Workshop Response to Menu-Driven Identities

The gender dichotomy continues into cyberspace, even the Second Life gameworld requires users select ‘male’ or ‘female’. Every single one of the four sites required users define their gender.

No site offered categories to define race or ethic heritage. The absence of these categories suggests the sites assume the user is Caucasian. Despite the categorical information being used to tailor ads and surveys to the user ethic origin does not feature. It makes me wonder if users of hotmail or Yahoo! on a global scale also automatically receive ads which feature the ethically dominate population for that country.

The ‘identity’ offered on Lavalife did accommodate ethnicity. It was surprising Lavalife offered this option considering that users can post photos of themselves which clearly indicate ethic origin. Can registered users of the site search for potential soul mates via ethnicity? Identity on Lavalife is defined by age, location, height, body type, and ethnicity if listed. For the majority of searches I did, ethnicity was listed as ‘white’ or ‘asian’ although most ‘white’ (according to the corresponding profile picture) users did not list their ethnicity. The one ‘asian’ user I came across took the trouble to list ‘asian’ under ethnicity.

It suggests that the majority of users are ‘white’ and therefore do not bother listing their ethnic background. Furthermore the broad ‘white’ category glosses over several potential ethic origins, the site implies that ‘white’ equates to Australian. In reality ‘white’ could mean anything from Scottish to South African heritage.

"Workshop Response to Menu-Driven Identities" by KaHung Chan

I have examined the security questions for Hotmail, Yahoo! and online RPG Second Life and dicovered that there is persumption existed in the sets of security questions, although their procedure for signing up an account is quite similar. My interpretation is, the security question is like a kind of "questionnaire" provided by web service provider, which has targeted on their potential market, is also a hint behind of positioning of the company. Yahoo! and Second Life have the same approach of to ask the users about the information of their childhood, such as "Who was your childhood hero?" or "What city were you born in?", based on the assumption that the most memorised events were occured in one's childhood. However, Hotmail users are "assumed" to be more likely socially engaged, as one of the questions is mention your "two best friends" etc. These two kinds of security questions indicating the psychological emphasis is taken place, and I guess it also indicated that two different marketing approaches were attempted. I guess Second Life is targeting at teenagers and Yahoo! is exploring the large potential market of young adults, or "kidults"(who have great memories for their childhood, and those memento is also their favourite), to have more uses on their services. Hotmail has slightly twisted its strategy and points towards everyone who is highly engaged with social activities, as its bundle of Windows Live Messenger. The security questions and answers provide not only the protection for the users, from the hackers and viruses; but also indicating now what the trend is (what products teenagers love)and the service-providers' targets.

In the "I live in..." section of Second Life, the online RPG dominated countries are up on the top of the choices besides UK and US - Germany, South Korea and Japan. This issue is not associated with racism, but I think it differentiates the countries, according their proportion of online game players in population. Or slightly stratifies the "developed countries" and "developing counytries" in terms of economic development.

The "default" research of Lavalife has assumed that the searcher is heterosexual, in their 20s or 30s above, and their only purpose is for casual dating, since the original categoriesare set up as finding someone with an opposite gender. I think the presumption that the only purpose for Love-matching website such as Lavalife is to provide an alternative place for people, to develop ideal matches in online community.

Finally, the creation of account gives us an different identity in virtual world, and often computer is always associated with maths. Verification is crucial before you have actual access of an account. (There are something I want to share...)

Verify if you are not a robot...

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/chinese.engadget.com/media/2008/09/0077.jpg
Please choose the 3 most "hottest" person, despite you are not in Lavalife. http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/chinese.engadget.com/media/2008/09/0076.jpg
Do we have anyone who study geometry?
http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/chinese.engadget.com/media/2008/09/0079.jpg
An IQ test...
http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/chinese.engadget.com/media/2008/09/0082.jpg
Can anyone pass a magnifier to me?
http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/chinese.engadget.com/media/2008/09/0087.jpg
I remember that one I had done in MATH1050...

(From: http://%22http//chinese.engadget.com/2008/09/02/15-bt-captcha/%22)

Conclusion: the word verification is indeed crucial!

Comments are welcome!

Workshop Response to Menu-Driven Identities

The categories you have to choose from when signing up for a Hotmail or Yahoo! mail account or Secret Life account are generally quite similar: name, email address, password, gender (male/female), country, state, security question and answer, preferred language etc. What was different was Secret Life's "Choose a Look" category where you had to pick an avaitor to use in the game-world.

I guess the main problem with these categories is the gender category. Having only male or female to pick from in the drop down box would be problem for those who believe their gender identity is more fluid, and I guess this is therefore discriminating against those who don't consider themselves either of those categories.

The sort of identities visible in the profiles of Lavalife are placed into categories of age, location, height, body type, ethnic background, smoking and drinking habits, Zodiac sign etc.

I guess this presumes that these are the things that the majority of viewers who want to browse through numbers of profiles will use to decide whether or not to pursue with that person any further and also what the users making the profile believe the viewers want to see. The problem with this being that it is putting labels on people we might not have ordinarily done in real-life.

Tute Presentation: Cyberstalking

Week 6 Tutorial Presentation on Alison Adam’s “Cyberstalking: Gender and Computer Ethics.”

Hello all!!! I’m doing the online tute presentation this week for Alison Adam’s article “Cyberstalking: Gender and Computer Ethics.”

I’m going to follow James’ lead here and just give a brief outline of the main points I found relevant/interesting in the article, and a couple of questions for everyone to comment on afterwards.

The main points of the article:
Firstly, Adam makes the point that “computer ethics” is a newly emerging discipline, which as yet lacks a sufficient body of research. As such a new technological medium, a number of new related social and ethical dilemmas face us: hacking, viruses, copying software, and, most importantly in the case of this article: electronic invasions of privacy.

One of the problems facing the discipline is a split over how to approach these issues: are computer ethics problems new, or are they a new variation of older social problems? The author herself leans towards the latter approach, suggesting that “reading computer ethics problems in the light of existing and older ethical dilemmas has the advantage of connecting information technology to their history.” Adam takes this approach because she doesn’t read the rise of computers and the internet as determinist or inevitable, but instead as “historically rooted”.
As such, Adam suggests that it is beneficial to apply feminist theories to the discipline of computer ethics, and so expose the power relations that are inherently at play within the internet. Whilst the rise of the internet was hailed in the 1990’s as a socially-levelling medium in which gender, age, religion, and race were transcended, Adam instead suggests that the internet has great potential for inequality; and that men and women experience the internet very differently.

Therefore, feminist ethics may be applied as a “fruitful alternative to current directions in computer ethics” in 3 major ways: firstly, feminist ethics counters the predominant theory of internet determinism and secondly offers an alternate to views of the internet as a zone of individualism; and thirdly, reveals the gender and power inequalities that exist online.
How does the internet display power inequalities we ask? According to Adam, there is a huge difference between men’s and women’s access to computers, and their respective usage of the internet. For instance, there have been substantiative statistical studies done on the topic of ethical decision-making online, however Adam suggests that there needs to be more interest regarding the reasons for differences between the way men and women interact online (if any). As such, the author believes that theorists really need to examine the reasons behind why cyber stalking exists, and research possible measures to prevent it, rather than statistically analyse online behaviours.

Adam devotes time also to online sexual harassment as differing to cyber stalking. Using Catherine McKinnon’s definition that sexual harassment is “the unwanted imposition of sexual requirements in the context of a relationship of unequal power,” Adam notes that online harassment and stalking can go either way: both men and women may be victims or perpetrators of online violence.

