Post by Matt Morley on Mar 20, 2016 0:42:11 GMT
Paasonen, S. (2011). Revisiting cyberfeminism. Communications: The
European Journal for Communication Research 36, 335-352.
Paasonen's article serves as a great followup to Haraway's Cyborg Manifesto because it evaluates the evolution of cyberfeminisms from a more contemporary perspective. In Revisiting Cyberfeminism, Paasonen investigates the origin of the term cyberfeminism, taking a critical look at what exactly the prefix cyber refers to. Paasonen then analyzes the rising popularity of the movement throughout the 1990s and its eventual fade in popularity that took place during the early 2000s. Let's take a closer look.
The term "cyber" and its attachment to feminism has had a somewhat loose and ambiguous definition according to Paasonen. One of the popular "origin stories" for the term cyberfeminism involves VNS Matrix, a group of four female artists -- Virginia Barratt, Julianne Pierce, Francesca di Rimini and Josephone Starrs -- that created "A cyberfeminist manifesto for the twenty-first century" in 1991 which they displayed on a large billboard as an homage to Haraway's "A Manifesto for Cyborgs." Their manifesto reads as follows:
It is interesting to imagine the ways in which VNS Matrix may have imagined themselves as metaphorical cyborgs as defined by Haraway. By labeling themselves a virus and "saboteurs of the big daddy mainframe" they appear to be in alignment with Haraway's belief that feminists should utilize technology and online communication as extensions of their own body and tools to disrupt hegemony. It is worth noting that Haraway has never written about cyberfeminism directly, although her work is frequently used as an inspiration for the movement (Paasonen, 2011).
Other prominent figures credited with the creation of cyberfeminism include British Culture theorist Sadie Plant with her manifesto "Feminisations: Reflections on Women and Virtual Reality" and Toronto-based media artist Nancy Paterson thanks to her essay "Cyberfeminism: emphasizing gender diversity and cultural subversion."
While analyzing the history of cyberfeminism, Paasonen highlights three possible definitions for the term that have been used by theorists and activists alike to varying degrees:
Cyberfeminism was thought to be crucial to the feminist movement in the 1990s because it was accessible to a very diverse group of people and was especially welcoming to young women who may have previously been uncomfortable labeling themselves a feminist for various reasons (Paasonen, 2011).
The term cyberfeminist has seen a decrease in popularity in the media arts scene since the early 2000s and is now mainly discussed in academic settings. According to Paasonen, this is caused by a number of factors, with the most basic being that the term "cyber" simply does not have the same potency as it did in the 1990s. Paasonen also attributed the dot.com collapse of 2000 to the derailment in "hyper" surrounding cyber spaces and activities. Interestingly, Paasonen also points out that "Web 2.0" has actually led to a decrease in creativity online, despite the vast shift to user-created content. This is due to the fact that rather than creating websites easily with simple HTML code that gave off a DIY (do it yourself) or zine style vibe, users in the Web 2.0 environment are often forced to rely on templates and pre-designed layouts to publish their content.
Discussion Question
After reading Paasonen's article -- in addition to the rest of this week's readings on cyberfeminism -- should the strategies of cyberfeminism be adjusted to work within today's technology landscape which as it currently stands dominated by Web 2.0 communication platforms such as Blogs, Facebook and Twitter? Is there a place for the artistic, ironic and DIY aspects of cyberfeminism on the internet as it exists in 2016? Feel free to answer here or head on over to the discussion board!
European Journal for Communication Research 36, 335-352.
Paasonen's article serves as a great followup to Haraway's Cyborg Manifesto because it evaluates the evolution of cyberfeminisms from a more contemporary perspective. In Revisiting Cyberfeminism, Paasonen investigates the origin of the term cyberfeminism, taking a critical look at what exactly the prefix cyber refers to. Paasonen then analyzes the rising popularity of the movement throughout the 1990s and its eventual fade in popularity that took place during the early 2000s. Let's take a closer look.
