With the growing public acceptance of the internet emerged the utopian belief that the web is a neutral, egalitarian space where we can shed our gendered bodies. However, this belief has since been proven otherwise, as the social issues we face in the real world are invariably reflected in the virtual one. For my paper this quarter, I intend to explore cyberfeminism or feminism both as it is applied to and/or performed in cyberspace. The term cyberfeminism was coined by the Australian collective VNS Matrix in their 1991 cyberfeminist manifesto for the 21st century. Julianne Pierce, a member of the collective, has described cyberfeminism as “a viral meme infecting theory, art, and the academy.”
Cyberfeminism has been succinctly defined by artist Faith Wilding as feminism keeping up with its “cyberpotential." That is, if feminism is going to stay alive as a movement, it must mutate and hybridize itself to fit with the shifting and complex social realities as they are impacted by communication technology. Wilding urges cyberfeminists to utilize theoretical insights to develop strategies for battling “the very real sexism, racism, and militarism encoded in the software and hardware of the Net, thus politicizing this environment.” Cyberfeminism is not just concerned with theory, but also, it demands active participation and has been characterized by its online interactions, research and artwork. The cyberfeminist movement was most prominent in the 1990’s and has seemingly subsided since then. This leaves me with the following questions as I investigate this topic:
1) How has cyberfeminism redefined the conjunctions of identity, gender, the body and technology?
2) In which ways has cyberfeminism been a participatory practice? And who are the ones that have and have not participated?
3) Over the past several years, the surge of cyberfeminist research and art has subsided. Is a cyberfeminist movement still necessary? Has its goals already been achieved?
4) How has cyberfeminism exemplified social movements in general in terms of creating a virtual world based on a lived reality?
I am still formulating the thesis for my paper, but I imagine I will focus on particular works of cyberfeminist art and seek out the answers to my questions based on these findings. If anyone has a suggestion or a reference, please let me know.
1) How has cyberfeminism redefined the conjunctions of identity, gender, the body and technology?
2) In which ways has cyberfeminism been a participatory practice? And who are the ones that have and have not participated?
3) Over the past several years, the surge of cyberfeminist research and art has subsided. Is a cyberfeminist movement still necessary? Has its goals already been achieved?
4) How has cyberfeminism exemplified social movements in general in terms of creating a virtual world based on a lived reality?
I am still formulating the thesis for my paper, but I imagine I will focus on particular works of cyberfeminist art and seek out the answers to my questions based on these findings. If anyone has a suggestion or a reference, please let me know.
So what do you think about the contention in the conclusion of Networked Publics that we are now post-isms? We talked a bit about this in class but think this might be a good launching point for your exploration. And you've read Donna Haraway, right?In Cyborg manifesto she used the metaphor of cyborg to challenge feminists to engage in politics beyond essentialisms. Check it out.
ReplyDelete