QUT Digital Repository:

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1 QUT Digital Repository: Tait, Gordon (2001) Youth, sex, and 'practices of the self'. In: The Australian Sociological Association Conference 2001, December 2001, Murdoch University, Western Australia. Copyright 2001 [please consult the author]

2 YOUTH, SEX AND 'PRACTICES OF THE SELF' GORDON TAIT, QUT The int ent ion of t his p ap er is t o d escrib e w ays of avoid ing t he norm alising, glob alising and d ichot om ising t enor of p revious research int o 'yout h'. Wit h a sp ecif ic f ocus upon t he m anagem ent of sex, it w ill b e argued t hat t he concep t of 'yout h' is b est und erst ood as an exam p le of t he governm ent al f orm at ion of sp ecif ic t yp es of p erson, and t hat 'yout h' can b e f orm ulat ed in t erm s of 't he d oing of cert ain kind s of w ork on t he self '. The Const ruct ion of t he Person In cont em p orary w est ern societ ies, t here is generally held t o b e no d ist inct ion b et w een t he not ions of 'p erson' and 'ind ivid ual'. This sup p osit ion is axiom at ic t o p revailing concep t ions of t he self, since t he f eat ures w hich const it ut e t he p erson also necessarily and int ract ab ly f ashion t he 'inner self ' of t he hum an ind ivid ual. How ever, b y d em onst rat ing t hat t he p erson is an hist orically variab le collect ion of at t rib ut es not ult im at ely anchored t o t he hum an ind ivid ual, it b ecom es p ossib le t o re-assess t he m anner in 0

3 w hich social inst it ut ions are im p licat ed in t he const ruct ion of t he self. In ord er t o sup p ort t he assert ion t hat b eing an ind ivid ual d oes not concom it ant ly necessit at e b eing a p erson, it is essent ial t o d em onst rat e t hat t hese t w o concep t s have, at som e t im e or in som e p lace, b een uncoup led. This t ask is neit her as p rob lem at ic nor as ob scure as it m ight init ially ap p ear, since t his d ivision is evid ent even w it hin t he Aust ralian legal syst em, w here t he cat egory of p erson has a t echnical b asis const it ut ed in law b y a set of right s and ob ligat ions i. These in no w ay b ind p ersonhood t o t he hum an ind ivid ual. Legal right s are t hem selves f ragm ent ary, cont ext -b ound and const ruct ed across a variet y of t errains. Theref ore, it is not p ossib le t o aggregat e all t he d isp arat e right s and ob ligat ions const it ut ive of t he 'p erson in law ' int o a coherent ent it y, let alone som et hing t hat m ight b e conceived of as corresp ond ing t o t he ind ivid ual. Evid ence sup p ort ing t he d ivision b et w een t he p erson and t he ind ivid ual is not lim it ed t o t he legal. An essay b y Marcell Mauss concerning t he hist orical d evelop m ent of t he cat egory of p erson also p rovid es a w ealt h of d isp arat e exam p les in d ef ence of t his reasoning ii. He argues t hat t he cont ours of p ersonhood are d ep end ent at any given m om ent up on t he social and hist orical cont ext s of t heir f orm at ion. The 'p erson' neit her has it s genesis in som e unref ined b iological and p sychological essence of t he 'ind ivid ual', nor is it t he inevit ab le out com e of sim p ly b eing hum an, since access t o t his cat egory has at t im es b een rest rict ed along clan and f rat ernal lines. Rat her, p ersonhood should b e regarded as a p ot ent ial: a p osit ionalit y w hich m ay b e allocat ed und er cert ain circum st ances. It is a cont ingent m echanism f or t he p ub licly organising t he at t rib ut es and social relat ions availab le t o m em b ers of t he societ y. Mauss suggest s t hat t he m eld ing of t he p erson and t he ind ivid ual cam e ab out as t he result of t w o cent ral changes in t he inst it ut ions of law and m oralit y. 1