Whilst Adam does quote some women who find online environments empowering, the author is of the opinion that this position is only accorded to women from privileged contexts. Rather, she is more convinced that the internet amplifies many stereotyped gender roles. Although I agree with the studies Adam notes which show that the internet does not neutralise gender, (Adam writes that men prefer individual freedom online whilst women tend to interact with common-minded internet users online.) I find Adam’s view of gender online to be rather bleak. The author is very suspicious of online identities, and builds a case for awareness of personal safety, and also calls for attention to be directed towards internet service providers. At the time of the article’s publication, in the US, internet service providers were subject to the same laws as telecommunications providers (therefore, they are NOT held responsible for the content published). This was different to in the UK (where law treats internet providers similar to publishing houses, and who must take responsibility to an extent, for content published online).
Typically, the media only highlights extreme cases of cyber stalking, such as the three examples referenced by Adam, which in all three cases the stalker assumed the identity of the victim, to post perverted comments and thoughts on sex sites and make obscene comments randomly under this assumed identity. In a couple of these cases, the victim’s personal details (address, telephone number) were even posted, which the cyber stalker made public on the internet for other kooks show unwanted attention to the victim. In the cases outlined, I actually thought it was more identity theft than Cyberstalking; before reading this article, I had in mind that Cyberstalking typically involves the stalker seeking information about the victim and then bombarding them with unwanted (threatening) attention.

Those thoughts aside, Adam sets these examples up against the laws outlined above. Whilst the internet is built upon the concept freedom of speech, there is a distinct lack of understanding, research and knowledge about privacy online. Adam ties in the point that traditional separations of the private and public sphere are diminished by the internet, and suggests that (in accordance with feminist ethics, rather than liberalism), there needs to be an “ethic of care” in online communities: “rather than ‘self-protection’, we need to understand the interconnectedness of the effects of the problem.” Therefore, we not only need to stop anti-social behaviours such as Cyberstalking, but we also need to confront the problem at its roots to stop the behaviour from recurring. Using Adam’s feminist reading of Cyberstalking, we become involved in looking at the “nature of relationships between men and women by examining the fundamental structures of the way we organise ourselves in society.” In other words, the communities we create online reflect real society and the ways we interact as people. So I think that just like in everyday life, where we have a duty of care to those around us, on the internet we also need to take an interest in those around us in the online communities that we become invested in.

I think that this article is a bit of a ripper really, because it allows us to talk about that ultimate cyber-stalker’s paradise, Facebook (!!!) and other online networking utilities, like MySpace and Bebo. Adam’s article was written in 2001, before the phenomenal rise of Facebook in the collective consciousness of our own generation, so she doesn’t mention anything of the likes of FB. However I really think it is a legitimate cause for concern: we need to question to what extent such networks really are safe, in spite of the “privacy settings” in place!

SO: some questions to get the ball rolling!

• Does the internet need regulation? What sort of laws (if any) are appropriate for a medium whose very foundation is in its capacity to diminish space and create a global online community for sharing and interacting?
• How do you feel YOU interact online: are you comfortable in an online environment, do you think the fact that you have a relative degree of anonymity online changes your interaction (if any) with other users online?
• FACEBOOK: friend or foe? Is Facebook a total invasion of privacy? And again harking back to the “online identities” concept, what facets of your persona do you choose to convey online on your profile?
• Do we have an “ethic of care” for ourselves, our friends, and other internet users? Or is this an impossible concept in an online community of millions? How do the internet communities and relationships we form online reflect those we make in real life?

Happy blogging! (I apologise in advance that this is so long, but I couldn't bear to cut anything out!!) :) Katherine M

webliography

Critical Annotated Webliography

Guiding question:

Judy Waczman argues that Donna Haraway’s figure of the cyborg has taken on ‘a life of its own’ in popular culture, science fiction and academic writing. In what ways has it been taken up by feminist?

In answering this question, I decided that I must firstly look at Judy Waczman in order to gain a full understanding to her opinions regarding Donna Haraway’s figure of the cyborg. I also looked at Donna Haraway’s essay, A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century, to ensure that I completely understood her agreements regarding the cyborg. After doing my backup reading, I began looking at different feminist’s and their opinions regarding Donna Haraway’s article. I gathered my sources through the search engines, Super-search and Google scholar, where I searched such keywords as, ‘cyborg’, ‘Donna Haraway’ and ‘feminism’.

Source 1: You Are Cyborg, written by Hari Kunzru

Hari Kunzru explored the idea of Donna Haraway’s notion of the cyborg. Right from the outset of the article she proclaims that feminists worldwide have taken up the idea of the cyborg in terms of the ability for women and men to think of themselves no merely as an individual but rather as a collection of networks. Kunzru makes constant reference to Haraway’s arguments regarding the idea of the cyborg and how essentially we all belong to a society where it has become somewhat difficult to tell where ‘we’ as an individual end and the machine begins. Humans are constantly surrounded by technology be it a VCR, car or even cell phone, and according to Haraway, the cyborg age is here whether people embrace the idea or not. This idea was further discussed with Kunzru defining what she believed to be Cyberfeminism – the ability to construct your identity, sexuality and even gender in conjunction with technology. While questioning the need to take the whole cyborg idea seriously, Kunzru does give the reader the impression that she agrees with Haraway’s notion of the cyborg.

Source 2: What happened to the Cyborg Manifesto?, by Maria Fernandez and Suhail Malik

In this joint article, both Fernandez and Malik express their own personal reasons as to why they believe the Cyborg Manifesto has not left its mark on history, and furthermore questioning its overall relevance in today’s society. Fernandez argues that Haraway’s manifesto reflected its era, being a time when there were several significant changes in digital technology. She further makes the point that the era when the manifesto was written, saw a time when women were questioning whether they belonged purely to nature, therefore Haraway’s arguments offered an alternative. Fernandez also notes that the Cyborg Manifesto reinforced the popular view that gender could be ‘freed by technology’, in terms of women being given the ability ‘re-generate themselves’. While on the surface this appears like a positive aspect of the Manifesto, Fernandez is quick to discredit this by making it clear the belief that the cyborg has created a creature that is far more fiction than a social reality. Like Fernandez, Malik also doesn’t agree with Haraway’s view of the cyborg. She believes the cyborg to be a creation that encourages the collapse of the ‘traditional bounded stability of the human and its anthropocentric beliefs’. Malik makes it clear that the idea of the transgression of boundaries as discussed by Haraway is unrealistic and believes that clearly the statement was made with giving adequate consideration to the difficulties that are involved in the whole process.

Source 3: The Cyborg, the Scientist, the Feminist and her Critic, by Krista Scott

In this article Scott looks at the rise of the cyborg. She uses several examples to show how the cyborg has developed, be it through the glory of television or the fact that computers can now recognise when one makes a spelling mistake. Essentially Scott discusses how the constant development of technology has led to an improvement in the quality of life for many people. However she does note that she is weary of the fact that there has been a breakdown of certain boundaries for example, between the organism and the machine, with the rise of the cyborg. Scott also discusses the idea that Haraway does not believe in the idea of a goddess rather choosing to follow the idea of the cyborg. Scott herself doesn’t exactly negate from Haraway’s opinions she does however raise some interesting points in terms of Haraway’s argument.

