Sasha Week 4: Hypertext, Cyborgs, and Feminism

Donna Haraway’s essay “Cyborg Manifesto” digs into the nitty gritty reality of existing within a male-dominated world. One of feminism’s recent critiques is its emphasis on the differences between the sexes, creating a space where people are placed into one of these categories. On social media, this is referred to as “divine feminine” and “divine masculine.” People are pressured to embrace their femininity or masculinity, but end up perpetuating and supporting gender roles. Regardless, existing within a patriarchy inherently means that one’s sex determines where they stand within the social hierarchy. One must stress the separation of sex and gender. People can be fluid in their self-expression, but they will be male, female, or intersex. Cyborgs, however, are free in both regards. Sex is nonexistent—they are unnatural. This fluidity challenges capitalism and the patriarchy by forcing a truly non-binary figure into the discussion. This is helping people “embrac[e] the possibilities inherent in the breakdown of clean distinctions between organism and machine and similar distinctions structuring the Western self” (53). Overall, the essay is a bit convoluted in its language and difficult to understand. Even so, it was enjoyable and thought provoking! 

I chose to look into “Entre Ville” and immediately fell in love. From an artistic standpoint, it is beautifully crafted and involves multiple parts of your brain. Not only do you have to read, but there are videos and sounds too. “Down the Garden Path” is my favorite section. The story it tells is relatable and visually striking. Because of this focus on visuals, the project feels more like an art piece than digital literature. Being able to drag the mouse around to try and locate the clickable hypertext added an additional interactive element. The small green window that opens to glitchy, rainbow pinwheels. The neon colors, strange background noises, and discordant clips are fascinating. I think that this is one of my favorite things we’ve looked at so far in this class!