4 The f irst change cent red around t he b elief t hat t he st at us of p erson should b e availab le t o all eligib le ind ivid uals iii. The advent of Rom an law result ed in a m ore general d ist rib ut ion of p ersonhood t han had b een availab le t hrough p re-exist ing clan st ruct ures. The second change involved t he m oral p ract ices of a sm all elit e of St oics. The St oics at t em p t ed t o const ruct a p hilosop hical syst em b ased up on ind ivid uals b ecom ing resp onsib le f or t heir ow n cond uct. Inst ead of t he at t rib ut es of t he p erson b eing acq uired at a p ub lic cerem onies and rit uals, t hey w ere now seen as b eing at t ached t o an inner p rincip le w hich regulat ed social b ehaviour iv. The St oics st ill em p loyed rit uals, b ut t hese had b ecom e p rivat e and int ernal, t aking t he f orm of self -f ashioning and t est ing. This self -m onit oring f orm ed t he b asis f or 't he m oral conscience'. How ever, in sp it e of t he changes init iat ed b y t he St oics, it w as t he Christ ians w ho m ad e a m et ap hysical ent it y of t he "m oral person"', t hereb y com p let ing t he f usion of p ersonhood int o t he self v. The b elief t hat t he b od y w as host t o a singular ent it y - t he soul - set t he agend a f or id ent if ying t he f at e of t his soul w it h t he m oral cond uct of aut onom ous hum an b eings. Christ ians b ecam e responsible f or t heir ow n salvat ion, t o b e accom p lished t hrough rit uals of p rayer and inner w at chf ulness. That is, ind ivid uals now cult ivat ed p ersonhood b y d oing w ork up on t hem selves. The not ion of 'yout h' exem kp lif ies t his p rocess. Whilst t he m ost im p ort ant consid erat ion is now t o f ocus up on t he w ays in w hich yout h can b e und erst ood in t erm s of 'w ork on t he self ', or 'self -governm ent ', it is f irst necessary t o b e m ore exp licit in sp ecif ying t he p aram et ers b y w hich yout h is locat ab le as an hist orically cont ingent const ruct. In charact erising yout h in t hese t erm s, t here is t he im p licit recognit ion t hat it d oes not const it ut e a unit ary ob ject. The concep t of yout h has b een d iscont inuously const ruct ed across a p rof usion of t errains and as such, it has neit her a linear hist ory nor 2

5 a clearly dem arcat ed present. Nevert heless, t his is not t o suggest t hat, as a conseq uence, yout h is t heref ore lim it less in it s scop e. Rat her, it has b een p rod uced as a governm ent al ob ject at t he int ersect ion of cert ain legal, ed ucat ional, m ed ical and p sycholog ical p rob lem at isat ions. These w ould includ e, f or inst ance, d eb at es over legal d ef init ions of consent and crim inal liab ilit y, changes in st rat egies regard ing juvenile d elinq uency and concerns over venereal d isease and p ub lic m oralit y. How ever, p rob ab ly t h e m ost usef ul w ay of ap p roaching yout h is t o recognise t hat it has em erged as a b y-p rod uct of t he grow t h of a d iscip linary societ y. That is, yout h is generat ed w it hin int errelat ed st rat egies w hich regulat e t he relat ions of 't im e, b od ies and f orces' vi, and also sort, classif y and d if f erent iat e ind ivid uals. Ad d ressing t hese in t urn: Foucault argues t hat cont em p orary societ y is, in p art, charact erised b y t echniq ues f or t aking charge of t he t im e of ind ivid ual exist ences. This d oes not sim ply ext end t o t he rigorous d em arcat ion of t he w orking d ay. Rat her, it is p osit ioning ind ivid uals in relat ion t o t he p ervasive d ivision of t im e - t he organisat ion of t im e int o successive or p arallel segm ent s; t he arrangem ent t hese segm ent s int o a grad ed, cum ulat ive series of increasing com p lexit y; and t he connect ing of t hese series int o an overall, d evelop m ent al p lan vii. cont em p orary schooling. As Foucault p oint s out : This is esp ecially evid ent w it hin... d iscip linary t im e... w as grad ually im p osed up on p ed agogic p ract ice - sp ecialising t he t im e of t raining and d et aching it f rom ad ult t im e, f rom t he t im e of m ast ery, arranging d if f erent st ages... d raw ing up p rogram m es... q ualif ying ind ivid uals accord ing t o t he w ay t hey p ass t hrough t hese series viii. Thus, yout h can b e und erst ood as p art of t he p rocess of sub -d ivid ing and ranking t im e w it hin a segm ent ed (b ut linear and t eleological) m od el. It b ecom es an art ef act of d iscip linary m et hod s w hich charact erise and ut ilise ind ivid uals accord ing t o t he st age in t he series t hey are m oving t hrough. 3

