Foucauldian feminism: The implications of governmentality

Foucauldian discourse has stimulated debates amongst feminists concerning its usefulness for the feminist endeavour. A specific criticism centres around his concentration on the micro-strategies of power and the resultant implication for emancipatory practice. We counter these arguments by introducing Foucault's work on governmentality. We explore some of die central tenets of this work that attempts to integrate micro- and macro-level analyses of power, grounding our theoretical discussion with an analysis of some of the discursive constructions surrounding adolescent sexual and reproductive health in South Africa. Finally, we discuss the implication of governmentality for resistance and feminist political practice.