Part 4, Chapter 2, Method Summary and Analysis

Power is the name given to a vast sociological construction full of numerous points of concentration that all vie constantly for supremacy. The various relationships between these points are a type of force and the aggregate of the forces forms power. Thus, power refers to a complex strategic situation within a particular society. Power is not acquired or seized but is an inherent element of any system - power is not exterior to the system and arises within the system itself. Power relations are both intentional and non-subjective. Wherever power exists, resistance also exists - the resistance itself is not exterior to the power but is inherent within the power and the system.

The basic methodology used in the subsequent investigation into the history of sexuality will thus be a focus on the most immediate and local...