6 How ever, in ad d it ion t o t he em b ed d ing/accum ulat ion of t im e w it hin t he b od y, t he im p lem ent at ion of d iscip linary t echnologies also involves t he sort ing and classif ying of ind ivid uals t hem selves. Prim arily, t his consist s of t he com b ined p rocesses of norm alisat ion/d if f erent iat ion. Cent ral t o t hese m echanism s w ere t he d ual st rat egies of hierarchical ob servat ion and norm alising jud gem ent. These involve t he p re-req uisit e assum pt ion of f orm al eq ualit y b et w een ind ivid uals (reinf orced b y t he archit ect ural and sp at ial arrangem ent ), w hich result s in a hom ogeneit y t hrough w hich norm s can b e com p iled ix. The augm ent at ion of t hese norm s t hen p erm it an ever m ore rigorous w eb of governm ent al int elligib ilit y b y w hich ind ivid uals b ecom e increasingly d if f erent iat ed. Conseq uent ly, w it h 'yout h', it is now p ossib le (w it hin a p let hora of cont ext s, w hich d o not necessarily sp ecif y t he sam e ob ject ) t o 'm easure gap s, t o d et erm ine levels, t o f ix sp ecialt ies, and t o rend er t he d if f erences usef ul b y f it t ing t hem t o one anot her' x. As p reviously m ent ioned, governm ent al t echnologies such as t hese not only m ap out various t yp es of ind ivid ual as ob ject s of know led ge - such as yout h - t hey also p at t ern t he cond uct of t hose ind ivid uals. The d iverse p rocesses of governm ent alit y are p rod uct ive in t hat t hey enlist ind ivid uals as allies. This is accom p lished b y st ruct uring t heir p ersonal and p rof essional cap acit ies. These are t hen t ranslat ed int o t he values, decisions and jud gem ent s m ad e b y t hose ind ivid uals as p art of t heir 'self -st eering' m echanism s xi. That is, t he governm ent of p op ulat ions d irect ly t ran slat es int o t he w ay in w hich ind ivid uals f ashion a 'self '; or rat her, t he various p rob lem at isat ions w hich sp ecif y t he ob ject 'yout h', also have p arallel im p licat ions f or sub ject -f orm at ion. For exam p le, young p eop le are d ef ined as 'norm al' b y m od elling t heir relat ionship s, b ot h t o t hem selves and ot hers, against a com p lex grid of availab le governm ent al m anuals. These m anuals w ould includ e d irect ions on accep t ab le ap p roaches t o t he values, d ecisions and jud gem ent s w hich t hese ind ivid uals m ake includ ing 4

