Foucault, Ethics and Double Presence: Typology of Female Scholars on Self-Care and Care of the Other

Abstract

This article describes the results of a qualitative research on the representa­tions around self-care and care of the other that are observed when examining the discourse of women scholars from a state in south-central Mexico. They respond simultaneously to educa­tion require sustained efforts for the construction of autonomous ethos, especially by female scholars, who live a tension between their work and family life. Among the factors that have an incidence in the double presence is an androcentric ethics. We focus on the dimension of self-care and care of the other due to its implications for the construction of the ethos of women scholars, which seem to generate dichotomies between “both cares”. Based on a Foucauldian approach —as well as on our findings— we developed a typology, with which we intend to make a contribution to research on the double presence of women. The three types that we define are: 1) bifurcated with normalized response, 2) guilt-ridden bifurcated and 3) autonomous.