TechnoFeminism

by Judy Wajcman

This timely and engaging book argues that technoscientific advances are radically transforming the woman-machine relationship. However, it is feminist politics rather than the technologies themselves that make the difference. TechnoFeminism fuses the visionary insights of cyberfeminism with a materialist analysis of the sexual politics of technology.

Genres: Feminism, Technology, Nonfiction, Theory, Politics, Sociology, Academic

160 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2004

About the author

Judy Wajcman is the Anthony Giddens Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics

Reviews

[leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

read this for the paper i will write for my "seksualiteit en globalisering" course! :)

honestly a super interesting book! it offers a strong analysis of the different ways in which a traditionally predominantly male-bias in technology manifests itself concretely as well as how technology can be and at times even is reconfigured in order to achieve liberation instead of hindering it. unlike previous work on the relationship between gender and technology, wajcman is neither too pessimistic nor too overly idealistic in her assessment of this dynamic. written 20 years ago but still so undeniably relevant if you look at some of the recent developments in technology (i'm looking at you, AI). if you're interested in the topic but don't have time to read the entire book, i'd recommend you read chapter 5!

minus 1 star for the sometimes somewhat outdated descriptions though (e.g. referring to gender-affirming care for trans people as "literally turning women into men and vice versa" is definitely.... something?). in this sense the book clearly is a product of its time, which is a bit disappointing since it genuinely feels so revelatory in some of its other aspects. i still think the book has a lot of merit overall because these remarks were extremely limited and, most importantly, did not actually affect the overall argument of the book in any significant way. still, it felt wrong to not at least address this issue in my review.

[Amarah H-S]

i found this really interesting, if a little 2004. where wajcman really shines is in her ability to chart the relationship — concisely and comprehensively — between feminism and modern technology. she identifies key moments and thinkers in this history, effectively poking holes in the feminist approaches to tech that have come before her. she is wary of all the right things—technological determinism, gender essentialism, sexy female video game characters.

i was less convinced by the final chapter, when wajcman attempts to articulate her own technofeminist politic, distinct from its predecessors. i was pretty unmoved by the ideas presented here, although, of course, i have the unfair advantage of reading this 20 years after its publication date. ideas that were cutting edge when i was a toddler are bound to carry less weight today.

overall, really glad i read this. it works really well as a kind of introductory survey of modern thinking about gender and tech. and i look forward to reading some of the texts she cited!

[Katherine Rackliffe]

ok, I have some more research to do on this. honestly I picked this up exclusively because of the title

[Zachary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite being a tad outdated now, Wajcman does an incredibly job synthesizing major trends in feminist and technological writing, showing how elements of gender have both informed and (more often) been ignored by scholars working in these fields. Putting these two worlds together results in a nuanced, interesting, and important discussion regarding the role of gender in technology and contemporary technological society. Though the book does not give a broad solution to such problems, Wajcman usefully critiques many other perspectives and offers at least the beginnings of a direction for future work to move towards. There are certainly elements to this book that are dated, but all in all this slim volume reflects a great starting point for discussing a segment of culture and developing technology that has historically been ignored, and which is still fighting to find a voice in the present day.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

“This liberal feminist tradition locates the problem in women (their socialization, their aspirations and values) and does not ask the broader questions of whether, and in what way, technoscience and its institutions could be reshaped to accommodate women.”

This book highlighted the difference between a liberal feminism and a feminism directed at an institutional or inherent change into the system it is critiquing, and for that reason in particular I would recommend this book to others.

Another cogent analysis of the difference here:

“This, for me, was where the socialist feminist project began, as a critique of the gender-blindness of Marxism. Socialist feminist work pointed out that the division of labour characterizing paid occupations was a sexual hierarchy, and that its gendered nature was not incidental.”

This book takes a look at the way feminine bodies are affected/effected in the domain of the newly emerging (or forever/ and just expanding according to others) cyber/technological space by explicating the works of Sadie Plant (and her relation to Freud), by analyzing the potential to shift the trajectory of technological growth to benefit women’s reproductive capabilities with Shulamith Firestone (and eliminate the biological tyranny thereof), and according to the following quote wish to elaborate a new feminist imaginary.

“In looking forward to what these new technologies may make possible, they elaborate a new feminist 'imaginary' different from the 'material reality' of the existing technological order.”

I also appreciated the commentary on internet communities. Some of the things in this book are out of vogue, however to me there is a lot of food for thought in this book.

[Delilah Wallbank · Rating 3 out of 5]

while this does a pretty good job of laying out and then avoiding the tensions created by acknowledging both that technology produces gender and that technology itself is gendered it's let down by the transmisogyny of some of it's examples.

transition is not just metaphorical but also material, this presents a very real case for the capacity of technology to directly suspend any idea of gender as natural. it is here where even for all her critiques Wacjman can't quite throw off elements of biological essentialism

[Andrea Proenza · Rating 4 out of 5]

en ocasiones se nota que es un libro que tiene más de veinte años, pero en otras está de vigésima actualidad.

[4YANAMI · Rating 4 out of 5]

j'ai lu la dernière partie notamment pour les réponses au cyberfeminisme et à ses failles théoriques

[auria · Rating 3 out of 5]

"La tecnología debe entenderse como parte del tejido social que asegura la cohesión de la sociedad; nunca es meramente técnica ni social. Antes bien, la tecnología siempre es un producto sociomaterial-una telaraña o red sin costuras que combina artefactos, personas, organizaciones, significados culturales y conocimiento. Por consiguiente, el cambio tecnológico es un proceso contingente y heterogéneo en el que tecnología y osicedad se constituyen mutuamente" p- 161

[يوسف عبداللطيف · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and honest: TechnoFeminism is a wild, sloppy, lovable mess. What worked: the energy, the jokes, and a main character who never stops talking. What didn't: the plot wanders off and forgets to come back. Recommend for readers who like chaos and heart, skip for anyone who needs a clear storyline.

[MM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief, clear, interesting -- a great overview, worked well for class.