7 those concerning t he m anagem ent of t heir sex. Theref ore, as a result of t hese governm ent al d irect ives, young p eop le are co-op t ed int o d oing w ork up on t hem selves. By p erf orm ing various rit uals of person -f orm at ion, an accep t ab le 'yout hf ul' self is cont inually f ashioned and re-f ashioned. This is p recisely w hat Foucault is ref erring t o w hen he d esignat es t echnologies of t he self as p erm it t ing ind ivid uals t o ef f ect by t heir ow n m eans or w it h t he help of ot hers a cert ain num b er of op erat ions on t heir o w n b od ies and souls, t hought s, cond uct, and w ay of b eing, so as t o t ransf orm t hem selves in ord er t o at t ain a cert ain st at e of hap p iness, p urit y, w isd om, p erf ect ion or im m ort alit y xii. These t echnolo gies const it ut e a crucial elem ent in t he est ab lishm ent of a recognisab le 'hab it us' - such as t hat associat ed w it h t he p rod uct ion of governm ent al ob ject s, like 'yout h'. Bourd ieu charact erises hab it us as b eing a 'm at rix of p ercep t ions, ap p reciat ions and act ions' engend ered b y ob ject ive cond it ions xiii. This rep resent s an int ernalised m et hod of und erst and ing and int eract ing t hat is ground ed in t he b od y it self. Thus t he p rogram m es w hich const it ut e 'yout h' as a governm ent al ob ject, inculcat e t he com p et encies and need s const it ut ive of a 'yout hf ul' hab it us xiv. As Bourd ieu p oint s out, t hese disposit ions are t he result of p rogram m es w hich are b y no m eans alw ays ob vious or overt ly relevant, since not hing seem s m ore inef f ab le... and, t heref ore, m ore p recious, t han t he values given b od y, m ad e b od y b y t he t ransub st ant iat ion achieved b y t he hid d en p ersuasion of an im p licit p ed agogy, cap ab le of inst illing a w hole cosm ology, an et hic, a m et ap hysic, a p olit ical p h ilosop hy, t hrough injunct ions as insignif icant as 'st and up st raight ' as 'd on't hold your knif e in your lef t hand ' xv. Such int ervent ions int o cond uct, irresp ect ive of t heir insignif icance, are p art of t he general st rat egy of enrolling ind ivid uals in t heir ow n self -ref orm at ion. This t act ic has b een esp ecially evid ent w hen ad d ressing child ren, and since yout h is a 5

8 ref orm ulat ion of exist ing concerns over t he child and t he ad olescent (as p reviously m ent ioned ), t heref ore t he sam e logic ap p lies. To sum m arise: 'yout h' exist s as a governm ent al ob ject at t he int ersect ion of a variet y of d iverse p rob lem at isat ions. It is f orm ulat ed as p art of t he p rocesses of ind ivid uat ion/norm alisat ion and as a result of f inely regulat ing t he relat ions of t im e. Wit hin t hese p rogram s, such as t hose p ert inent t o t he regulat ion of sex, governm ent al t echnologies st ruct ure t he p ract ices b y w hich ind ivid uals p at t ern t heir ow n cond uct, t hereb y f ashioning a kind of hab it us. This f orm s p art of a general st rat egy of enrolling t he ob ject of t hese p rogram s - yout h - in it s ow n self -ref orm at ion. Thus, yout h can b e und erst ood as 't he d oing of sp ecif ic t yp es of w ork on t he self '. These are t he m eans b y w hich w ork is d one on t he et hical sub st ance. Foucault ref ers t o t hem as t he f orm s of 'et hical elab orat ion, of et hical w ork' w hich act not only t o b ring cond uct int o line w it h a given cod e, b ut also t o 't ransf orm oneself int o t he et hical sub ject of one's b ehaviour' xvi. These p ract ices are not rest rict ed t o t he d irect m od if icat ion of b ehaviour since t hey can of t en includ e a m ult ip licit y of m ent al, sp irit ual and p hysical t echniq ues, such as self -int errogat ion, incit em ent s t o conf ession, regulat ion of t he b od y t hrough exercise and d iet, and so on. These m echanism s of et hical self -f orm at ion are cent ral t o t he m anagem ent of sexual cond uct. They f orm an int egral part of t he const ruct ion of a recognisab le 'hab it us' b y w hich p ersonages like 'yout h' are shap ed. Bourd ieu is not alone in seeing t he relevance of t his concep t. Mauss also suggest s 'hab it us' is a product ive w ay of concep t ualising t he aggregat ion of various t echniq ues of self -f orm at ion. Inst ead, it is p ert inent sim p ly t o d elineat e som e of t he cent ral p ract ices relevant t o t he sexual self -m anagem ent of 'yout h'. Several p oint s are of not e: First ly, as w it h t he p revious sect ion on 6

