall, she goes ahead and accuses Bluebeard of killing the wives though the accusations ends up to be right. This shows how much issues were kept between two married people because the Bluebeard managed to kill his wives yet no one around knew or even got concerned. Foucault analyses that, individuals knew that bedroom matters exists but whatever takes place there was left for the couples only. Even if it meant death it was still none of the peoples concern. So Foucault condemn this and stands for freedom of speech on matters relating to sex. On the other hand this was what Victorian regression was all against. Foucault`s goes ahead and state that the sexual revolution in 1960s was just a theory and therefore did not liberate us.
The castle has seven locked doors with every door contains the Bluebeard hidden secret. He asks Judith to love him without demands. This arise when Judith ask the bluebeard to create openings so that the castle can be well lighted since its dark. Then the bluebeard asks Judith if she really want to stay back at the castle or even leave if she was willing. The love that Judith has for Bluebeard causes her to stay. Bluebeard leaves Judith with his keys and ask not to unlock the seven doors. Judith’s persistence prevails and she opens the castle seven doors one by one as light streams in by the openings. At the sight inside the room of every open door Judith meets surprise. She spots a torture chamber, with blood stains. Behind the second door Judith notices a store room of weapons, and in the third room she gets into the room where the bluebeard has stored his wealth, on the opening the fourth door, she comes across a small garden of beauty, At every entrance she notices that there is blood stain on the floor of all the rooms she opened.
Then Bluebeard asks Judith that the very last door should stay shut and it should never be opened. Out of curiosity Judith asks Bluebeard where the wives have been going, she even went ahead to accuse him that the blood stains she saw on the floor were his wives`. At this point bluebeard handover the key to the last door to be opened. This is where bluebeard she fined the body of the bluebeard’s wives lying on the floor. He tries to behead her but Judith’s brother comes to the rescue. This play brings out male character of domination over women. As much as the bluebeard has been killing his wives and keeping the bodies in his castle, no action has ever been taken against him. This bring out the female character as being used for sexual satisfaction and therefore not treated at all with value in the society. This play shows sexuality as something confined, then moved into people’s homes where it’s relied into serious function of production and no one talks about it publicly. Therefore life between couples is treated with utmost secrecy and third party should not get involved in it. Talking on issues pertaining to sex was considered a taboo and therefore it wasn’t discussed both at home and at school. As much as the laws pertaining sex are there, they not implemented, and if at all they are to be implemented most of us would be destined to imprisonment, since we break them like on a daily basis. It’s very evident in the examples that sex dysfunction between the two sexes. This deed is open and people around must be aware of the disappearing wives of the bluebeard yet no one talks about as expected by the society. This is very wrong, if the society is left to talk about matters concerning two sex partners, they are at liberty to inquire the disappearance of the bluebeards wives and even save innocent ladies who are about to be his victims.
Orientalism as analyzed, it majorly showed how the dominant west claimed the actions resulting into the existence of the Middle East and the Asian people referred to others since they did not come from the same place of origin. The west tried much to have the meaning of the word orient changed so that it could sound more appealing than the impacts it created on the society. According to said it was made more appealing and words like erotic, exotic and disparaged as being irrational, sexual lascivious and considered as not being modern. Due to the onset of the European enlighten movement, more middle class people possessed cultural objects alongside they were highly literate. This included parent s like Gilbert AND Sullivan i’s allowing their daughter to perform plays in theatres for instance the, THE MIKADO, in the Victorian Era in England. The setting of the play was done in japan but it satirized politics of the British institutions. The play is about denial of open speech about sex is brought about by a character named Nanki-poo, he asks about his beloved. One of the gentlemen come out and explains that flirting is considered a capital crime. The character that flirts with the partner is condemned to death. The judge that was to execute the case is dared to pass judgment on the Nanki- poo before he passed a judgment on himself. This results into no execution since at one point or another one finds himself flirting in public. This is very difficult to avoid, and if it means a crime then possible all people have an offence against the authority. There was a general transfer of repression from the British to other continent like the India and America.
Commodity racism closely linked to the orientalism due to the dominance of silence over what is already known. The Victorians should let sex be an open topic talk since across the society its knowledge is well spread and like all members are aware of it. All the sexual need, desires, and feelings should be freely released and full filled. The analysis of Victorian repression, commodity racism and the orientalism depicts how sexual relations are very vital in a society and being that the knowledge of sex dominates in the society, we should not uphold the Victorian repression and go silent about it yet we interact with it on daily basis. Sex should be matter of open discussion.it shouldn’t be left as a private matter to only married couples.
Majorly the Victorian repression wanted sex to be a silent issue to the local population yet in the institutions of education and power, sex and sexuality was discussed freely, manipulated and made as a discipline. It was study, defined and even categorized.
References
Tatar, M. (2004). Secrets Beyond the Door: The Story of Bluebeard and His Wives. Princeton University Press.
Stevenson, R. (2009). New Arabian nights. Auckland, N.Z.: Floating Press.
and Latin American Studies, 61-84.
