Isabel: Haraway's Cyborg Manifesto

Introduction

To this critical annotated webliography, it is talking about Donna Haraway’s “Cyborg Manifesto” for her declaration of “cyborg was female”. I have read the relevant material of Haraway’s “Cyborg Manifesto” before to search the online resource. Then I focused on the most important terms which appearing in the reading such as “female cyborg” or woman cyborg,” to search via the google .com, then I went through the source and chose the source which were most relevant my topic and after reading and confirm the resource, finally I located on the article such as “the world with out gender”; “Feminism and the technology of the body” written by Anat Tesler Mesika. These sources were useful to prove and use as to criticize of “cyborg was female”.


The cyborg always comes across in the aspect of popular culture such as science fiction, movies as well as artwork. In fact, both “cyborg” and the popular culture were mutually influenced. For instance, the article “When Technosicence Rewritten Biology” mentioned the science fictions which arise in 1970s such as Female male written by feminist Joanna Russ. In the fiction there are four female and three of female were living in the future world in an all female world. It was very closely to Haraways’s manifesto which emphasis the burring the binary of gender as it gives possibility to oppress the gender binary. To prove Haraway’s declaration of “cyborg is woman”, Ann Blasamo concluded in her study that differentiates between images of Cyborg-man and Cyborg-woman. The article mentions that cyborg are woman as female in gender are culturally constructed as emotional, sexual and usually as naturally maternal; these stereotype characteristics enable a more radical blurring of an organic-mechanic hybridization.


Moreover, the article “He, She or It: The Cyborg De-Constructs Gender in Post Modern Science Fiction” also point out that on the 60s and 70s, there were many women science fiction writer. Through their fiction, the female characters were masculine, touch and have ability to lead. Gender was reverse as the character of female are in more important position within the story, such as women could pilot a starship just as well as a man. The author believed that the new wave of women science fiction writer were question the male dominate constructed social and the nature of gender. Author utilized Marge Piercy and Joan Slonczewski’s science fiction, to examine how the cyborg used to be a new representation of gender and question, redefine gender. Though Marge Piercy and Joan Slonczewski’s story, the cyborg’s characters such as Malkah and later, Shira, program Yod to be the best of both genders. It was precisely, boundary between female and male was disappearing. These fictions have been linked with Donna Harraway's"A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century."


Cyborg appeared in the science fiction movies frequently as well, it was useful to have critical analysis towards the concept of Haraway’s woman cyborg which represent in the film. For Dichotimic patterns and the Cyborg, Anat Tesler Mesika used haraway’s woman cyborg to find a possibility to escape from the binary opposition hierarchy society through the popular movies literature. However, these possibilities seldom appeared in the most of science fiction through author’s point of view. Through the “star trek”, the author analyzed three characters in the film just like woman “borg”. Her face was a mixture of animal, goodness and woman. It seems that it reflecting what have Haraway said, it is burring the boundaries of human, animal and machine. However, the author depicted it as a stereotyped woman as her female body was a cultural given. For the other character, the captain was a complete human man, and “data” was a complete technological robot. The movie was present the Woman “borg” battle with the human man, as a result the pure man and machine won. The woman “borg” who crossed the boundary has to destroy. It seems that the gender representation still in the situation of male dominated society. It can’t prove “Cyborg manifesto” which haraway mentioned “the Cyborg is a place where new images are not been build by fragments of old images. Anat Tesler Mesika couldn’t found any images in the texts and she emphasis that the hierarchy culture is not allowed the “other” existence.

To prove Haraway’s declaration of “cyborg is woman”, Ann Blasamo concluded in her study that differentiates between images of Cyborg-man and Cyborg-woman. The article mentions that cyborg are woman as female in gender are culturally constructed as emotional, sexual and usually as naturally maternal; these stereotype characteristics enable a more radical blurring of an organic-mechanic hybridization.

Gender was represented through cyborg in art by the feminist. Through the article of The World without gender 1, author introduced many feminists as well as some feminist project, most of feminists are argue the how the gender/man being constructed under the patriarchy society. Through The World without Gender2, the idea of cyborg gives a possibility to resist the binary opposition.
The author also mentioned that, technosicence as a great impulse for Haraway’s cyborg. It provided a space for re-constructed history and writing woman. The artists find the inspiration through the new notion of the cyborg in their own works. Therefore, new technology created a new future in new histories that article mentioned.

Regarding to Stefan Marti’s Identity and Cyborg Body , he introduced a virtual game called MUD. We categorized this virtual game as a kind of advanced technosicence. Through the virtual world, the game players were cyborg, they can change their gender and identities easily. It seems that the gender boundaries were disappear but the fact that the female role still being stereotyped. Therefore, “cyborg manifesto in that way was invalid.

On the other hand, according to Wendy Harcourt through The World without Gender2, author remarked that technology stimulated the feminist studies to their own practice in particular, to exploring cyborg-feminism with work that addresses. The image of the cyborg presented as an artwork, just like Korean artist’s Cyborg sculptures and installations works. These new deconstruct the female body with the theory with Donna Haraway. Through the technologies therefore as a significant representation such as Lee Bul’s cyborg, which rooted in the issues of today in terms of genetics, science, technology, and sexuality, it proved Haraway’s manifesto and cyborg-feminism.

Conclusion

In conclude, I found that there were some online recourses such as article or research were putting Haraway’s “Cyborg Manifesto” in a crucial position even based on her “Cyborg Manifesto” to development their own perspective of argument. Obviously, “Cyborg Manifesto” brought a great influence for feminist and also the popular culture. Although some of scholar interpreted Haraway’s manifesto were invalid, it still keeping question and to challenge gender binary and gain a possibility to ask a better tomorrow.




Reference:

Radin, Patricia, “When Technoscience Rewrites Biology.” The European Association fot the Study of Sicence and Technology,Volume 16(2). June 1997. 21 march .2007 < http://www.easst.net/review/june1997/radin>.

Summerhawk ,Barbara, “He, She or It: The Cyborg De-Constructs Gender in Post Modern Science Fiction”, English and American Literature Department, July 8, 1998, 21.march.2007 <>.

Anar,Tesler Mesika, “Feminism and the technology of body: Dichotimic patterns and the Cyborg. ” Tel Aviv University, 22.march.2007, <http://www.tau.ac.il/~teslerme/cyborg%20talk.doc>.


“The world without gender1.” University at Buffalo,World Wide Web.
22 march. 2007 <http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~jhwhang/without%20gender1.htm>.


“The world without gender1.” University at Buffalo,World Wide Web. 22 march. 2007 <http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~jhwhang/haraway%20and%20Lee%20bul.htm>.


Marti, Stefan, “On Elizabeth Reid: Cultural Formations, Chapter Three: Identity and Cyborg Body.” 21march.2007 <http://web.media.mit.edu/~stefanm/vsociety/ElizabethReid.html>.