Essay Questions

Why is the cyborg important to move Feminism forward?

According to Haraway, the concept of the cyborg, as "a cybernetic organism, a hybrid of machine and organism, a creature of social reality as well as a creature of fiction" (p. 117), is important to move Feminism forward, because it doesn't consider the various specific characteristics that have been given to the different beings involved in the different feminist movements. For example, first wave feminism was limited to white upper/middle class women who wanted the vote; there was no consideration for working women or slaves. Throughout the various feminism movements and countermovements, groups emerged demanding different rights that previous groups didn't consider. By taking away all characteristics (age, race, gender, social status, etc) and simply considering the cyborg, feminism can focus on attaining the equal rights for all of humanity without falling into the problem of dismissing certain parts of society.

In the introduction of her book Simians, Cyborgs and Women: The Reinvention of Nature, Donna Haraway states "Grammar is politics by other means". How does this relate to the chapter "A Cyborg Manifesto"?

The cyborg tries to find a common ground for the different genders (among other things), which is why the quote, "Grammar is politics by other means", is very relevant. The fact that grammar and language as a whole carry certain constructions that impose the male over the female (especially in languages such as Spanish, where if you have three women and one man in a group, the group is considered grammatically male, just because one man is involved, and there is no way of knowing that women are involved, thus erasing the female position just because there is one man included), it could be considered another way of patriarchal oppression, as the role of women is subdued to that of the role (and participation) of men.