Fusions of the feminine and technology :exploring the cyborg as subversive tool for feminist reconstructions of identity

[摘要] In this dissertation the dominant metaphor for the fusion between the feminine andtechnology, the cyborg, will be examined through various texts to assess the value thecyborg has for feminism as a tool to exposes the constructedness of boundaries of identityand gender, thereby enabling a reconstruction of a new feminine identity in a subversiveand transgressive space. The main themes which will be addressed are those that oftenfeature in feminist science fiction: reproduction, sexuality, the construction of identityand gender through science, culture and ideology, and the power relations between menand women. Other related concepts which will be dealt with are language, self andOther, representation and perspective. Feminist science fiction and theory attempt todestabilise conventional boundaries concerned with gender and identity and the textswhich this dissertation deals with are all, to varying degrees, concerned with thisdestabilisation, each offering a unique perspective on feminine identity and the attemptedtransformation of current gender categories which will be explored in detailed analysis.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University