The term "cyber" and its attachment to feminism has had a somewhat loose and ambiguous definition according to Paasonen. One of the popular "origin stories" for the term cyberfeminism involves VNS Matrix, a group of four female artists -- Virginia Barratt, Julianne Pierce, Francesca di Rimini and Josephone Starrs -- that created "A cyberfeminist manifesto for the twenty-first century" in 1991 which they displayed on a large billboard as an homage to Haraway's "A Manifesto for Cyborgs." Their manifesto reads as follows:
We are the modern cunt
positive anti-reason
unbounded unleashed unforgiving
we see art with our cunt me make art with our cunt
we believe in jouissance madness holiness and poetry
we are the virus of the new world disorder
rupturing the symbolic from within
saboteurs of the big daddy mainframe
the clitoris is a direct line to the matrix
VNS MATRIX
terminators of the moral code
mercenaries of slime
go down on the altar of abjection
positive anti-reason
unbounded unleashed unforgiving
we see art with our cunt me make art with our cunt
we believe in jouissance madness holiness and poetry
we are the virus of the new world disorder
rupturing the symbolic from within
saboteurs of the big daddy mainframe
the clitoris is a direct line to the matrix
VNS MATRIX
terminators of the moral code
mercenaries of slime
go down on the altar of abjection
It is interesting to imagine the ways in which VNS Matrix may have imagined themselves as metaphorical cyborgs as defined by Haraway. By labeling themselves a virus and "saboteurs of the big daddy mainframe" they appear to be in alignment with Haraway's belief that feminists should utilize technology and online communication as extensions of their own body and tools to disrupt hegemony. It is worth noting that Haraway has never written about cyberfeminism directly, although her work is frequently used as an inspiration for the movement (Paasonen, 2011).
Other prominent figures credited with the creation of cyberfeminism include British Culture theorist Sadie Plant with her manifesto "Feminisations: Reflections on Women and Virtual Reality" and Toronto-based media artist Nancy Paterson thanks to her essay "Cyberfeminism: emphasizing gender diversity and cultural subversion."
While analyzing the history of cyberfeminism, Paasonen highlights three possible definitions for the term that have been used by theorists and activists alike to varying degrees:
- Cyberfeminism as theoretical and practice-based variations: this definition labels the philosophical aspects of cyberfeminism separately from cyberfeminist activism while acknowledging the two often come together in various art projects.
- Cyberfeminism as a critical analysis of cyberculture in relation to feminist thought: This definition is closely related to Haraway's discussion of metaphorical cyborgs and involves the analysis of how new technologies can be incorporated into and utilized by feminist movements.
- Cyberfeminism as analyses of gendered user cultures of information and the social hierarchies in the creation of new technology:
Cyberfeminism was thought to be crucial to the feminist movement in the 1990s because it was accessible to a very diverse group of people and was especially welcoming to young women who may have previously been uncomfortable labeling themselves a feminist for various reasons (Paasonen, 2011).
The term cyberfeminist has seen a decrease in popularity in the media arts scene since the early 2000s and is now mainly discussed in academic settings. According to Paasonen, this is caused by a number of factors, with the most basic being that the term "cyber" simply does not have the same potency as it did in the 1990s. Paasonen also attributed the dot.com collapse of 2000 to the derailment in "hyper" surrounding cyber spaces and activities. Interestingly, Paasonen also points out that "Web 2.0" has actually led to a decrease in creativity online, despite the vast shift to user-created content. This is due to the fact that rather than creating websites easily with simple HTML code that gave off a DIY (do it yourself) or zine style vibe, users in the Web 2.0 environment are often forced to rely on templates and pre-designed layouts to publish their content.
Discussion Question
After reading Paasonen's article -- in addition to the rest of this week's readings on cyberfeminism -- should the strategies of cyberfeminism be adjusted to work within today's technology landscape which as it currently stands dominated by Web 2.0 communication platforms such as Blogs, Facebook and Twitter? Is there a place for the artistic, ironic and DIY aspects of cyberfeminism on the internet as it exists in 2016? Feel free to answer here or head on over to the discussion board!