In Foucault’s piece on the History of Sexuality, he speaks of the right to decide life and death and how it turned into the right to expose an individual to death. He suggest that the motivation behind this has changed greatly over the years stating from early centuries of sovereign powers. Now the shift has moved more towards the right to live because of the interest shift more in how people live. He describes this new emphasis as bio power, which is solely the switching of tactics and techniques to create docile bodies. One could argue that the topics discussed in the documentary It’s A Girl: Three deadliest words in the world tie in with Foucault’s theory. This documentary displays how sexuality is linked to how the individuals of Middle Eastern countries, China and Indian handle the power of life of girls born into these countries.
This documentary explores the gendercide of the girl population in Middle Eastern, China, and India. The birth of girls in these countries are consider burdens to the families of these countries because they take away capital. To avoid dowries, Indian families often turn to killing, abandoning, drowning, and other harsh methods to rid the infant girl. The girl in an Indian caste system is valueless and brings more hardship then fortune. Because of the cost of an ultrasound, many people cannot afford to have a screen to see the sex. There was a woman in the documentary who detailed having 8 children, all of whom were girls, and killing each one fresh out of the womb. She said she had no type of regret because she as well as many other women of her the power to give give and take a life. And because this is part of the Indian Culture, no one objectifies.
In China, the annihilation of the girl population is similar, but it is enforced by China’s one child policy. This policy is put in place to help control its population. The only way you can keep a girl is if she is the first child born. If the first child is a boy, the girl is put up for adoption or aborted. As in the Indian culture, boys are also more valuable to society then girls. They label the girls of this culture with negative connotations such as thieves and burdens. With Chinese culture, the government controls the reproduction of girls. They do so by sterilizing women and raiding the houses of the suspected. The unwanted children of this country often end up in foster homes, trafficked, or put into child prostitution.
Foucault mentioned that bio power would be used to label this new type of power over life. He stated that there were two parts of this: the use of the body as a machine and the regulation of population. Both of which are present in this particular population. The way the bodies of the women in both countries are being used to produce. And the intended outcome of pregnancy was to procreate boys for economic growth. The second one is covered as a main topic about how the women and their families are in charge of regulating the population. The second part only applies to the individuals of the Chinese culture who has to regulate in order to obey the one child policy that exist because of the over population.
The importance of having a boy can be seen in these countries as a means to create capitalism. Most parents want son so they can collect dowries, have someone who can watch over them as they age and create more families. When a female is born, the family loses capital because of the process of the dowry. Foucault’s explanation of why we have shifted in regards to how we decide life and death helps us to understand that the life is precious only in the name of what it produces. As with this countries, girls do not produce and take away more capital then they gain. In order to curb that, families annihilate and outcast them. Although morally wrong, the power to decide life and death can clearly been seen in the 21 century and is normalized across seas.
This documentary explores the gendercide of the girl population in Middle Eastern, China, and India. The birth of girls in these countries are consider burdens to the families of these countries because they take away capital. To avoid dowries, Indian families often turn to killing, abandoning, drowning, and other harsh methods to rid the infant girl. The girl in an Indian caste system is valueless and brings more hardship then fortune. Because of the cost of an ultrasound, many people cannot afford to have a screen to see the sex. There was a woman in the documentary who detailed having 8 children, all of whom were girls, and killing each one fresh out of the womb. She said she had no type of regret because she as well as many other women of her the power to give give and take a life. And because this is part of the Indian Culture, no one objectifies.
In China, the annihilation of the girl population is similar, but it is enforced by China’s one child policy. This policy is put in place to help control its population. The only way you can keep a girl is if she is the first child born. If the first child is a boy, the girl is put up for adoption or aborted. As in the Indian culture, boys are also more valuable to society then girls. They label the girls of this culture with negative connotations such as thieves and burdens. With Chinese culture, the government controls the reproduction of girls. They do so by sterilizing women and raiding the houses of the suspected. The unwanted children of this country often end up in foster homes, trafficked, or put into child prostitution.
Foucault mentioned that bio power would be used to label this new type of power over life. He stated that there were two parts of this: the use of the body as a machine and the regulation of population. Both of which are present in this particular population. The way the bodies of the women in both countries are being used to produce. And the intended outcome of pregnancy was to procreate boys for economic growth. The second one is covered as a main topic about how the women and their families are in charge of regulating the population. The second part only applies to the individuals of the Chinese culture who has to regulate in order to obey the one child policy that exist because of the over population.
The importance of having a boy can be seen in these countries as a means to create capitalism. Most parents want son so they can collect dowries, have someone who can watch over them as they age and create more families. When a female is born, the family loses capital because of the process of the dowry. Foucault’s explanation of why we have shifted in regards to how we decide life and death helps us to understand that the life is precious only in the name of what it produces. As with this countries, girls do not produce and take away more capital then they gain. In order to curb that, families annihilate and outcast them. Although morally wrong, the power to decide life and death can clearly been seen in the 21 century and is normalized across seas.