Gill Kirkup

Considers how the cyborg has been used in cultural representation from reproductive technology to sci-fi, and questions the power of the cyborg as a symbol which disrupts categories (man / machine and male / female).

A Reader

The Gendered Cyborg

Linda Janes

Kathryn Woodward

Fiona Hovenden

The Gendered Cyborg explores the relationship between representation, technoscience and gender, through the metaphor of the cyborg. The contributors argue that the figure of the cyborg offers ways of thinking about the relationship between culture and technology, people and machines which disrupt the power of science to enfore the categories through which we think about being human: male and female. Taking inspiration from Donna Haraway's groundbreaking Manifesto for Cyborgs, the articles consider how the cyborg has been used in cultural representation from reproductive technology to sci-fi, and question whether the cyborg is as powerful a symbol as is often claimed. The different sections of the reader explore: * the construction of gender categories through science * the interraction of technoscience and gender in contemporary science fiction film such as Bladerunner and the Alien series * debates around modern reproductive technology such as ultrasound scans and IVF, assessing their benefits and constraints for women * issues relating to artificial intelligence and the internet.

Gill Kirkup

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