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The History of Sexuality, Vol. 1 Part 4, Chapter 4: Periodization Summary and Analysis | GradeSaver

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The History of Sexuality, Vol. 1 study guide contains a biography of Michel Foucault, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

In Chapter 4, Foucault turns to the question of how to identify the right time-period for the shifts in sexuality that he is discussing. According to the old "repressive hypothesis," we should see the history of sexuality as marked by two major ruptures: firstly, the end of the 17th century introduces the range of discursive prohibitions and inducements of modesty that the repressive hypothesis describes; secondly, the 20th century brought about the end of all these prohibitions, the advent of liberal sexual freedom, and the frank acceptance of sex and sexual diversity that we live with today.

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