9 m od es of sub ject if icat ion, t hese p ract ices d o not op erat e as d iscreet exercises, b ut are rat her an int errelat ed and som ew hat neb ulous set of p rivat e rit uals of self -f orm at ion. Second ly, it is also im p ort ant t o re-em p hasise t he cont ingent nat ure of t hese rit uals, in t hat t hey are no m ore ground ed in any essent ial not ion of t he ind ivid ual t han are t he ext ernal rit uals of p erson -acq uisit ion associat ed w it h clan -b ased societ ies. Finally, t hese t echniques are all essent ially norm at ive. Self -int errogat ion In ancient Greece, ind ivid uals m ad e sp ecif ic choices ab out how t o care f or t hem selves. In choosing one possibilit y over anot her, t his gave t heir lives a cert ain value and t enor. Thus, lif e w as und erst ood as a w ork of art t o b e const ruct ed t hrough self -governm ent and self -m ast ery. This cont rast s direct ly w it h t he cont em p orary at t em p t s t o d iscover t he 'real self ' hid d en insid e all ind ivid uals - t he 't rut h' of t his essence only b eing revealed and d ecip hered as a result of const ant self -analysis and self -int errogat ion xvii. It is t his p rocess w hich const it ut es an im p ort ant p ract ice of t he self. The need t o f ost er various p ract ices of self -int errogat ion in young p eop le is d ealt w it h in t he p art icip ant s m anual f or t he 1990 'Yout h Sect or Training Program ', issued t o you t h w orkers in Queensland xviii. This t ext suggest s t hat ad olescence is charact erised b y at t em p t s t o answ er t he f und am ent al q uest ion: 'Who am I?' Yout h w orkers are charged w it h t he resp onsib ilit y of f acilit at ing t he d evelop m ent of t he t echniq ues necessary t o und ert ake t his self -int errogat ion. As such, t he 'ad olescent ' is t arget ed int o t aking 'resp onsib ilit y f or d evelop ing t heir id ent it y', 'gaining inf orm at ion on t hem selves' and also 'exp loring and q uest ioning values, at t it ud es, ident it y ' xix. This also includ es t he self -analysis necessary t o 'd ef ine t heir sexualit y'. Likew ise, in a m anual on sex ed ucat ion ent it led 'St rat egies', t he Clarit y Collect ive out line 'sp ecif ic t echniq ues' f or achieving sat isf act ory sexual self -m anagem ent. These involve various m et hod s of self -int errogat ion, includ ing values clarif icat ion, 7

10 p rob lem solving/d ecision m aking, b rainst orm ing and role p lays xx. These t echniq ues are used (p rim arily via t he const ruct ion of sexual d ilem m a's) as m echanism s f or honing skills in exp loring and scrut inising t he p rivat e self. Furt herm ore, t he d evelop m ent of t hese rout ines of int rosp ect ion is im p ort ant f or t he const ruct ion of p art icular t yp es of p erson, since t he q uest ions asked of any given 'self ' change w it h cont ext. Decid ing f or oneself w ho one is sexually, how one w ill relat e t o t he sam e and ot her gend er, w hat sp ecif ic sexual act ivit ies are on and of f lim it s, w hen one exp resses oneself sexually and w hy, is a lif elong p rocess. But d ecision m aking and choices ab out p ersonal values and lif e-st yle are esp ecially crucial in lat e ad olescence and early m at urit y xxi. Through cont inual self -int errogat ion (w hich generally consist s of asking f am iliar q uest ions w it hin f am iliar d om ains), governm ent al ob ject s like 'yout h' are f unnelled int o cert ain cod es of sexual cond uct. This argum ent is also p ert inent t o t he next p ract ice of t he self t o b e ad d ressed, in t hat cont inual at t em p t s t o uncover t he hid d en t rut h ab out t he self p rom p t t he t elling of t he t rut h. Incit at ions t o Speak Foucault suggest s t hat cont em p orary w est ern societ y is uniq ue in it s und erst and ing of sex. Whereas m ost ot her societ ies are end ow ed w it h an 'ars erot ica' (in w hich t rut h is d raw n f rom p leasure it self ), m od ern civilisat ion has d evelop ed a 'scient ia sexualis', w hich locat es sex w it hin a net w ork of p ow er relat ions aim ed at f ind ing out t he t rut h. The cent ral m echanism f or t his invest igat ion is t he conf ession. As Foucault p oint s out, ever since t he m id d le ages t he conf ession has b een one of t he m ain rit uals f or p roducing t rut h xxii. How ever, it s inf luence now ext end s f ar b eyond t he church and t he t ort ure cham b er. Ind eed, t he b elief t hat t rut h can b e revealed t hrough t he d ual st rat egies of self -int errogat ion lead ing t o t he conf ession of d esires, t hought s and act ions, is f und am ent al t o m ost of t he know led ges clust ered around sex. 8