Source 4: Cyber Gender, by Jennifer Breen

Breen’s prominent argument throughout her article is that she believes gender can be altered when on the internet. She evens admits to doing it herself, believing that the internet allows one to disconnect themselves from traditional gender ideals allowing people to move beyond gender with the ability to either select to be male, female or non-gendered. Breen does make reference to Haraway’s ‘Cyborg Manifesto’ in stating that within the manifesto, Haraway’s believed that gender can ultimately be ignored by the cyborg in the future. Haraway’s stance is not followed by Breen, as she believes that while gender online can sometimes be ignored, in most cases people still have to chose their gender, whether it be in a game or when chatting online, gender always comes up. While gender is something we are naturally born with, according to Breen the internet offers a chance for people to change their gender for various reasons.

Source 5: Cyborgs or Goddesses? Becoming divine in a cyberfeminist age, by Elaine Graham

Graham makes the comparison between a goddess and a cyborg. She highlights the significant differences between the two making reference to both Haraway’s arguments regarding the cyborg and also Irigaray’s model of being divine and in a sense a goddess. Graham herself believes that there is much to learn and discover in terms of the cyborg and the goddess, and that our engagement with such ‘semi-mythical creatures’ helps us to rethink our traditional ideals regarding nature, culture and technology. She believes that both the cyborg and goddesses are inter-linked in the sense that they both involve a post-human era and discuss factors that causes one to question traditional categories for example, race, gender, nature and humanity.






Bibliography


1. Breen, Jennifer. ‘Cyber Gender’, (2007)
http://cyborg.org/breen.htm [accessed 26 August 2008].

2. Fernandez, Maria and Malik, Suhail. ‘Whatever Happened to the Cyborg Manifesto?’, Mute Magazine, (2001) http://www.metamute.org/en/Whatever-Happened-to-the-Cyborg-Manifesto [accessed 26 August 2008].

3. Graham, Elaine. ‘Cyborgs or Goddesses? Becoming divine in a cyberfeminist age’ (1999) http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a713768411~db=all~order=page [accessed 26 August 2008].

4. Kunzru, Hari. ‘You Are Cyborg’, Wired Magazine, Issue 5.02, (1997) http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/5.02/ffharaway.html [accessed 26 August 2008].

5. Scott, Krista. 'The Cyborg, the Scientist, the Feminist and her Critic', The Feminist eZine, (1997) http://www.feministezine.com/feminist/philosophy/Cyborg-Scientist-Feminist.html [accessed 26 August 2008].

Annotated Webliography

Question: From Frankenstein to the Visible Human Project, the body is continually reinterpreted as a limit to what it means to be human.

With the increasing capabilities of medicine which have accompanied the technological advances over time the human body is continually undergoing modification. These modifications mean that the body is physically becoming less organic and the way in which we view the human body is progressively more digitalized. Following on from these two themes is the question of what effects this process could have on both a micro and a macro level. These are effects both to the individual in terms of identity and the effects on society as a whole if this process continues. The following five sources explore these key issues concerning the way in which the digital age has impacted the extent to which we can consider ourselves human.

The article by Chuck Meyer is a useful starting point in considering the focus question.[1] Meyer draws largely on the arguments of Donna Haraway as a way to frame his article. Meyer argues along the same lines as Haraway in that he sees that we are more or less all cyborgs in that separating ourselves from computers is almost impossible in today’s culture. We are progressively thinking of ourselves less as humans and more as technologically created beings. In terms of the original question this source is helpful in considering the physical limits of being human. The fact that it draws on the work of Haraway gives the article a great deal of credibility which, when considering internet sources, is an important aspect to consider. However, even though this is a sign of credibility it tends to amount in less original ideas and more a retelling of Haraway’s own work.

The Ray Kurzweil article is an extremely beneficial source especially when read in conjunction with Meyer’s article.[2] Unlike Meyer who agrees with Haraway that we are all cyborgs Kurzweil does not believe that we are there yet. Kurzweil does however give a detailed analysis on the ways in which humans rely more and more on mechanical intervention for their existence. This is a good source as it relates directly to the topic in terms of the physical limitations on being human in an increasingly technological age. Not only does the article provide information on how humans are currently using machines for physical enhancement it also looks to the future to show how mechanical intervention in humans will progress. The fact that Kurzweil does not call on any scholars to support his argument means that it is a good companion to the Meyer article as it provides a more personal point of view. This source is therefore a good expansion of Meyer’s ideas.

Brenda E. Brasher has written an article which centers on two concepts which prove themselves important to this topic.[3] The first is how the idea of the cyborg and how we came to regard ourselves as cyborgs crossed over from being a fictional notion to being a reality. The history of the cyborg is an important aspect to consider as it shows how the idea of the cyborg has changed and developed over time. The second is the rise in how popular culture is acting as a source of religious inspiration for the increasing breed of cyborgs. Both of these concepts play a key role in analyzing how humanity is becoming more and more dependent on technology on both a physical and an emotional level. The article outlines that technology is an increasing necessity for us on a daily basis, invading almost every sphere of our existence. This is a good source to use, especially, like the previous source, in conjunction with Meyer’s.

The next article written by Victoria Vesna is a valuable source in that it deals how the human body has become a digitalized entity.[4] More so it deals with the idea of the body, in light of the visible human project, becoming more technologically objectified than ever before. Specifically the article discusses how the interior of the body has evolved from being a personal space to being one that is able to be accessed by anyone at will. Computerization is all the time more defining what it means to be human. Similar to the work of Meyer, Vesna uses Haraway, among other scholars, within her article. Vesna’s work is extremely detailed, raising many new issues instead of merely repeating those of other scholars which Meyer has a tendency to do. In addition to this the source is useful to the focus question as one of the questions it asks is how much of our bodies we can call our own in this digitalized age.

The article by Steve Mizrach differs from the previous sources in that it focuses on the ethics of technological and human assimilation.[5] This is useful because it offers not just the ways in which being human is increasingly limited but it also describes the consequences of these rising limitations. While Mizrach acknowledges that there are positive consequences to human integration with technology it is mainly the negative consequences on which Mizrach focuses. This article provides a different view to that of Haraway essentially arguing that the disintegration of society as we know it could be the result of continued decreasing levels of humanity with the rise of technological integration. This source is useful in opening up and giving a deeper outlook on the given question. It is also valuable because it covers a unique area in comparison to the other sources.

The above sources give a detailed and valuable overview of the way in which being human has indeed become limited with the increase in technology and knowledge. The sources provide insight into both the physical and the emotional limitations of human beings. However in addition to this the sources also assess the consequences which these limitations of humanity will have in both the present and the future. Furthermore aside from being valuable sources they are also credible which it extremely important when considering sources available on the internet. Most sources call on well known and respected scholars and those which do not can be used in conjunction with those that do.


[1] Meyer, Chuck (1997), Human Identity in the Age of Computers, http://fragment.nl/mirror/Meyer/CyborgIdentity.htm, (accessed 23 August 2008).
[2] Kurzweil, Ray (2002), ‘We Are Becoming Cyborgs’, http://www.kurzweilai.net/articles/art0449.html?printable=1, (accessed 23 August 2008).
[3] Brasher, Brenda. E , ‘The Cyborg: Technological Socialization and Its Link to the Religious Function of Popular Culture’, http://www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=404, (accessed 16 August 2008).
[4] Vesna, Victoria, Tracing Bodies of Information Overflow, http://vv.arts.ucla.edu/publications/publications/00-01/BodyCaught/data_bodiesF.htm, (accessed 16 August 2008).
[5] Mizrach, Steve, ‘Should there be a limit placed on the integration of humans and computers and electronic technology?’, http://www.fiu.edu/~mizrachs/cyborg-ethics.html, (accessed 23 August 2008).

