Re: Foucault and Bathouses

>At 02:00 PM 4/17/98 -0500, you wrote:
>>This is in reference to Dave's homophobic, idiotic statement that
>>Foucault hung out in bathouses infecting people. Precisely, what
>>fucking evidence do you have? Bill D.
>
>My goodness. I thought this was common knowledge. As
>I recall, this was from a magazine interview/article at
>the time. I will try to find a reference for you.
>
>However, my statement was not based on "homophobia"
>or a fear of sameness. In my pre-Nietzschean ethical
>system it is questionable to have unprotected sex when
>you have a fatal communicable disease--irregardless of
>your sexual orientation.
>
>Dave
>
>"Seek the ways of the eagle, not the wren."
> - Omaha proverb (also Nietzsche and Foucault)

the thing we are forgetting is that Foucault had no idea he was infecting
people (if he indeed was, which we have no real way of knowing). in the
early 80s, the nature of AIDS was not common knowledge like it is now.
Foucault believed that the idea of a "gay cancer" was just too
(politically) perfect to be true, and truly (to my knowledge) did not
believe that he had such a disease or that he could endanger people's lives
through his sexual activity. the mantra of the danger of unprotected sex
does not apply to 1982-4 the way it does now ...

see Herve Guibert's *A l'ami qui ne m'a pas sauve la vie.* (a "fictional"
account, of course, but one that provides insight).

rob


Rob Maclean
box 2161
1189 beall ave.
wooster, oh 44691 usa
maclearr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(330) 287-4418



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