Biopolitics of Gender: Judith Butler's Discourse on Sexuality and State Intervention in the Politics of Life

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47766/saree.v8i2.7237

Keywords:

judith butler, gender, biopolitics, discourse, politics of life

Abstract

This article explores the political issue of intervention in life within the paradigm of contemporary political philosophy. This exploration specifically highlights ideas regarding biopolitics and gender, which will be compared in an analysis of the dimensions of sexuality within the state. This discourse presents a comparison of Judith Butler gender theory with Michel Foucault’s biopolitics theory. These comparisons offer philosophical reflection and argumentation by dissecting how power intervenes in gender as a form of political control. The research method employed in this article utilizes a model of philosophical and conceptual analysis. Meanwhile, the methodological used include: 1) conceptual decomposition, 2) identification of necessary and sufficient conditions, 3) adaptation of methods to contextual cases, 4) disambiguation, and 5) testing of logical coherence. This article presents findings from an exploratory argumentation, including a genealogy of Butler’s thought within the biopolitical dimension of gender, an understanding of sexuality as a contemporary political discourse, and examination of the political implications of gender-intervening policies. These research findings reveal a philosophical insight that gender and sexuality are components of commodities power control. Based on this control, power inserts a political agenda as an alternative way for power to operate. As such, this article offers a contemporary discourse regarding biopolitical discourse within the gender dimension.

ABSTRACT INDONESIAN
Artikel ini mengeksplorasi isu politik intervensi kehidupan dalam paradigma filsafat politik kontemporer. Eksplorasi ini secara spesifik menyoroti pemikiran tentang biopolitik dan gender yang akan dikomparasikan dalam membedah dimensi seksualitas pada negara. Diskrusus ini menghadirkan komparasi pemikiran gender Judith Butler yang akan dikomparasikan dengan pemikiran biopolitik Michel Foucault. Komparasi ini memberikan refleksi dan argumentasi filosofis dengan membedah cara kerja kekuasaan mengintervensi gender sebagai kontrol politik. Metode penelitian pada penyunan artikel ini mengunakan model philosophical and conceptual analisis. Adapun unsur metodis yang digunakan antara lain, 1) dekomposisi konsep, 2) identifikasi kondisi/syarat dan kecukupan, 3) penyesuaian metode terhadap kasus-kasus kontekstual, 4) disambiguasi, dan 5) pengujian koherensi logis. Artikel ini memberikan temuan argumentasi eksplorasi berupa genealogis pemikiran Butler dalam dimensi biopolitik gender, pemahaman seksualitas sebagai diskurus politik kontemporer, dan telaah implikasi politik pada kebijakan politik yang intervensi gender. Hasil penelitian ini menyajikan temuan filosofis bahwasanya, gender dan seksualitas merupakan bagian dari komoditas kontrol kekuasaan. Berdasarkan kontrol ini kekuatan menyelipkan agenda politik sebagai alternatif cara kekuasaan bekerja. Dengan demikian, artikel ini memberikan wacana kontemporer terkait diskursus biopolitik dalam dimensi gender.

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Published

2026-08-19

How to Cite

Aprilianto, T., & Pratama, M. R. P. (2026). Biopolitics of Gender: Judith Butler’s Discourse on Sexuality and State Intervention in the Politics of Life. Saree: Research in Gender Studies , 8(2), 141–160. https://doi.org/10.47766/saree.v8i2.7237