Begärets lagar: moderna statliga utredningar och heteronormativitetens genealogi
(2005)- Abstract
- The thesis consists of an analysis on how Swedish Government Official Reports (SOU) and their definition and handling of homosexuality, intersexualism, and transsexualism. Questions concerning the legal definition of a human subject, of human desire and human bodies are central to these reports, and hence the focal point of the thesis is how these definitions are reproduced and altered during the 20th century.
The legal changes which these reports and committees have resulted in, is usually positioned in a context where the Swedish government is supposed to have abandoned a repressive penalty system for a politics of welfare, based on tolerance and equality. The perspective of this thesis is, however, different and more... (More) - The thesis consists of an analysis on how Swedish Government Official Reports (SOU) and their definition and handling of homosexuality, intersexualism, and transsexualism. Questions concerning the legal definition of a human subject, of human desire and human bodies are central to these reports, and hence the focal point of the thesis is how these definitions are reproduced and altered during the 20th century.
The legal changes which these reports and committees have resulted in, is usually positioned in a context where the Swedish government is supposed to have abandoned a repressive penalty system for a politics of welfare, based on tolerance and equality. The perspective of this thesis is, however, different and more critical. Through a genealogical method, inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche and Michel Foucault, this assumed development is scrutinized in order to consider differences and similarities between the reports. Focus is on continuity and change regarding the reports? definitions of sex and desire.
Through an application of Judith Butler's definition of the heterosexual matrix, the thesis emphasizes what has been excluded from the reports, as well as what has been reproduced. In this context, the psychoanalytical concept of abjection, plays an important part for the understanding of what has been foreclosed and why it is being foreclosed. In a similar way, the concept of interpellation is applied in a second analysis of the same reports to be able to examine how the reports name deviancy and, perhaps most importantly, why they name deviancy in a particular mode.
In a final chapter the conclusions from the preceding analysis are used for a discussion on the interdependence of identity based politics and a capitalist organization of society. By applying Wendy Brown's use of nietzschean ressentiment and moralism, the thesis reaches the conclusion that late modern identity politics, based on a rhetoric of "democracy" and "equality", considerably obstructs other political agendas that are not dependant on assumingly stable, constitutive, heteronormative subjects. A connection is hence made between the governmental stress on sexuality as based on (nothing but) gender and the governmental discourse on democracy as based on (nothing but) liberalism. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Popular Abstract in Swedish
Avhandlingen består av en analys av Statliga Offentliga Utredningar (SOU) och deras definition och hantering av homosexualitet, intersexualism och transsexualism under 1900-talet (1935-2001). Frågor som berör den juridiska definitionen av ett mänskligt subjekt, mänskligt begär och den mänskliga kroppen är centrala för dessa utredningar och därför ligger fokus i avhandlingen på hur dessa definitioner reproduceras och förändras.
De lagändringar som dessa utredningar har föranlett sätts vanligtvis in i ett sammanhang där staten anses ha övergett ett repressivt straffsystem till förmån för en tolerant och jämlik välfärdspolitik. Perspektivet i denna avhandling har dock varit ett... (More) - Popular Abstract in Swedish
Avhandlingen består av en analys av Statliga Offentliga Utredningar (SOU) och deras definition och hantering av homosexualitet, intersexualism och transsexualism under 1900-talet (1935-2001). Frågor som berör den juridiska definitionen av ett mänskligt subjekt, mänskligt begär och den mänskliga kroppen är centrala för dessa utredningar och därför ligger fokus i avhandlingen på hur dessa definitioner reproduceras och förändras.
De lagändringar som dessa utredningar har föranlett sätts vanligtvis in i ett sammanhang där staten anses ha övergett ett repressivt straffsystem till förmån för en tolerant och jämlik välfärdspolitik. Perspektivet i denna avhandling har dock varit ett annat och mer kritiskt. Genom en genealogisk metod, inspirerad av Friedrich Nietzsche och Michel Foucault, har denna antagna utveckling granskats för att se vilka likheter och skillnader man kan finna utredningarna sinsemellan. Utgångsfrågan har fokuserat på kontinuitet och förskjutningar i utredningarnas definition av kön och begär. Utifrån Judith Butlers definition av heterosexuell matris, har jag betonat både vad som har uteslutits i utredningarna och vad som har förmedlats. Det psykoanalytiska begreppet abjektion har i det sammanhanget spelat en central roll för att förstå vad som utesluts och varför det utesluts. På samma sätt har begreppet interpellation använts i ytterligare en analys av samma material, för att undersöka hur utredningarna benämner det avvikande och kanske framför allt, varför de benämner det avvikande på ett specifikt sätt.
