Annotated Webliography

After reading the articles in the unit reader and identifying key words and authors, I began by searching for articles that would help develop a convincing argument for the question. I divided my research into two sections; the first searching for articles that discussed how cyborgs have been incorporated into popular culture, and the second looking for articles that examined how the cyborg has been taken up by feminists and how its use has been either positive, negative, or a combination of the two. Below are the best five articles from my research.

Brenda Brasher[1] provides an examination of the implications of technology on religion. Brasher begins by examining cyborgs; their creation, development in popular culture, and, as figures often desiring human qualities, how they pose significant religious questions by providing a scale upon which “humanness” is measured. Questions regarding religion and the issues that arise in technology are also examined. Brasher discusses that although religion and the web are not completely disconnected, religious websites, forums and discussions that occur online do not address crucial issues surrounding religion and technology, such as moral dilemmas and issues of user privacy. Considering the important role religion has traditionally played in society, its attention to these concerns is paramount. This article raises interesting questions regarding the problems surrounding the integration of cyborgs into popular culture.

Steven Shaviro’s[2] paper monitors the ways cyborgs have been incorporated into popular culture, and the different ways they have both challenged and perpetuated existing gender categories. This is examined with particular reference to the music video clips of two black female hiphop artists; Missy Elliot and Lil’ Kim. The paper examines the use of cyborgian imagery in their video clips. As in many of her film clips, and the one discussed here, Missy Elliot refuses to be viewed as a sex symbol or object for the male gaze. Just as Haraway intended cyborgs would have, Missy, dressed in a black balloon suit described as “futuristic biofabric”, is presented as neither man nor woman; her sexuality remains indeterminate and unexploited. Lil’ Kim’s film clip is the polar opposite. A hypersexualised female image is used in her film clip, which perpetuates the stereotypes the cyborg Missy Elliot attempts to avoid. I like that this article examines real life instances of cyborgs in popular culture, and the different way it is represented.

Yvonne Volkart’s paper “The Cyberfeminist Fantasy of the Pleasure of the Cyborg”[3] discusses the differences between feminism and cyberfeminism; noting that while both forms look to new technology to provide liberation for women, cyberfeminism “promotes both the idea of becoming cyborgian and the pleasures involved in it”. Similar to postfeminism, cyberfeminism is concerned with notions of self-empowerment that are not limited to constructions of identity. Volkart identifies the “digital turn”; the ever increasing impact of technology on our everyday lives, as the cause of the shift from feminism to cyberfeminism. The second half of Voldark’s paper is an examination of six female cyborg characters in art and literature, and the range of technological fantasies they embody. I found the second half of the paper more difficult to interpret than the first, and would probably find the first half to be more useful in writing the research essay.

Sadie Plant’s[4] article begins by examining the patriarchal perception of the association between women and machine. Traditionally, machines have been viewed as feminine; unpredictable, uncontrollable, and always a toy that could be modified by man. In popular film, women and technology make for a disastrous and often dangerous combination. The article discusses how this stereotype is perpetuated in films containing female cyborgs, such as Eve of Destruction and Until the End of the World. Plant notes that although traditionally the relationship between women and technology has not been favourable, the evolution of cyberpunk has allowed for the creation of science fiction heroines who no longer rely on conventional feminine traits, such as passivity, in their conquests. In examining the reality of a transition to a “cybernetic” world, Plant views cyberfeminists as the driving force behind such advancements. In terms of the research paper, this article would provide good evidence for the case of cyborgs being taken up by feminists.

“Cyberfeminism with a Difference”, by Rosi Braidotti[5], discusses of the place of feminism within a technological, postmodern society. Braidotti begins with an introduction to postmodernity, and describes its relationship with technology and culture. She then moves on to discuss representations of the post-human body, and labels Dolly Parton, Elizabeth Taylor and Jane Fonda as examples of “cyborg goddesses” due to their post-human figures; the result of either artificial reconstruction or, in Fonda’s case, a “hyper real fitness fetishist”. Braidotti discusses how feminists, who once looked to science fiction writing as way to challenge existing gender binaries, now realise it does more to reinforce than defy. Braidotti describes virtual reality as a contradiction; promising a world free of gender, class and race categories, yet presenting only stereotypical images of them all. Finally, she examines how new computer technologies can be seen as tools for “masturbatory and masculinist power”, due to the ever increasing amounts of pornography on the internet, and computer programmes that allow for rape and murder in the virtual world. This article would be particularly useful in answering the question, as it provides strong evidence for the case against cyborgs pertaining to the role feminists hoped it would.

Although the articles I have found would be useful in answering the given question, I feel that in being limited to use articles only accessible through the internet (that is, not from the online journals through the library) would have severely affect the argument presented in my paper. In my research I found a multitude of more relevant and appropriate articles through the online databases; databases that as a university student I have the privilege to access. Normally I would take full advantage of these resources, and the caliber of my work would reflect this.

References:

[1] Brenda Brasher, “The Cyborg: Technological Socialization and its Link to the Religious Function of Popular Culture” (1996) http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=404 (accessed August 23 2008).

[2] Steven Shaviro “Supa Dupa Fly: Black Women as Cyborgs in Hiphop Videos” (2005) http://library.csumb.edu/site/Documents/library/supa-dupa_fly_session3_article2.pdf
(accessed August 23 2008).

[3]Yvonne Volkart, “The Cyberfeminist Fantasy of the Pleasure of the Cyborg” Old Boys Network Website [n.d.] http://www.obn.org/reading_room/writings/html/cyberfem_fantasy.html (accessed August 23 2008)

[4]Sadie Plant, “Beyond the Screens: Film, Cyberpunk and Cyberfeminism” [n.d.]
http://209.85.175.104/search?q=cache:h2upM-Wx9PUJ:archive.fact.co.uk/tools/archive_download.php%3Fid%3D47+%22beyond+the+screens%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=au

[5] Rosi Braidotti,“Cyberfeminism with a Difference” (1996) http://www.let.uu.nl/womens_studies/rosi/cyberfem.htm (accessed August 25, 2008).
(accessed August 23 2008).