Butler and Foucault: A Revision of Power

Both Foucault and Butler claim that sexuality is not what makes us who we are, that it is simply a social construct. In addition, they both believe that by submitting to the mechanisms of power and categorizing ourselves sexually, we are giving impetus to our own subjugation. While they hold similar beliefs in many ways, and much of Judith Butler's work is building upon work done by Michael Foucault, Judith Butler does diverge from Foucault's ideas. The reason Butler revises Foucault is that his concept of biopower leaves no room for resistance to power. For Foucault, a shift in the 17th century from a top-down monarchial model of power which focused on the individual gave way to a political technology for controlling entire populations. This system of diverse techniques of control, called Biopower, is made up of every regulatory mechanism in our society. One regulatory mechanism that Foucault shows particular concern over is social categorization. Judith Butler agrees with Foucault over the dangers of categorization, particularly when it comes to gender. Butler interprets Foucault through notions of repression and social norms, ignoring concepts of technology which form a crucial part of Foucault's thinking. Foucault and Butler truly begin to diverge in thinking when Foucault makes the claim that power in modern societies is in essence a creative force, while Butler believes that power is a repressive force. This is where we see Judith Butler make a revision of Foucault's work, this revision is based on Foucault's understanding of modern power as utilized rather than possessed, flowing through the collective body of society. For Judith Butler, this model of power as circulating rather than emanating from the top down leaves no r...

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...it is always or only symptomatic of a self-inflicted homophobia. Indeed, a Foucaultian perspective might argue that the affirmation of “homosexuality” is itself an extension of a homophobic discourse." (320/121) As we can see, Judith Butler believes that resistance to identity is a means of resisting power from the outside. Her revision of Foucault comes about as a means to do this as Foucault's notions of power leave no room for resistance from the outside.
It can certainly be said that Judith Butler and Michael Foucault hold similar ideas. They both state that submitting to the mechanisms of power through categorization give drive to the means of our own subjugation. However Judith Butler strays from Foucault's ideas and ultimately makes revisions of Foucault's work. The reason for her revision is that Foucault's work simply leaves no room for resistance to power.