I ett avslutande kapitel används slutsatserna från föregående kapitel för en diskussion kring förhållandet mellan identitetsbaserad politik och en kapitalistisk samhällsorganisation. Genom en applicering av Wendy Browns nietzscheanska diskussion om ressentiment och moralism, kommer avhandlingen fram till att den identitetspolitik som förs i ?demokratins och jämlikhetens namn? avsevärt försvårar andra politiska agendor som inte vill utgå från stabila, cementerade och heteronormativt bevarande subjekt. En koppling kan således göras mellan det statliga kravet på att sexualitet anses (endast) kunna baseras på könstillhörighet och en statlig diskurs där demokrati anses (endast) kunna baseras på liberalism. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/24638
- author
- Edenheim, Sara LU
- supervisor
- opponent
-
- Professor Rosenbeck, Bente, University of Copenhagen
- organization
- publishing date
- 2005
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- heterosexuality, homosexuality, intersexualism, transsexualism, equal rights, liberalism, abjection, interpellation, ressentiment, moralism, genealogy, Gender studies, Genusvetenskap, Legal history, Rättshistoria, Theory of history, Contemporary history (since 1914), Historieteori, gender, desire, Nutidshistoria (från 1914), Human rights, Mänskliga rättigheter
- pages
- 283 pages
- publisher
- Brutus Östlings Bokförlag Symposion
- defense location
- Historiska institutionen, sal 3 Magle Stora Kyrkogata 12 a, Lund
- defense date
- 2005-12-10 10:15:00
- ISBN
- 91 7139 732 9
- language
- Swedish
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- e11b4a67-271f-4780-9693-4a136e889a7d (old id 24638)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-04 10:07:29
- date last changed
- 2018-11-21 20:56:54
@phdthesis{e11b4a67-271f-4780-9693-4a136e889a7d,
abstract = {{The thesis consists of an analysis on how Swedish Government Official Reports (SOU) and their definition and handling of homosexuality, intersexualism, and transsexualism. Questions concerning the legal definition of a human subject, of human desire and human bodies are central to these reports, and hence the focal point of the thesis is how these definitions are reproduced and altered during the 20th century.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
The legal changes which these reports and committees have resulted in, is usually positioned in a context where the Swedish government is supposed to have abandoned a repressive penalty system for a politics of welfare, based on tolerance and equality. The perspective of this thesis is, however, different and more critical. Through a genealogical method, inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche and Michel Foucault, this assumed development is scrutinized in order to consider differences and similarities between the reports. Focus is on continuity and change regarding the reports? definitions of sex and desire.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Through an application of Judith Butler's definition of the heterosexual matrix, the thesis emphasizes what has been excluded from the reports, as well as what has been reproduced. In this context, the psychoanalytical concept of abjection, plays an important part for the understanding of what has been foreclosed and why it is being foreclosed. In a similar way, the concept of interpellation is applied in a second analysis of the same reports to be able to examine how the reports name deviancy and, perhaps most importantly, why they name deviancy in a particular mode.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
In a final chapter the conclusions from the preceding analysis are used for a discussion on the interdependence of identity based politics and a capitalist organization of society. By applying Wendy Brown's use of nietzschean ressentiment and moralism, the thesis reaches the conclusion that late modern identity politics, based on a rhetoric of "democracy" and "equality", considerably obstructs other political agendas that are not dependant on assumingly stable, constitutive, heteronormative subjects. A connection is hence made between the governmental stress on sexuality as based on (nothing but) gender and the governmental discourse on democracy as based on (nothing but) liberalism.}},
author = {{Edenheim, Sara}},
isbn = {{91 7139 732 9}},
keywords = {{heterosexuality; homosexuality; intersexualism; transsexualism; equal rights; liberalism; abjection; interpellation; ressentiment; moralism; genealogy; Gender studies; Genusvetenskap; Legal history; Rättshistoria; Theory of history; Contemporary history (since 1914); Historieteori; gender; desire; Nutidshistoria (från 1914); Human rights; Mänskliga rättigheter}},
language = {{swe}},
publisher = {{Brutus Östlings Bokförlag Symposion}},
school = {{Lund University}},
title = {{Begärets lagar: moderna statliga utredningar och heteronormativitetens genealogi}},
year = {{2005}},
}