11 The logic of 'scient ia sexualis' is t hat b y enlist ing t he help of conf essionary exp ert s, it b ecom es p ossib le t o know and sp eak t he t rut h. That is, having p osit ed 'sexualit y' as t he very essence of t he ind ivid ual, various exp ert s in sub ject ivit y of f er access t o, and know led ge of, t he t rut h of t hat essence. Hum an Relat ionship s Ed ucat ion is b ased up on t his p roced ure: it at t em p t s t o uncover t he 't rut h' ab out t he self b y valorising self -analysis and op en com m unicat ion. It incit es 'yout h' t o sp eak ab out it self. Ind eed, one of t he f und am ent al t asks of t he yout h w orker is t o f acilit at e t he learning of t he t echniq ues w hereb y young p eop le can 'id ent if y and art iculat e t heir need s' xxiii. This coup lin g is necessary since t he d ep loym ent of sexualit y req uires conf ession as w ell as self -int errogat ion. The em p hasis on conf ession can b e seen m ost clearly w it hin t hose m anuals d irect ed at t rying t o 'get yout h t o com e t o t erm s w it h t hem selves'. In 'Why Am I Af raid t o Tell You Who I Am?', a t ext w hich inf orm s yout h w orkers, John Pow ell out lines d if f erent levels of com m unicat ion, p rogressing f rom b ad t o good. This m od el culm inat es in t he st at e of 'p eak com m unicat ion', in w hich young p eop le have b een given t he ab ilit y t o sp eak f reely ab out t heir t rue selves. It is b y 'af f irm ing each ot her's exp erience' t hrough sp eaking cand id ly and op enly ab out t he self, t hat t rut h is acq uired. Moreover, t his is d eem ed necessary since 't he ab ilit y of t he child t o exp ress such f eelings is crucial f or healt hy developm ent ' xxiv. This st at em ent cont ains an im p ort ant rat ionale f or p rogram s of sexual self -m anagem ent : not only is it d esirab le t o speak about t he self, it is now d angerous not t o sp eak. In clinical p ract ice w e see over and over t he d ist ort ed and sad lives of t hose w hose love and hat e has not b een ab le t o b e d ealt w it h b y anot her hum an b ein g w ho accep t s and af f irm s t he int ensit y of t heir f eelings... Thw art ing t he verb alising of such f eelings com p ound s and m agnif ies t he p rob lem xxv. How ever, in sp it e of t he cent ralit y of self -int errogat ion and incit at ions t o sp eak as p ract ices o f et hical self -m anagem ent, not all 9

