Freedom Culture and Feminism - Essay Example

Michel Foucault in his article the subject and power nuances a clear picture on the different approaches by which in culture people are made the focus. Foucault uses three methods of purpose that transition human beings into subjects (Foucault 127). The three modes include inquiry where human beings give themselves the standing of science, the pattern of subject production which entails who is supposed to labor to make the economy productive and finally the fact of being alive in ordinary past or biology (Foucault 127). He also expounds on the principle of divided practice where human beings divide themselves according to their state, for instance, the poor and the rich, the ill and the healthy among other divisions.

Foucault also critiques how human beings turn themselves into subjects for instance how men associate themselves with the sexuality of masculinity. Foucault depicts that human subjects are placed in production and signification. Production is defined by financial accounts and principles while signification is defined by linguistic and semiotic instruments (Foucault 127). The article analyses what makes power legal and the institutional models that exercise control such as the state. Foucault is surprised by the weight which power is attached to today. The author concludes that authority can only be applied to free subjects.

Besides, Foucault explores the topic technologies of the self by looking at the roles, regulations and the restrictions associated with sexuality. He explains that there are those aspects of a human being that are permitted and forbidden (Foucault 147). The author argues that it is by these two facets that sin is experienced. He says that sexual immorality is considered weightier than any other offense in the religious realm.

On the other hand Sheryl B. Ortner in her article Making Gender the Erotics and Politics of Culture critiques and builds on the contemporary human existence. She reviews the work of scholars like Anthony Giddens and Pierre Bourdieu on how human beings shape culture and how culture has developed human beings (Ortner 232). Ortner argues that these scholars omit very crucial information brought up elsewhere, for instance, the feminists theory about the diverse forms of authority and resistance. The author nuances a clear picture feminists and the inequality they suffer in the face of men. Ortner explores the sex roles that define women and those and differentiate them from men. She uses politics as the basis of her analysis where women have very little representation, and the political role is perceived as a role to be played by men (Ortner 235). She also does an in-depth exploration of the relationships of private and intimate life of women. The article, therefore, offers a new example of a cultural practice that suggests how persons perform within the cultural settings and how they work to modify these settings.

Beyonces men are free, and women are not is a piece that talks about the sexual life of men and women and the aspect of dominion that men have had over women. Beyonce talks about women as sexual beings and not victims of circumstances. The music talks about the past life where women were submissive and fragile they had no power because they had been dominated by men. It is these two aspects that made the women victims, but the artist argues that women are more than their state of being victims and they can be business people, career women, and musicians and still be sexual beings (Guardian 2014). The lyrics of the music candidly talks about female power, yearning, libido, and sex. Beyonces song correlates to Sherry Ortner's article which explores the sexuality of women and the old perception where the women were not dominant, and the society was dominated by men. Politics was a thing of men and women were not supposed to participate. Ortner argues that women too need intimate relations ships and they can play political roles. Similarly, Beyonce contends that a woman can still pursue her dreams and be a sexual being.

On the other hand, Kenney Chesneys song dubbed Freedom defines freedom as the ability to do what one pleases without any barriers or restrictions. Chesney says that from the soldier to the civilians what they go through whether in pain or joy they all need freedom. He further explains that it is what everyone is fighting for whether brave or weak they need to be free (Guardian 2014). The song, therefore, speaks about the need to be free from oppressive power where the subjects are not free, and their rights and freedoms have been suffocated by those in authority. It correlates with Foucaults article because he explains that power can only be exercised on free subjects and if the people are not free then they are oppressed. He further tells that in the technology of self-defines what is permitted and what is restricted (Newsradio 2015). The restriction is what suffocates peoples freedoms and limits them from choosing what they want in life. As Chesneys song suggests everyone wants to be free .cultural practices can also make a person captive when not modified as time goes by the past cultures need to be changed so that people can be culturally productive and at the same time free from oppression.

The two pieces speak about human nature and the need to be free from all forms of oppression.it is worth noting that as Foucault talks about subject and power he defines the freedom of people and he says that power can only be exercised on free persons. On the other hand, Ortner talks about the feminist life where a woman had no power and her freedom was suffocated by the dominion of men.

Works cited

The guardian Double standards https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/apr/09/beyonce-double-standard-contemporary-sexuality-equality (2014)

Sherry B. Ortner, Making gender: The politics and erotics of culture. Beacon Press. (1997).

Foucault, Michel. The subject and power. Critical inquiry, 8(4), 777-795. (1982).

News radio Freedom http://news.radio.com/2015/06/30/21-songs-named-freedom/(2015)