THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE CONCEPT OF TECHNOLOGY, BY FOUCAULT, TO UNDERSTANDING GENDER AND SEXUALITY IN A POST-IDENTITY POLITICS

Abstract

Although he did not undertake a theorization on technology, the philosopher Michel Foucault adopted, in his research, the term especially from two connotations: one referring to the technologies of power and, thus, the process of governing societies based on their applications, and another path towards technologies of the self with the possibility of emancipation of subjects. Scholars associated with queer theory, such as Lauretis (1994) and Preciado (2014a), invested in using the term to present, respectively, the concepts of gender technology and sex technology. Taking advantage of the ambivalence of uses, Preciado still postulates the idea of ​​contrasexuality as a biotechnology. This issue, therefore, problematizes how Foucault's notion of technology contributed to the understanding of gender and sexuality in a post-identity politics. To this end, a bibliographical review of the authors' ideas will be carried out and also a study on how the concept is presented to authors of queer research. Finally, it is considered that Foucault's perspective on technology contributed to an in-depth understanding of discussions about gender in contemporary times.