Webliography Question 3

QUESTION: Judy Waczman argues that Donna Haraway's figure of a cyborg has taken on `a life of its own' in popular culture, science fiction and academic writing. In what ways has it been taken up by feminists?

Feminists have taken up Donna Haraway's figure of a cyborg primarily as a vehicle by which they can connect women to technology, a stereotypically male dominated area of growth. The following blogs, articles and reviews are examples of how the cyborg has become an important metaphor within feminst circles and how Haraway's manifesto inspired the change from feminsm to cyberfeminism.

Blauwkamp, J Krassas, N (2006), Should Feminists be Cyborgs? allacademic research. Available from: <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/1/3/8/8/5/p138854_index.html> [27 August 2008]
In Should Feminists be Cyborgs? Joan Blauwkamp and Nicole Krassas illustrate the level to which the cyborg principle is used by feminists. Particularly interesting is the illustration of the character Scully from the television show X-Files as a cyborg character in her position as both female and a scientist (Blauwkamp, Krassas 2006 p.5). This suggests the use of the cyborg figure in order to make a feminist reading of material, in this case a popular television show. They also uses the various movies and television shows of the Star Trek franchise to illustrate their points on the role of cyborgs in popular culture in comparison to Haraway's figure of the Cyborg (Blauwkamp, Krassas 2006). This analysis of the way cyborgs are analysed is useful in that it illustrates the degree to which the idea of the cyborg as introduced by Haraway has been taken up by feminists, and particularly how it affects their readings of other works.

Mondloch, K 2002 Reloading Cyberfeminsm.- Reload: Rethinking Women and Cyberculture - Book Review. BNET. Available from: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2479/is_1_30/ai_89985963 [27 August 2008]
Katie Mondloch provides an overview of the history if cyberfeminsm, including Haraway, VNS Matrix and Sadie Plant as key figures in the development of cyberfeminsm. The book she is reviewing is a collection of women's cyberfiction and criticism. This illustrates a whole area of feminism heavily influenced by Haraway's cyborg, as feminism and the genre of science fiction are mixed, creating what the authors of Reload, Flanagan and Booth, refer to as women's cyberfiction. This article is useful as an illustration of one of the many ways Haraway's cyborg has become a part of feminist writing.

Pop Feminist 2008, Blogger. 8 June 2008. Pop Feminist: Blog. Available from: http://popfeminist.blogspot.com/2008/06/cyborg-feminism.html [27 August 2008]
This blog, and the movie clips contained with in it, illustrate the way in which the image of the cyborg is not only contained within the sphere of cyberfeminism but can also be found in other forms of feminism, in this instance `pop feminism'. The music clip of the Bjork song is used as an example of how the cyborg is represented in pop culture, and thus in pop feminism. Though the video clip actually contains androids created by other robots, rather than part machine/part human cyborgs, they break the barriors between human and machine through the emotion and love experienced by the two machines, who build the female androids as a way in which their `human' emotions can be expressed. This video clip is used as a celebration of female sexuality in the context of the pop feminist website, and therefore the female as a cyborg.


Volkart, Y 2002, The Cyberfeminist Fantasy and the Pleasure of the Cyborg. Available from: <http://www.obn.org/reading_room/writings/html/cyberfem_fantasy.html> [27 August 2008]
In Yvonne Volkart's article, Volkart explores the relationship between cyberfeminism, Donna Haraway and the cyborg. This article is especially interesting because it labels Haraway's `A Cyborg Manifesto' (Volkart 2002) as the turning point where feminism opened up into cyberfeminism. It describes that the `utopian ideology of women's liberation' (Volkart 2002) is to the Cyberfeminists the point where liberation is based in body and gender, but this body has been changed so that while it is not a `new' body, it is not the same body as it once was (Volkart 2002). Volkart continues by illustrating several examples of places where the cyborg has been used by feminists in different mediums, other than academic writing, such as Kristen Lucas' net-based project `Involuntary Reception', a fictional video blog, and the novel by Kathy Acker `Empire of the Senseless' (1988) (Volkart 2002). This article illustrates some of the impacts Haraway's `Cyborg Manifesto' has had on the feminist community, and in particular in working to shift focus to cyberfeminism.

Volkart, Y Unruly Bodies. The Effect Body As a Place of Resistance. Media Art Net. Available from: http://www.medienkunstnetz.de/themes/cyborg_bodies/unruly_bodies/ [27 August 2008]
This article explores the relationship between the feminine concept of `unruly' and the cyborg in relation to art. It also makes clear that the idea of the body as a `battlefield' is not a new one unique to the concept of the cyborg, but is instead one that was a basis for feminist writing in 1970s. Feminism adapted the new concept of the cyborg as introduced by Haraway to ideas that were around previously. Volkart also makes a strong connection between the `unruly', the feminine and the cyborg. She discusses how the idea of `unruly' is tied intrinsically to feminity, and thus the idea of an `unruly' cyborg that breaks down traditional dichotomies is suggested to be female. This strengthens the bond between feminism and the cyborg and supports Haraway's figure of a cyborg as a symbol for feminism, and in particular cyberfeminism.

Feminism, and cyberfeminism in particular, owes many of its current ideas and positions on how women and technology are related to Donna Haraway's figure of a cyborg. Volkart describes Haraway's `Manifesto' as the turning point between feminism and cyberfeminism (2002) and numerous other writers, photographers, directors, etc. have used the idea of the cyborg to illustrate the complex nature between women, technology and the world as a whole. The various manners in which Haraway's figure of a cyborg is taken up by feminists is clearly shown in these online sources.

Jessica's Annotated Webliography

Critical Annotated Webliography

Guiding Question: "From Frankenstein to the Visible Human Project, the body is continually reinterpreted as a limit to what it means to be human".

Looking at various online sources I choose to research the guiding question from the viewpoint that if we continually integrate machines with our bodies when do we stop being human? By filtering through many articles and taking into account those of scholarly standard, I discovered that through reconceptualising the body as a new ‘techno-body’, including the likes of Frankenstein and the Visual Human Project (VHP), the status of human ontology appears to become increasingly complicated.

It is hard to analyse the idea of the body and its analysis of what it means to be human without first attempting to define 'humanness'. On Being Human, by Dr Sam Vaknin argues that the concept of human rests on many assumptions including the belief that men and women are identically human despite obvious differences genetically and environmentally. The online resource focuses on behaviour as an indication of humans as a distinct species acknowledging Frankenstein and other similar 'monsters' as behaving more 'humane' then the humans around them. Vaknin mentions human identity without body and the existence of the soul as separate from and a part of the physical being. Although the review thinks critically concerning what satisfies the definition of personhood, it fails to provide a detailed analysis to support its proposals. However, it makes a good starting point suggesting, "Man was born without a form and can mould and transform - actually, create himself".

