Foucault had it backwards. It is not so much that discourse shapes the body, but rather that the body is the source of discourse:
The phrase “body politic” is not simply a metaphor. This term expresses the fact that our experience of nations derives from the experience (or fantasy) of our own body (projected outward; externalized into the world).
Because nations are experienced in corporeal terms--as if bodies--human beings seek to secure their nation's borders—orifices and entry points—from infiltration and penetration.
The experience of one’s nations with insecure or porous boundaries—is equivalent to the fear that one’s own body is porous--and is in danger of being penetrated.
Since the nation is experienced as a projection of one’s body—hysteria and paranoia are the same.
