Discordia || Comments || cyberfeminism, feminism, gender

Information InFiltration. Mediactive techultural artism and much much more!

cyberfeminism, feminism, gender | 6 comments

[new] cyberfeminism, feminism, gender (Avg. Score: none / Raters: 0) (#1)
by ryangriffis on Mon Oct 27th, 2003 at 01:49:22 AM EURODISCORDIA TIME
(User Info) http://www.yougenics.net/griffis

hi Aileen, thanks for responding to the review, which was/is motivated by several factors. One is an ongoing interest in critical frameworks for engaging social oppression and inequity. Another, more specific, connection with the book for me is the work of subRosa, which is of interest for me because of their collaborative work in the field of aesthetics and theory and their focus on biotech and IT. subRosa created a performance for yougenics an exhibit focused on genetics and social policy that i put together, so reviewing such a book is another way of generating more dialogue (and, of course, promotion for work that i find important). as for the notion that exclusion is considered a mistake, i think it's important to consider the context within which i used the word/concept. i would certainly not argue that some forms of exclusion can't be productive and necessary, but when such exclusion is performed in order to oppress and deny access to power, that's a different ball of wax. that's why i mentioned the "exclusionary practices" of second wave feminism in relation to the suppression of gender concerns by the SDS and other new left organizations. that economically disadvantaged women were excluded from second wave feminism was neither a conscious nor productive tactic, but one that resulted from the lack of racial and class consciousness of those involved (the SDS, though, was notoriously conscious of its sexism). likewise, the omission of women of color from earlier cyberfeminist practice is a (unconscious) denial of power based on racial and geographic bias. and this is something that i see subRosa attempting to change and make problematic. i also did not mean to suggest that unequal access is a problem of the past - quite the contrary. i don't bring it up as a historical footnote, but as an ongoing, never-ending problem that is extremely important in relation to the technologies that subRosa engage. i found the book to deal quite successfully with these challenges, without resolving them in some final, univocal way. best, ryan

cyberfeminism, feminism, gender | 6 comments

Sort:
Display:

[- CREATE ACCOUNT
so you can post & vote!

[- how to post and vote
[- faq (discordia q&a)
[- faq en español
[- search
[- send feedback

[- sick of english?
[- multi-lingual babelfilter

submit story | create account | faq | search