It seems pointless in discussing the interplay between human identity and the implications technology has on the boundaries that map our bodily reality without making reference to Donna Haraway. Haraway states that we are all cyborgs, hybrids of machine and organism transgressing the dimensions between human, animal and machine. A Cyborg Manifesto explains that neither biology nor nature is an appropriate measure of what it is to be purely human. Instead, the text assumes we have progressed as a combination of the technical and the organic, distorting the limitations of human classification. From this perception the body is not fixed but open to manipulation, a product of its context. The article would prove most useful in acting as background knowledge for how the human cadaver is constantly redefined by technology, established in the notion of morphing and transforming the physical and cultural self. Although a predominant figure in this research and thus an authoritative voice, Haraway's work is rather overwhelming and difficult to follow. Most notably the text provides a foundation for what the future may hold for our conceptions on what it means to be human.

Andy Miah a lecturer in media, bioethics and cyberculture looks favourably upon technology and its ability to blur our post human future and our post human present. Miah provides examples of transhuman technology advocating that alteration of the human subject, or artificial enhancement must necessarily take place in order to allow man to reach his maximum capacity. Be Very Afraid disregards the thought that humans should be repaired but not enhanced, proposing that the integration of new technologies will shift what is normal and challenge ‘humanness’. The paper embraces 'superhuman' practices such as cosmetic surgery and sport whereby patients and athletes are ambassadors of transhumanism. Miah makes evident that the body is a highly complex issue, addressing ethnical concerns and challenging transhumanism sceptics. Although a rather one-sided text, the article is informative and very effective at highlighting the conflict surrounding the indefinite organism and machine divide.

Revenants: The Visible Human Project and the Digital Uncanny by Catherine Waldby explains in a simple yet insightful manner the construction of the VHP, or the transformation of the fleshy body in genuine space into a digital body in cyberspace - the supernatural. Waldby discusses how digital technology or machines are currently a subject of fascination as well as anxiety, altering our thoughts on our bodily limits and merging the distinction between the living and the dead. The article tells how moving bodies across the computer screen exercises a power of eternal preservation, noting the benefits as well as the drawbacks of medical technology and the possible outcomes of witnessing the technical reorganisation of the human form. Interestingly, the VHP is associated with the biblical story of the Garden of Eden referring to the Visible Man and Visible Woman as virtual models of Adam and Eve. Considering Waldby is a tertiary teacher specialising in the areas of technology and feminist theory her work presents itself to be reliable and unsurprisingly useful in answering the guiding question. The text expands on the body and its reconstruction by demonstrating the capacity of the internet to dissect and animate the everyday world, including man into a series of data.

Jonathan Marshall is a research fellow at the University of Technology in Sydney. His paper has grown out of his fieldwork, a project in the construction and use of gender online and is thus a relevant and credible resource. The Online Body Breaks Out? confers ways people create and use bodies from within Western cultures both offline and online. Marshall explores the lack of boundaries online that lead to the cyber body being categorised as immaterial in comparison to the offline active body, "We do not see the body while computing, so we don't see its removal". Online communication can thus be considered as body less, therefore redefining human identity as it exists in real life. This perception of online disembodiment presents the potential possibility for human unity with machines and is supported by the representation of minds as software warping the distinction between the computer and the spirit, thought to reflect the essence of the human being. Importantly, the journal article comments on gender and tendency of cyber bodies to elaborate masculinity or femininity to an exaggerated extent in order to render the online body as authentic. Fortunately Marshall provides a simplified conclusion summarising his main ideas which are otherwise expressed in a complex manner.

From the research conducted it appears the body is increasingly perceived and redefined as a limit to human potential and identity with new technologies offering to make the living body more productive, more manipulable and more ambiguous. From Frankenstein to the VHP, all the resources consulted seem to be in agreement with the idea that humans in the present era are a product of the merging of the biological and technological. It appears that the definition of the human - machine boundary is an issue that is broadly discussed and debated online.


Bibliography
Haraway, Donna. 'A Cyborg Manifesto: Science, Technology, and Socialist-Feminism in the Late Twentieth Century', in Simians Cyborgs and Woman: The Reinvention of Nature (1991), p.149-181.
http://www.stanford.edu/dept/HPS/Haraway/CyborgManifesto.html (accessed 20 August 2008).

Marshall, Jonathan. 'The Online Body Breaks Out? Ascence, Ghosts, Cyborgs, Gender, Polarity and Politics', in Fibreculture Journal, 1.3, (2004), p.15.
http://www.journal.fibreculture.org/issue3/issue3_marshall.html (accessed 23 August 2008).

Miah, Andy. 'Be Very Afraid: Athletes, Transhuman Ideals and Posthumanity', in Journal of Evolution and Technology, 13.2, (October 2003).
http://www.jetpress.org/volume13/miah.html (accessed 20 August 2008).

Vaknin, Sam. 'On Being Human', p.2.
http://samvak.tripod.com/human.html (accessed 18 August 2008).

Waldby, Catherine. 'Revenants: The Visible Human Project and the Digital Uncanny'
http://wwwmcc.murdoch.edu.au/ReadingRoom/VID/Uncanny.html (accessed 22 August 2008).

Annotated Webliography

Question 1: "Visuality is a domain that Haraway critiques of science in general through what she calls 'the god-trick': the belief that it is possible to see everything from nowhere. Discuss some of the issues of visuality raised by the Visual Human Project."

In the age of the Enlightenment in the Eighteenth century, the greatest philosophers, theorists, scientists and thinkers of the age were consumed by an incessant drive for knowledge, because it was believed that above all things, to see is to know. In contemporary Western society however, we still today continue to be driven strongly by this Enlightenment-esque thirst for knowledge, as ultimately exemplified by the Visual Human Project of the 1990’s: literally the decimation of the physical human form into a digital realm, in the name of medical knowledge. The following Webliography represents a number of differing voices on this matter, each taking issue with the implicit power hierarchies at play within the drive to visualise.

Melissa Conroy's “Seeing with Buddha’s Eyes: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring.”
Although it may appear unusual to be referencing an article referring to a Buddhist film, the author actually takes issue with several concepts highly relevant to the notion of visuality, and draws from Donna Haraway’s body of work to construct a unique and well developed critique of visuality in film and camera. The author states that “all theory is a place of seeing” (Conroy, 2007, para.2), and combines her own understandings on the visuality theory with Haraway’s “god-trick” vision to construct a perceptive reading on the place of gender in the particular film she is analysing. As such, the author deconstructs the film Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring using a significant discussion and analysis of Haraway’s “god trick” in association with cinematic vision inherently being a highly mediated and subjective vision. This relates strongly to issues regarding the perceived scientific objectivity of the Visual Human Project, and voices alternate ideas regarding location and situation as feminine ways of seeing.

R.J. Johnston's “Situated Knowledge”
Ironically, the article “Situated Knowledge”, which describes Donna Haraway’s so-named theory, is here found within a large dictionary-style compendium of human knowledges, covering topics ranging broadly across the spectrum of human self-knowledge, from the scientific and medical to the philosophical and political. The author gives a particularly insightful description (in relatively simple terms) into the concept of “situated knowledge”, and gives an examination of Haraway’s dialogue regarding visuality which scratches just below the surface. Being an encyclopaedia-style article, the extent to which the author critiques Haraway’s theories is limited, and it lacks a dynamic interaction between the article’s author and subject Haraway. That said however, the article does make a strong base point of reference for the reader attempting to understand complexity of the theoretical issues Haraway weaves together.

