foucault-and-the-iranian-revolution-janet-afary

150 Foucault's Writings on the Iranian Revolution
sentiments of equals but . .. the pursuit of those of lower status by those of
higher status. The virtues admired in an eromenos [paidika] are the virtues
which the ruling element in a society (in the case of Greek society, adult male
citizens) approve in the ruled (women and children)" (84). These technologies
of power, law, and economics show that the position of the paidika was
that of a subordinate, yet desired and pursued object of sexual conquest.
Finally, Foucault never devoted more than a few brief lines to the subject
of lesbian relations (Foucault 1986, 202, 206). Dover explored the life
and poems of Sappho, the Greek lesbian poet of the sixth century BeE, and
other female same-sex issues. He pointed out that in Sappho's poetry we come
across the same themes that existed between the erastes and the paidika-that
is, pursuit, fleeing, gifts, and ultimately love-so that male and female samesex
relations paralleled each other in some areas, though lesbian relations
were more reciprocal than male homosexual ones (Dover 1989, 177).
In this society, therefore, the erastes played the traditional dominant role,
and the paidika played the traditional subordinate one. In societies with complex
social class hierarchies, dominant groups have access to a society's culture
and overall outlook in literature, philosophy, and the law. They usually
legitimize the unequal relationships and incorporate them into the society's
guiding principles. Dominant groups define the subordinates by assigning
one or more acceptable roles to them. They might assume that the subordinates
have some innate mental or moral defect. Dominant groups also
encourage subordinates to develop psychological traits that are pleasing to
them. When subordinates break through these assigned roles and show assertiveness
and initiative, the dominant group defines them as abnormal. Finally,
dominant parties perceive the way things are as "right" and "good" for
themselves as well as for the subordinates and see little reason for change
(Miller 2001).
All of these patterns appeared in the relationship between the erastes and
the paidika, as the adult lovers tried to confine the paidika to the passive
position in sexual relations. They assumed that the paidika was physically
incapable of experiencing any sensations (pleasure or trauma) during sex.
Young adolescent boys were not expected to initiate sexual relations or ask for
monetary compensation. Those who did so were branded prostitutes. In the
academy, the erastes legitimized this unequal relationship as one of the guiding
principles of society, and developed a set of courtship practices around
it. They also made such courtship a necessary component of attaining philosophical
truth. The erastes seemed to have convinced themselves that this
relationship was of great value to the paidikas, who were trained in the art
of manhood and helped to develop valuable social connections. How is it