CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2012
| Author | Zerjav, Tamara |
|---|---|
| Title | The Politicization of Singlehood |
| Summary | In my thesis I analyze parliamentary and media debates on single women and their right to assisted reproduction that took place in Slovenia in 2000 and 2001. Through my analysis I first show that the category of single women in 2000 and 2001 became highly politicized. I continue with an analysis of the construction of this category in these debates from the perspective of heteronormativity. I argue that the way the discourse on single women was framed reaffirmed the normativity of heterosexuality. Because singlehood, asexuality and non-sexuality could represent a challenge to the notion of "natural" (hetero)sexuality, if properly theorized, I call for more attention to these categories in feminist and queer approaches to sexuality. Finally I consider the functions of the analyzed discourse from the perspective of Foucault's theory of bio-politics and anatomo-politics to argue that the discourse functioned with a disciplinary effect of producing not only properly heterosexual bodies but properly sexual bodies. In the course of making this argument I also engage in a consideration of regulatory power technology and the question of a neutral citizen of a bio-political State. |
| Supervisor | Elissa Helms |
| Department | Gender Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2012/zerjav_tamara.pdf |
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