Patricia MacCormack's “Visual Pleasure/Visual Truth?"
This article gives a highly sophisticated examination of the structures of power implicit in the varying contemporary fields of human self-knowledge, and confronts face-first the (deemed incorrect) assumptions often made about the interconnection of knowledge and visuality. Although the article relies heavily on sophisticated jargon, MacCormack makes several highly relevant points with regards to Haraway’s notion of visuality and makes some strong thought provoking connections to gender, displaying a very confident and developed view of gender with regards to visuality. Building on the old adage that “to see is to believe”, the author intimately dissects Haraway’s concept of visuality in terms of gender difference and biology. MacCormack argues that the very Western concept of “visual truth” is fundamentally linked to social phallocentricity: in terms of visual reproductive biology: the male is seen, but the woman is not (MacCormack, para.4). MacCormack references Haraway’s “all-seeing satellite eye” theory(MacCormack, para.3), and builds upon her “situated knowledge” theories to construct a sophisticated case against the implicit power relations in medical knowledge, paralleling several of the issues regarding visuality raised in the Visible Human Project.

Olson, Gary and Elizabeth Hirsch: "Starting from Marginalized Lives: A Conversation with Sandra Harding"
Olson and Hirsch’s essay critically reviews the work of feminist writer Sandra Harding in comparison to that of contemporary feminist theorist, Donna Haraway. According to the authors, Harding draws heavily on Haraway’s preoccupation with the “god trick”, and in her own work analyses how this consequently shapes the meaning and methods of Western scientific principle. The pair effectively engage with Harding’s main arguments and highlight several key points regarding visuality and the myth of scientific objectivity that resonate strongly with the principle issues raised by the Visible Human Project.

Catherine Waldby's “The Visible Human Project as a Technology of Anatomical Inscription.”
From a scientific perspective the author conducts a thorough and detailed examination of the practical processes involved in the realisation of the Visible Human Project. Waldby first details the procedure of digitalising the human body into a problem of coding (Waldby, 2007, para.1) and then delves into the array of medical capabilities that the digitalised human form as a visual object gives rise to. Whilst the author does not focus a critique on the philosophical implications of the Visual Human Project, the text does appear to consciously provoke some intriguing theoretical questions particularly relevant to Donna Haraway’s feminist discourse of “situated knowledge” and the “god trick.”

The range of sources detailed thus offer a number of alternate perspectives on the notion of visuality, and related theories concerning objectivity and subjectivity. A number of the webliographic sources are informed strongly by Haraway’s pervasive “god-trick” theory, and explore her theories further in order to construct a broader understanding of the issues of control and subjectivity at stake. Ultimately, the sources thus demonstrate that the Visible Human Project is a project located within a very socially and culturally specific time and place. While the project’s purpose to make a “visible” form of knowledge, it (mis)assumes itself to be objective, while it is in fact a contextually-situated and partial knowledge (Conroy, 2007, para.2-6).

Bibliography:
Conroy, Melissa (2007) “Seeing with Buddha’s Eyes: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring.” Journal of Religion and Film. 11(2) <http://www.unomaha.edu/jrf/vol11no2/ConroyBuddha.htm> (22/08/08)

Johnston, R.J. (2000) “Situated Knowledge” in R.J Johnston, Derek Gregory, Geraldine Pratt, Michael Watts eds. The Dictionary of Human Knowledge. Blackwell, 742-3. <http://books.google.com/books?id=0GxowMfwlkC&pg=PA742&dq=visuality+haraway%27s+%22god+trick%22&sig=ACfU3U2DYY09Nx4TiEnnG9BRK3jaZrhuMA> (27/08/08)

MacCormack, Patricia. “Visual Pleasure/Visual Truth?” in Pleasure, Perversion and Death: Three Lines of Flight for the Viewing Body. <http://www.cinestatic.com/trans-mat/MacCormack/PPD1-3.htm> (28/08/08)

Olson, Gary and Elizabeth Hirsch. (1995) "Starting from Marginalized Lives: A Conversation with Sandra Harding" Women’s Writing Culture. (New York) SUNY Press <http://www.stumptuous.com/comps/olsonhirsch.html> (21/08/08)

Waldby, Catherine (2001) “The Visible Human Project as a Technology of Anatomical Inscription.” <http://www.cas.buffalo.edu/classes/dms/berna/dms434/readings/Waldby1.PDF> (27/08/08)

Webliography

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Tutorial Presentation by James

Hi everyone! I looked at Deborah Lupton’s article ‘The Embodied Computer/User’ this week. As this is the first post of this nature, I wasn’t too sure which way to attack it. Basically I’m just going to highlight a few of the major ideas, then present my interpretations, and finally bring up a few points for discussion. Hopefully this format will reduce all the usual anxieties of the typical awkward tutorial environment that I’m sure we’re all familiar with. So enjoy, and remember- all feedback is welcome (criticisms/disagreements included).

Major points/topics

Lupton is interested in the way humans interact with computers in the modern era, focusing on the relationship that she believes is symbiotic; “users invest certain aspects of themselves and their cultures when ‘making sense’ of their computers, and their use of computers may be viewed as contributing to individuals’ images and experiences of their selves and their bodies”. The article explores increasing concerns of hacking, cybercrime and general internet security on this relationship.

The disembodied computer user: Refers to the utopian ideal that humans may escape the body through computers/technology. This is exemplified using Haraway’s cyborg theory (which I’m sure we are all familiar with by now). Unlike Haraway though, Lupton sees the notion of the cyborg as “a predominantly masculine body, as contrasted with the seeping, moist bodies of women”.

The hackers body: Here Lupton outlines the typical vision on the computer obsessed human, or what she calls ‘hackers’; “invariably male, usually in their late adolescence or early adulthood, and are typically portrayed as social misfits and spectacularly physically unattractive: wearing thick, unflattering spectacles, overweight, pale, pimply skin, poor fashion sense”. She also suggests that a ‘hackers’ body is constructed through the computers they use rather than their physical attributes (mentioned above). Lupton calls these people addicts’, which places them in stark contrast to the “rationalized, contained body of the masculine cyborg”.

The humanized computer: Lupton notes that in a peculiar paradox, while the computer culture often denies the human body, computers are normally portrayed as being like a human. She uses a number of marketing campaigns by computer countries to illustrate this point. Another point of interest is how computers, like humans, suffer from isolation when they are not linked to a network of other computers or the internet.

The frightening computer: This part suggests that the reason computers are portrayed as having human qualities is to reduce peoples (particularly adults) angst about technology. While technology is ever-present in modern society, people do exhibit fears about an over-reliance on technology and its “capacity to consume us”.

Risky computing: The utopian vision, when it comes to human/computer discourse is that we all be connected to the internet and thus be able to access places/people on levels that were previously unattainable. However, the emergence of ‘hackers’ and ‘cybercrime’ has interrupted this dream with more and more people becoming wary of the internet.

Lupton proposes that “the relationship between users and PCs is similar to that between lovers or close friends” and “the ways in which we depict computers as humanoid, having emotions and embodiment, is evidence of this intimacy”.

My Thoughts

Overall I found this article quite an interesting read as I felt it was of more relevance to me than the other articles we have read. I identified with the way the author described her relationship with her computer, which “usually makes itself overtly known when something goes wrong”. I have encountered numerous problems with various computers over the years and found myself cursing them like I would an enemy. I suppose at times like this you really realize how much you rely on the old PC.

Another point I had not really thought about, that she brought up, was the obsolescence of handwriting in my life. I rarely put pen to paper these days, and when I do it seems like a foreign action to me. This is not because I do no work, it’s because 90% of my academic musings are typed on a computer.