12 t echniq ues of t he self const it ut ive of a 'yout hf ul' hab it us are d irect ed at m ent al or sp irit ual d evelop m ent. Techniques of t he Body Mauss suggest s t hat 'hab it us' should not b e und erst ood as 'm erely t he soul and it s rep et it ive f acult ies', b ut rat her as t he t echniq ues of 'collect ive and ind ivid ual p ract ical reason' xxvi. Such t echniques are not lim it ed t o t he m ost general of 'cult ural p ract ices', nor sim p ly t o t he t echniq ues of self -m od if icat ion alread y m ent ioned. They also includ e cert ain socially d et erm ined w ays of using t he b od y it self, such as w alking, sit t ing, sleep ing and eat ing. They vary bet w een societ ies, ed ucat ions, f ashions, p rest iges and t he sexes. Crucially, t here are also d if f erences in t echniq ues b y age. In his p ap er, 'Techniq ues of t he Bod y', Mauss brief ly ad d resses t he issue of (b od ily) 't echniq ues of ad olescence' xxvii. Irresp ect ive of d if f erences over t he essent ially p ivot al p osit ion allocat ed b y Mauss t o ad olescence (and also som e of t he d om ain p sychological and et hnological assum p t ions held ), a sim ilar point is being m ade. That is, t he t echniq ues com m on t o sp ecif ic group s are p art of t he cont ext -b ound p rocesses of p erson -f orm at ion. This is an im p ort ant cont ent ion, since it p rop oses t hat a 'hab it us of yout h' is, in p art, t he p rod uct of t he p rogram s of p erson -f orm at ion associat ed w it h acq uiring sp ecif ic t echniq ues of t he b od y. For exam p le, Mauss d escrib es how young girls learn a charact erist ic w ay of w alking (onioni) as p art of f orm ing t he hab it us const it ut ive of a Maori p ersonage xxviii. These gend ered b od ily t echniq ues are im p ort ant asp ect s of const ruct ing an accep t ab le sexual self. An 1896 m anual ent it led 'The Glory of Wom an' d raw a d irect correlat ion b et w een d ep ort m ent and sexual self -m anagem ent. The arm s hang nat urally f rom t he should ers, t he hand s are in som e q uiet p osit ion, t he f ingers curve gracef ully, w it h slight p art ing b et w een t he f irst and second, t he t hird and f ourt h. There is no st if f ness, no uneasy shif t ing and f id get ing, no m oving of f ingers of f eat ures, b ut all is round ed and gr acef ul 10

13 as a st at ue. It is w ort h som e p ains t o b e a lad y of good st and ing in societ y xxix. Ot her ad vice t o w om en on t echniq ues t o b e 'rend ered hab it ual' includ e d evelop ing a w alking st yle w hich w ill not cause t he d ress t o lif t, and never sit t ing w it h t he legs ap art. In cont rast, m en are d irect ed t ow ard s t he b earing of 'a sold ier', b ecause 't he ext ernal b ecom es t he int ernal, and a m an b ecom es r eally w hat he end eavours t o ap p ear' xxx. This is p recisely t he p oint. Inculcat ing sp ecif ic b od ily t echniq ues com p rises an im p ort ant p art of t he governm ent al m echanism s involved in t he f orm ulat ion of sp ecif ic t yp es of p ersonage (and t he concom it ant regulat ion of t heir sex). These t echniq ues are not lim it ed t o p ost ure. Work on t he body relevant t o sexual self -m anagem ent is also d one t hrough various f orm s of exercise, such as regim es of b od y-b uild ing or d iet ing (t he cent ralit y of t hese t echniq ues in f orm ing a hab it us again b eing d ep end ent up on cert ain social variab les - age, sex, and so on). Const ruct ing yout h as a 'visib le ent it y in t he f ield of know led ge' has very ob vious im p licat ions f or t he w ay in w hich young p eop le f ashion t hem selves xxxi. The Gulb enkian Inq uiry int o t he role of t he art s in young p eop le's lives xxxii, out lines a range of inf orm al cult ures w hich are p ivot al t o t his realm :.. m usic, cult ural m ed ia (t elevision, vid eo, and t he use of m icrocom p ut ers), m agazines, st yle and f ashion, and drinking and f ight ing... It b ecom es clear t hat cult ural and m ed ia act ivit ies are cent ral t o t he w ay in w hich young p eop le live socially and sit uat e t hem selves w it hin social, econom ic and p ersonal relat ions, m anif est asp irat ions and p rod uce resp onses t o t heir cond it ions of living xxxiii. By m aking choices f rom w it hin t his vocab ulary of p ract ices, w ork is b eing d one up on t he self. This w ork is esp ecially relevant t o t he m anagem ent of sex. That is, const ruct ing a hab it us in t erm s of clot hing and leisure act ivit ies is a crucial com p onent in d et erm ining t he t enor of any given sexual p ersona. This also incorp orat es cert ain kind s of 'yout h f ul' sexual p ract ices w hich involve t he m aking of et hical, self -f orm at ive d ecisions. Manuals f or t hese 11

