From Powder to Power: The Subject Formation of a Gay Professor

While current studies utilizing Foucault's concept of subject formation convincingly explain how macro-level forces such as neoliberal ideologies and school policies shape individuals, finer attention to the meaning-making and life influences of the subjects themselves is equally important to nuance our understanding of how capillary power operates. Focusing on a single case, this study examines the subject formation of a Filipino gay professor. Using narrative analysis, the study identifies three themes supported by six vignettes. The findings reveal compelling stories of how a gay professor was shaped by the mentoring of his gay "<i>parlorista</i>" uncles, only to paradoxically become their exact opposite. Concepts such as dichotomization, discourses on being a distinguished gay professor, power relations, and governmentalization are analyzed to highlight the complex negotiations through which the gay professor's subjectivity is constituted.