I did find Lupton’s discussion of the cyborg body as being more of a masculine being as problematic. Maybe the author has been watching too much Terminator but personally, I believe the cyborg should not be constricted to being more pertinent to one sex.

Also, I found her description of a ‘hacker’ as a mass overgeneralization. Though fiction seems to show a similar portrayal of a ‘computer nerd’ as Lupton describes, I think in real life it is a different story. I’m sure there are many ‘hackers’ out there that have never felt the need to use Clearasil, pump iron in the gym and scrub up quite nicely on a Saturday night (without out their tick-framed glasses).

Your Thoughts?

I don’t want to waffle on too much. I’ve found that in using this environment to do a presentation you have a lot more time to articulate your thoughts, which is dangerous because you could end up writing thousands of words and boring everyone out in blogger land. So I’ll open it up to you guys now, here are some starters:

- Do you agree that Lupton’s ideas about ‘cyborgs’ conflict with those of Haraway?

- Do you agree that we as humans do share an intimate relationship with our computers? Or is Lupton over-analyzing this?

- Have you felt anxious about technologies ability to consume us?

- Are we over reliant on computers?

Thanks for your time, James.

Webliography Q.2

2. Webliography

“ From Frankestein to Visible Human Project, the body is continually reinterpreted as a limit what it means to be human”

From Mary Shelley’s science fiction novel Frankenstein to the Visible Human Project is evident that the society has already for a long time been fascinated by the limits of humaness. However, I feel that it is a discussion which has been reserved mainly for the people of special interest such as medicine or other advanced technologies. Therefore it is interesting to note that themes like post humanism and cyborgs have become relevant to us all, as the culture is slowly adapting more and more digitalised ways of life. The five articles I’m going to be reviewing, essentially argue that limits humaness are questioned and reinterpret in many different ways. For example one of my readings state that the traditional boundaries between the ‘natural’ and the ‘artificial’ seem to be obscuring.(Ozay, 2007) I would like to develop the distinction between artificial and natural in my essay, and examine it through some interesting examples found through my research.

Sam Ozay’s blog[1] works as a great introductory text, when starting the discussion on post humanism and cyborgs. He reviews many acclaimed works on this field, such as Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Donna Haraway’s Cyborg Manifesto. He also mentions an Australian performance artist Stellarc, who “makes use of new technologies to enhance the capabilities and durability of the human body.”(Ozay 2007) Ozay argues that artists such as him do not seem to concern themselves with the question what it is to be a human in opposition to those who believe that humans are a composition of mind, body and soul. I think this argument could lead my discussion through my essay, as it is evident that the cybernetics, biotechnology and nanotechnoloy hold countless possibilities for human race, but at the same time cause serious concern of the ethics and boundaries of humanism.

Andy Miah’s article critically assesses Prof. Gunter Von Hagen’s exhibition ‘Body Worlds’ and the public autopsy made in the UK in 2002. [2] Miah criticises the public autopsy and the whole concept of ‘Body Worlds’ claiming that it had missed its educational purpose by making the event commercial and grotesque. Even if the autopsy was supposed to bring people closer with modern medical procedures, it was “presented as 19th century’s freak show, and broadcasted as a prime time reality television.” (Miah 2003) The article interested me especially through my personal experience of the ‘Body World’ Exhibition, and I think that it would offer an interesting point of view regarding the discussion of humanness and the value of human body after death. Does being human stop when we die, and what is the relationship between humans and their bodies? Miah describes this relationship intriguingly; “the transformation of the body…inside out by von Hagens provided a means for re-engaging with our subdued curiosity about identifying what is grotesque about being human…”(Miah 2003) In addition, it would be interesting to compare von Hagen’s ‘performance’ with the Visible Human Project.

A chapter in ‘Cyborg Citizen’ tells a fascinating story about two university students, who live their lives as cyborgs.[3] They literally have computers attached to them, and through these ‘wearable computers’ they are in constant connection to the internet. In Gray’s words; “their senses are simultaneously accessed in both worlds.”(Gray 2001, p.9) Gray talks about an era in which machines are becoming real extensions of our ‘organic’ human bodies. It would be interesting to examine the idea of machines and humans intertwining, based on Gray’s arguments such as “soon it will be impossible to tell where human ends and machine starts.”(Gray 2001, p.9) Gray’s essay concentrates on the social contradictions that post human possibilities cause in different organizations, such as cyborgologists and the Church. I feel that this chapter from Gray’s book would work as relevant for my discussion concerning the interpretation and prejudices of human and machine in the modern society.

Continuing the theme introduced above, I would use the next article I am reviewing as a source for deepening my research on post humanism. Nick Bostrom’s essay gives an overwhelming scenario of what it would be like to be a post human.[4] Defining post humanism as “ being as one who has capacities ( in health, emotion or cognition) in a degree unattainable by any current human being unaided by new technology,”(Bostrom 2005, p.6) he argues that being post human would be a very good thing. He claims that many post human qualities, such as better health and higher intelligence, are already desirable in the society. It would be useful to look at Bostrom’s description of post humanist qualities and think how they match those desires and values we already have regarding our bodies. Bostrom’s essay examines the concept of post humanism excessively, and he seems to be passionate about his subject. I think his essay and possibly also other material on his website would provide a good basis for developing an argument of for example the already existing desires to become a post human.

When talking about the limits of humanness, it would also be relevant to consider online communities and the graphical ‘avatar’ embodiments in virtual worlds. Paul McIlvenny’s essay focuses on the relations between identity and embodiment in intercultural cyberspace.[5] It is important to think that while virtual world are a form of human communication, it does not happen in the visual form of one self. This raises several important questions, which are demonstrated in McIlvenny’s essay. For example, do race, gender and nationality become insignificant when one represent him/herself as a virtual avatar? Furthermore, one might ask how the embodiment shapes one’s identity and social interactions with other similarly embodied. McIlvenny examines these questions by including some extracts from online communication between the participants and suggests that it is common that the online players want to resemble something different compared to their offline identities. I feel that McIlvenny’s essay would be useful in thinking the possible changes that the cyberspace and online communities have created in relation to humanness and how virtual reality is pushing the limits of humanness.

After reviewing my five articles, I find that there is a certain genre of literature, which has not yet reached to level of popular culture. However, all of the themes and arguments raised from the readings relate or are starting to relate to the everyday life of humans. From the Body Worlds to Avatars I feel that there are so many aspects on this discussion but in the end, it is nevertheless evident that wether we want to or not, we may find ourselves in “a submissive position in the virtual world, in which we have no choice but to allow technology to determine the fate of human behaviour and its ultimate existence.” (Ozay 2007)



References


Ozay, Sam (2007) ‘Cyborgs: Post human futures.’ Log A Blog (21st September 2007)
http://samoz.wordpress.com/2007/09/21/cyborgs-posthuman-futures/
(accessed 26th August 2008)


Miah, Andy (2003) ‘Dead bodies for the Masses: The British Autopsy& The Aftermath.’ http://www.ctheory.net/articles.aspx?id=363
(accessed 22nd August 2008)


Gray, Chris H. (2001) ‘The possibilities of Post humanism’ in Cyborg citizen: Politics in the Post human Age, Routledge, London pp. 9-12
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=2Mw5srL_bAUC&printsec=toc&dq=posthuman&lr=&output=html&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0
(accessed 22nd August 2008)

Bostrom, Nick (2006) ‘Why I want to be a post human when I grow up’ pp.1-25
http://www.nickbostrom.com/posthuman.pdf
(accessed 26th August 2008)

McIlvenny, Paul (1999) ‘Avatars R Us? Discourses of Community and Embodiment in Intercultural Cyberspace’ Journal of Intercultural Communication Vol. 1
http://www.immi.se/intercultural/nr1/mcilvenny.htm
(accessed 27th August 2008)









[1] http://samoz.wordpress.com/2007/09/21/cyborgs-posthuman-futures/

[2] http://www.ctheory.net/articles.aspx?id=363

[3]http://books.google.com.au/books?id=2Mw5srL_bAUC&printsec=toc&dq=posthuman&lr=&output=html&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0

[4] http://www.nickbostrom.com/posthuman.pdf

[5] http://www.immi.se/intercultural/nr1/mcilvenny.htm

Webliography "From Frankenstein to the Visible Human Project, the body is continually reinterpreted as a limit to what ot means to be human."