14 p ract ices includ e ad vice/d irect ions on d ancing, d at ing, kissing, p et t ing, m ast urb at ion, f irst int ercourse, et c. How ever, t he sp ecif icit ies of t hese t echniq ues are again very m uch d ep end ent up on social locat ion. To recap : t echniq ues of et hical self -f orm at ion are cent ral t o t he m anagem ent of sexual cond uct, since t hey const it ut e an int egral p art of t he 'hab it us' b y w hich p ersonages like 'yout h' are shap ed. Such p ract ices are not rest rict ed t o ad op t ion of cert ain st ylist ic cod es. They also includ e a m ult ip licit y of m ent al, sp irit ual and p hysical t echniq ues - self -int errogat ion, incit em ent s t o conf ession, regulat ion of t he b od y t hrough exercise and d iet, and so on. 12

15 Endnot es i.j. Frow, 'The Sub ject of Law.' in G. Wickham (ed.), Social Theory and Legal Polit ics Local Consum p t ion: Syd ney (1987) p. 69. ii.m. Mauss, 'A Cat egory of Hum an Mind: t he Not ion of t he Person; t he Not ion of t he Self.' in M. Carrit hers, S. Collins and S. Lukes (eds.), The Cat egory of t he Person: Ant hropology, Philosophy, Hist ory Cam b rid ge Universit y Press: Cam b rid ge (1985). iii.i. Hunt er, op. cit., p. 7. iv.ib id., p. 7. v.m. Mauss, op. cit., p. 19. vi. M. Foucault, op. cit., (1977) p vii.ib id., p viii.ib id., p ix.m. Foucault, op. cit., (1977) p.. x.ib id., p.. xi.p. Miller and N. Rose, 'Polit ical Rat ionalit ies and Technologies of Governm ent.' Pap er p resent ed at Colloquium on Language and Polit ics, Universit y of Helsinki, Decem b er (1988) p. 18. xii.m. Foucault, in Mart in et al. (ed s.), op. cit., p. 18. xiii.p. Bourd ieu, Out line of Theory and Pract ice Cam b rid ge Universit y Press: Cam b rid ge (1977) p. 83. xiv.for a t horough d iscussion of t hese issues, see H. Giroux, 'Reproduct ion and Resist ance in t he New Sociology of Ed ucat ion: A Crit ical Analysis.' Harvard Ed ucat ional Review Vol. 53 No. 3 August (1983). xv.p. Bourd ieu, op. cit., p. 94. xvi.m. Foucault, op. cit., (1987) p. 27. xvii.m. Foucault, in P. Rabinow (ed.), op. cit., p xviii.p. Crane, G. Embelton, S. Harris and M. Stokes. Participants 13

16 Manual Youth Sector Training Program, Division of Youth: Queensland (1990), xix.ibid., section 3.3. xx.the Clarity Collective, 'Strategies.' in Teaching About Sex: The Australian Experience W. McCarthy (ed.), George Allen & Unwin: Sydney (1983) p. 69. xxi.e. Morrison, K. Starks, C. Hyndman and N. Ronzio, Growing Up Sexual D. Van Nostrand: New York (1980) p xxii.m. Foucault, op. cit., (1977) p. 58. xxiii.p. Crane et al., op. cit., 3.3. xxiv.j. Powell, Why Am I Afraid to Tell You Who I Am? Argus: Miles (1978). This text is utilised in P. Crane et al., op cit, 3.1. xxv.ibid., 3.1. xxvi.m. Mauss, 'Techniq ues of t he Body.' Econom y and Societ y 2:1 (1973) p xxvii.ibid., p. 80. xxviii.ib id., p. 74. xxix.m. Allen and A. McGregor, The Glory of Woman: or Love Marriage and Maternity Hayes: Sydney (1890) p xxx.ibid., p xxxi.t. Bennett, T. Miller, G. Swanson and G. Tait, 'Youth Cultures and Arts Policies' Culture and Policy Vol. 2 No. 2/Vol. 3 No. 1 (1990/1) p xxxii.p. Willis, Common Culture: Report of the Gulbenkien Inquiry Open University Press: Milton Keynes (1990) (Abridged as 'Moving Culture'). xxxiii.ibid., p