Technological advances have changed and influenced many aspects of our lives. Medicine and science have advanced considerably, producing the possibilities of prosthetic limbs, cochlear implants and IVF treatments just to name a few. Such changes to the human body have given rise to the use of the term ‘cyborg,’ a mixture of both human and non-human properties. The internet has also influenced a wide range of debate regarding online identities and virtualisation, raising the question of physical bodies and the possibility of our identities being disassociated from our physical selves when we go online. The following references are relevant to such topics, and to the idea that “the body is continually reinterpreted as a limit to what it means to be human.”

Frank Biocca’s article is concerned with the effects of changing technology (specifically online) on the human mind and identity. Biocca discusses “how virtual reality interfaces are evolving to embody the user progressively.”[1] He refers to the body as a “communication device”(Biocca, 1997) and discusses how with changing technology the body is able to work in conjunction with the computer system to transmit information, defining ‘Progressive Embodiment’ as “steadily advancing immersion of sensorimotor channels to computer interfaces through a tighter and more pervasive coupling of the body to interface sensors and displays.” (Biocca 2007) He goes on to list the human body’s sensors and the number of sensors that computer systems are able to connect with, suggesting that new advances in technology are directed at interacting with these sensors. This can be seen for instance, in the Nintendo Wii, where the system is responsive to the user’s movement, which Biocca refers to as “motor engagement development.” (Biocca, 2007) He then goes on to discuss the use of an online persona and “the effect of embodiment in the virtual environment on mental modes of the self.” (Biocca, 2007) Biocca addresses issues concerning the integration of body and computer and the resulting effects on our identities.

Gillet’s article is concerned with ethical issues that arise in terms of medical procedures resulting in a ‘cyborg’ being. The question of when a person stops being human after such operations is asked, “what change in an object results in a metaphysical difference so that we have a different object?”[2] This article is particularly useful as the author has used case studies as examples to explain their point, from vision restoration to personality changes. After stating each situation, Gillet has come to the conclusion that “we are less concerned when the cybernetic components of the person seem peripheral or somewhat incidental to their psychological identity or character.” (Gillet, 2006) The author suggests that if the modifications to the ‘cyborg’ have not affected it’s ability to behave in human-like ways, we are less likely to have moral concerns, “our conception (metaphysical if you like) of what a human being is derived from the beings with whom we share these formative and sustaining interactions.”(Gillet, 2006) Here, we can see the changes that are made to the body and how this affects our categorisation as human.

Mette Bryld’s article is particularly interesting as it shows the integration of technological practises into everyday life. Bryld reviews two children’s books or “New Origin Stories,”[3] as they are referred to here. These books have been especially designed for children conceived through IVF. The author states that 1 out of every 38 children born in Denmark is an IVF child,(Bryld, 2000) therefore such books are needed to show these “cyborg children”(Bryld (2000) the science behind their conception and to help them understand their procedure with the realisation that they are not the only ones. The two books that are studied in this article take two very different perspectives. The first, is focussed on the procedure itself, while the second is more focussed around a couple who are trying to have a child. The need for the existence of such books shows the expansion of the definition of what it means to be ‘normal’ as the popularity of procedures such as IVF continue to grow. Such procedures raise questions and ethical issues around being human and what is ‘natural.’

Andy Miah discusses the existence of what he refers to as “transhumans”[4] in sport and the pressure that is placed on athletes to transcend what is known to be human in order to achieve sporting credibility. He argues against the idea that “transhumanism is not a desirable philosophy for society to embrace”(Miah, 2003) but it a concept completely relevant to today’s society. The article goes on to discuss medical transhuman procedures and the indistinctive boundary between repair and enhancement,(Miah, 2003) yet another ethical issue in regards to cyborg beings and their ability to be defined as human. Miah is concerned with the athlete’s body in particular and refers to them as “ambassadors of transhumanism,”(Miah, 2003) concluding that in many sporting situations technology is being used to better the athlete’s performance and “human and posthuman is blurring.(Miah, 2003)”

John Suler’s article is concerned with who we are in cyberspace and the suggestion that we as users can choose who we want to be online. This suggests to me that our identity can be disassociated from our bodies giving us a virtual identity. Suler believes that “the multiple aspects of one's identity may be dissociated, enhanced, or integrated online,”[5] meaning that we can choose to completely hide our ‘real’ identity, add to it or choose to become someone else entirely. He points out the ambiguity of an online environment as you can never know if someone’s online identity is the same as the one connected to their physical body. Suler questions which one of these is the ‘true’ identity and that despite popular belief this may not be the one that you “present to others and consciously experience in your day-to-day living.”(Suler, 2002) He argues that these “fantasy”(Suler, 2002) identities can in fact reveal a lot about the user’s beliefs and desires.

The articles I have chosen give a wide range of information on the topic of the body as being “continually reinterpreted as a limit to what it means to be human.” The information I have chosen is diverse, covering aspects such as the integration and relationship between humans and computers, ‘cyborg’ ethics, IVF treatments, ‘cyborgs’ in sport and embodiment and identity online. The sources discuss how technology is impacting society’s views on what is natural and what is human identity.


[1] Biocca, F, “The Cyborg’s Dilemma: Progressive Embodiment in Virtual Environments.” In Journal of Computer Mediated Communication Vol. 3, No. 2 (September 1997) http://jcmc.indiana.edu/vol3/issue2/biocca2.html (Accessed 2 October 2008)

[2] Gillet, G. “Cyborgs and Moral Identity.” In Journal of Medical Ethics 2006, 32. Pg 79 (2006) http://jme.bmj.com/cgi/reprint/32/2/79.pdf Accessed 2 October 2008

[3] Mette Bryld, “Cyborg Babies and Cybergods: The Baby Makers' New Origin Stories” for the 4th European Feminist Research Conference, Bologna, (28 September-1 October 2000) http://www.women.it/cyberarchive/files/bryld.htm Accessed 2 October 2008

[4] Andy Miah, “Be Very Afraid: Cyborg Athletes, Transhuman Ideals and Posthumanity,” in The Journal of Evolution and Technology 13 (2) – (October, 2003) http://playthegame.org/Knowledge%20Bank/Articles/Be%20Very%20Afraid_Cyborg%20Athletes.aspx (Accessed 2 October 2008)

[5] John Suler, “Identity Management in Cyberspace,” Journal of Applied Psychoanalytic Studies, 4, 455-460 (2002) http://www-usr.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/identitymanage.html (Accessed October 2 2008)